If your business is a deli, food truck, or café, you likely use sandwich paper more than you can count. Your logo printed on sandwich paper keeps things neat, protects bags from oils, and allows your brand to appear in your customers’ Instagram feed. While interest in green packaging grows, many operators wonder if it is possible to use our custom sandwich wrap paper again.
Paper looks recyclable in theory, but the actual process is a bit more difficult. In this article, I’ll discuss why, despite being eco-friendly, custom sandwich paper is not always reusable, why it’s important, and what steps you can take to ensure your brand stands out with hygiene, brand experience, and sustainability in mind.
What Sandwich Paper Is and Why It Is Used
Simply put, sandwich paper is a thin, food-safe sheet that keeps grease from your sandwich from touching other things. Compared to parchment or waxed baking sheets, sandwich paper usually has a narrower fiber structure and a filmy coating (wax, PE, or PLA) that stops moisture from penetrating. Because of that protective coating, the melted cheese doesn’t drip through—yet it makes it harder to reuse or recycle the plate.
Why Is Custom Sandwich Paper Unique?
Even as you switch from simple white sheets to custom sandwich paper wholesale, the main substrate is not changed, but the inks, coatings, and methods used to cut it are. Most graphics are printed using food-safe, low-migration flexographic inks to reach shoppers when they first attempt their meal. Whether you use custom rolls for trimming or pre-cut papers, single-use sandwich paper always keeps food, your hands, and surfaces clean as long as your sandwich is needed.
The Limitations of Reusing Materials
Using sandwich paper again sounds nice, before you look at how it changes as you use it. The first layer of the wrap usually soaks up oils, condiments, and bits of crumbs. Once grease makes the fibers expand, the barrier function of the layer becomes much weaker. In the tests, the re-wrapped sandwiches leaked fluid three times as fast as those with a new wrap. Even if it looks clean, tiny food left on a sheet can support microorganisms, which is why many health codes ban using sheets again for food.
Grease, Moisture, and Contaminants
Grease moving through your system is your biggest threat. Using fats on paper makes it easier for the sheet to tear the second time it is used. The juice from tomatoes or pickles damages the same fibers responsible for the paper’s toughness. Bacteria love the kind of proteins found in contaminants, like mayonnaise or deli meats. Sandwich paper can not be safely cleaned and sanitized like reusable silicone mats because it is porous.
Does a resume's format affect its longevity?
Several operators find that rolls, being slightly thicker than sheets, seem to be more durable in dispensers. Either type performs the same after hitting food: their protective coating stops working after contact. Making your cuts saves money and reduces waste, but you can’t use the leftovers again. Order custom sandwich paper wholesale according to what you need to do, not just to maximize quantity.
Things to Consider about Hygiene and Regulations
In North America, agencies devoted to food safety consider sandwich wraps to be single-use. Wrapping utensils in used paper is banned by the FDA Food Code for food that can be eaten straightaway. Guidelines from CFIA are just as tight for Canadian operators. Their goal is to stop food from getting contaminated, prevent allergic reactions, and stop bacterial growth. Any disinfected sandwich paper sheet has the potential to get airborne bacteria between its uses.
Suggested Actions and Rights Ways
If you can’t reuse your things, are there other ways to be environmentally friendly?
Go for certified, environmentally friendly coating options. PLA-based custom sandwich wrap paper will not wind up in landfills; instead, it gets composted in industrial settings.
- Adjust the size of your sheet to your image. With wraps, a lot of fibers go unused; with custom deli paper roll, perforations reduce waste by removing them.
- Make your brand and communication work together. You can also add recycling or compost signs and your logo to the same area of printable real estate.
- Choose papers that aren’t bleached. With natural kraft, companies use fewer chemicals and send a message to customers about being sustainable.
They may not be reusable, but they help keep each single use more environmentally friendly.
How to Buy Wholesale and Save?
Buying sandwich paper wholesale or, if possible, custom wholesale sandwich paper can reduce each sandwich’s price, but buying extra can lead to damage and force you to toss your sandwiches earlier. Work out how much raw material will be used in three months and then choose your price range, without requiring warehouse space. Get your suppliers to pack pallets with all sizes, rolls, and sheets at once, so you can check performance before you order in bulk.
Conclusion
While custom sandwich paper is perfect for branding due to its features, those same features prevent it from being reused. When the oils and flavors from the sandwich join together on the sheet, the safety of handling the sheet decreases. Regulation says: after you use your plate, you should either compost it or recycle it according to the appropriate system nearby. They can help by selecting compostable coatings, using sheets just the right amount, and shopping at wholesalers. It only takes sandwich paper to keep the quality, your customers, and your brand safe in one move.
