Celebration Packaging has developed a zero-touch dispenser for disposable wooden cutlery, striving for a hygienic, convenient, and sustainable solution for single-use tableware.
Designed for easy use, the dispenser intends to cut down on overconsumption and waste by providing consumers with the cutlery they plan to use – preventing them from touching and contaminating excessive items.
“This is the world’s most hygienic zero-touch wooden cutlery dispenser,” claims Nick Burton, managing director at Celebration Packaging. “For end-users, there are no levers or buttons to press, as they simply pull the cutlery handle from the dispenser.
“This creates a sanitary dispensing solution, significantly reducing the chance of contamination by bacteria, germs, and viruses, which is common with traditional open cutlery trays and pots.
Meanwhile, operators have absolutely zero contact with the cutlery when filling the dispenser, which totally prevents cross-contamination.
“These dispensers offer a professional, minimalist, modern-looking, practical and organized solution, especially when compared to messy and unorganized open cutlery trays or pots, which are often a hot-bed for germs, viruses and bacteria. But perhaps the biggest benefit of these innovative new zero-touch disposable wooden cutlery dispensers is that consumers only touch the handle of the piece of cutlery they are going to use, so this is both a hygienic and a waste-saving solution.”
Due to its small footprint, the unit can be placed on counters, or otherwise wall or stand-mounted. Its dispenser is designed for easy maintenance; as a purely mechanical solution, it does not require power or batteries, and it comes with transparent housing for full visibility of the cutlery level inside the machine.
To refill it, operators can open the flap, press the red button, and pull out the cartridge. At this point, a refill pack of knives, forks, or spoons can be placed in the corresponding cartridge, where the tape tab is pulled off and the bag is removed.
The trigger should then be pulled to release the first piece of cutlery; then operators are instructed to press the red button and push the cartridge back into the dispenser, wherein it is ready to use.
The dispenser is recommended for use in self-service areas, takeaway and QSR outlets, food kiosks, food courts, service stations, and stadiums. It hopes to serve as a useful solution to bans on single-use plastic cutlery, with wooden cutlery produced from renewable sources and providing on-pack branding or advertising opportunities, according to Celebration Packaging.
The announcement comes after Google announced the nine companies whose solutions were selected to be tested at its foodspaces as part of its Single-Use Plastics Challenge. This included The Aggressive Good with its smart touchless dispensers for bulk snacks, with consumers able to measure the exact price and weight of their purchase without having to weigh each product individually.
The Kraft Heinz Company revealed its own IoT-enabled and customizable digital sauce dispenser last November. HEINZ REMIX is a free-standing machine operated via touchscreen, and it is set to enable customers to customize their own sauce flavours from over 200 potential combinations.
In related news, Prowrap now plans to work with its distributor partners to collect old, broken, or unwanted wrapping dispensers and recycle as much of the machine as possible in a new recycling scheme. Each customer that returns a dispenser will receive a promotional offer to redeem against the Speedwrap Pro Dispenser refill range.
Source – Packaging Europe, 2024. https://packagingeurope.com/news/wooden-cutlery-dispenser-aims-to-minimize-germs-and-avoid-single-use-plastics/11657.article
29th July 2024