Polystyrene-foam clamshells are mainstays for restaurant take-out meals, with the notable exception of Chinese restaurants’ coated-paperboard containers. But direct-to-landfill foam for food is being legislated out of existence in a growing number of West Coast communities, and interest in healthier, portion-controlled meals is leaving foodservice groping for alternatives.Enter the Cruiser Bowl, a line of 10 bowls and two lids from D&W Fine Pack.
“In California and the Pacific Northwest, foam is being legislated out of cities and is being replaced with paper and polypropylene containers,” says Karen Williams-Roman, director of product management at Fountain Inn, SC-based D&W. But microwave heating is an issue with paper, and polypropylene comes at a premium over foam, she points out. To trim cost, the Cruiser Bowl line reduces resin content by sandwiching a layer of talc or calcium between two sheets of polypropylene. The denser minerals provide greater structural integrity, even at a thinner gauge.