• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Cater For You - Food Packaging, Plastic Glasses and Baking

Cater For You

Industry News & Blogs

Tel : 01494 511950
E : [email protected]
Cater For You News Blog

  • Cups and Glasses
        • Plastic Glasses
          • Plastic Pint And Half Pint Glasses
          • Plastic Prosecco Glasses
          • Plastic Wine Glasses
          • Plastic Martini Glasses
          • Plastic Highball Glasses
          • Plastic Gin Glasses
          • Other Plastic Glasses
          • Plastic Tea and Coffee Cups
          • Polycarbonate Glasses
          • Plastic Shot Glasses
        • Disposable Plastic Glasses
          • Disposable Plastic Half And Pint Glasses
          • Disposable Wine Glasses
          • Disposable Plastic Champagne Glasses
          • Disposable Plastic Shot Glasses
          • Other Disposable Plastic Glasses
        • Reusable Plastic Glasses
          • Unbreakable Plastic Half & Pint Glasses
          • Reusable Plastic Half & Pint Glasses
          • Unbreakable Wine Glasses
          • Reusable & Polycarbonate Champagne Glasses
          • Reusable Plastic Shot Glasses
        • Disposable Cups
          • Disposable Coffee Cups And Lids
          • Disposable White Paper Cups
          • Disposable Black Coffee Cups
          • Cold Drink Paper Cups
          • Plastic Smoothie Cups
          • Hot Drink Sundries
          • Teas, Coffees And Hot Chocolate
          • Straws
  • Food Packaging
        • Take Away Food Boxes & Containers
          • Aluminium Foil Take Away Trays
          • Plastic Food Take Away Containers
          • Hot Food Boxes / Chip Scoops
          • Fast Food Packaging
          • Bagasse Take Away Trays
          • Noodle Boxes
          • Pizza Boxes
          • Paper Soup Containers
          • Fish And Chip Packaging
          • Burger Box Packaging
          • Burger Wrapping Paper
        • Cold Food Packaging
          • Sandwich Wedge Packaging
          • Paper Bags For Sandwiches
          • Sandwich Catering Trays
          • Plastic Salad Bowls With Lids
          • Rectangular Salad Containers With Lids
          • Cardboard Salad Containers
          • Bento And Nibble Boxes
          • Baguette Packaging
          • Tortilla Wrap Packaging
        • Food Manufacturer Packaging
          • Plastic Juice Bottles
          • Ready Meal Packaging Trays
          • Deluxe Microwave Containers
          • Polystyrene Trays
          • Tamper Evident Containers
          • Deli Pots / Sauce Pots
          • Sushi Trays And Lids
          • Foil Trays And Pie Dishes
          • Foil Tray Sealing System
        • Paper Bags For Food
          • Takeaway Handled Paper Bags
          • White Sulphite Paper Bags
          • Kraft Brown Paper Bags
          • Film Fronted Paper Bags
          • Greaseproof Paper Bags
          • Polypropylene Bags
          • Snappy Bags
          • Plastic Carrier Bags
          • Kraft & Printed Takeaway Paper Bags
          • Candy Striped Paper Bags
          • Block Bottom Polypropylene Bags
        • Packaging Labels
  • Baking and Cake Decorating
        • Bakery Boxes And Containers
          • Cake Boards And Cards
          • Cake Boxes
          • Heavy Duty Corrugated Cake Boxes
          • Plastic Cake Containers
          • Cake Slice Boxes
          • Cookie Boxes And Bags
        • Cupcakes And Muffins
          • Cupcake Boxes
          • Plastic Cupcake Boxes
          • Individual Cupcake Boxes
          • Cupcake Cases
          • Tulip Muffin Cases
        • Cake Tins and Bakeware
          • Cake Baking Tins
          • Silicone Bakeware
        • Cake Decorating
          • Piping Bags
          • Icing / Decorating Tips
          • Icing Modelling Tools
          • Cake Candles
          • Cutter Sets
  • Party & Tableware
        • Disposable Tableware
          • Platters
          • Paper Napkins
          • Banquet Roll
          • Paper Plates
          • Paper Bowls
          • Plastic Plates
          • Paper Doilies Placemats and Tray Papers
        • Disposable Cutlery
          • Bagasse and Paper Cutlery
          • Wooden Cutlery
        • Party Food Boxes
  • Disposable Catering Supplies
        • Film, Foil And Baking Papers
          • Aluminium Foil
          • Cling Film
          • Bakewell Non-Stick Baking Paper
          • EDGE Cling Film And Foil Dispenser
          • Greaseproof Paper
        • Kitchen Disposables
          • Disposable Vinyl Gloves
          • Centre Feed Rolls
          • Oven Bags
          • Safe2Go Ovenable Pan Liners
        • Other Catering Products
          • Food / Ingredient Bins
          • Polycarbonate Food Storage Containers
          • Airtight Food Storage Containers
          • Mixing Bowls And Colanders
          • Thermometers
          • Till Rolls
          • Restaurant Food Order Pads
          • Araven Sauce Dispensers
          • Portion Pal And FIFO Bottles
          • Chefs Hats
        • Wooden Sticks And Skewers
  • Eco Friendly
        • Eco Friendly Food Packaging
          • Compostable Bread Bags & Produce Bags
          • Compostable Meat Trays
          • Eco Food Trays and Lids
          • Eco Gourmet Food Containers
          • Eco Soup Containers
          • Eco Salad Boxes
        • Home Compostable Packaging
        • Eco Cups and Glasses
          • Eco Coffee Cups
          • Eco Plastic Half and Pint Glasses
          • Eco Plastic Cold Cups
        • Other Eco Products
          • Compostable Bin Bags
  • More
    • Janitorial
      • Plastic Bin Bags
      • Cleaning Products
      • Toilet Roll and Dispenser
      • Kitchen Roll
      • Paper Hand Towels
    • Special Offers
  • Xmas Packaging
You are here: Home / Food and Drink News / PLA unavailability

PLA unavailability

29th January 2020 by Kate

We took great interest in some of the speakers at the FPA Environment Seminar last week, and one on the key messages was clarity in the current claims for packaging that are being touted as the next big thing. The picture is muddy at best, and the whole industry needs to address this, even more so than the underlying issue.

PLA Availability if scarce for 2020

PLA (Polylactic Acid) is one of many packaging acronyms out there, and it’s currently a much desired raw material. You may notice this on your hunt for PLA Glasses and packaging, (see above – the next big thing?) as the end product is almost impossible to buy right now. Lead times are vague at best.

Unlike other types of plastic, PLA is sourced from raw materials that need to be specifically grown first. In their raw state, materials are classed as “Renewable Resources” and include Corn Starch, Tapioca Roots and Sugarcane. Although this is in essence a good thing, there is no real closed loop benefit to using them and they may not represent the greenest option out there. Once the product has been used, it will end up in landfill, unless there is a commercial composter local to you. (I searched for composters, and one of the UK’s biggest waste management companies has 5 to service the whole of the UK!) It could be argued that this is a better option than the plastics currently under fire. And yes, on the surface this is correct. It is however, a single use product.

One major downfall to PLA is its availability. Quite simply put, major manufacturers of PLA are unable to keep up with the market demands put on them. They have started to limit their availability – with supply and demand being the way it is, this has pushed the prices up. They can effectively charge what they want at this point.

So that leaves us with a dilemma. Do we carry on listing products that we may or may not be able to supply, at a price that may well increase, or look at alternatives?

One option would be to stock plastic packaging that was made from something recycled, which could then be easily recycled in to something else – like our PET deli pots. Personally, I don’t think that “packaging made from plants, not plastic” is the long term way forward as no single material will solve all the problems we are currently presented with. Buying something that will only ever exist once seems a bit counter productive to me in this day and age, but watch this space. There are roughly 52 million adults in the Uk, and we’ve all got an opinion on this red hot topic!

Kate

Filed Under: Food and Drink News

Primary Sidebar

Search this blog

Free Shipping Over £100FREE SHIPPING When you spend over £100 for orders being delivered to UK mainland Shipping is Free. Buy On-Line Now

Order with Confidence

Feefo logo

Categories

Blog News Archives

Follow Us

LinkedIn   Facebook   News Blog

YouTube   Twitter   RSS

Tel : 01494 511950

E : [email protected]

Archives

  • July 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • July 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • November 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • January 2021
  • August 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • October 2012
  • May 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • August 2011
  • March 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • April 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2008
  • July 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • March 2007
  • December 2006

Footer

Contact Us

Cater For You Limited
Building 2 Hillbottom Road,
Behind PSV Glass,
Sands Industrial Estate,
High Wycombe,
Bucks,
HP12 4HJ
T: 01494 511950;
E: [email protected]

Click and Collect Orders

Click and Collect your orders from our warehouse in High Wycombe. We can also ship locally, nationally and internationally using DPD / DHL and Evri.

FAQ’s

  • Ordering FAQ's
  • Delivery FAQ's
  • Plastic Glasses FAQ's
  • BRC / ISO Accreditation

Secure Payments

We accept payments via SagePay of the following cards (and Paypal).

Payments Accepted

Copyright © 2025 · Log in
Cater For You Ltd trading as Cater4You · Company Number 04978127