At SmartPak, we’ve always been focused on powering healthy horses and happy riders. But did you know we’re also committed to supporting a healthy, happy planet? It’s true! And we’re proud to say that this year, we’ve gone greener than ever.
We’ve always made SmartPaks out of recycled #1 plastic (just like water bottles!) that can be recycled again (unlike buckets, which are made of virgin plastic and often can’t be recycled). Even better, we actually use less plastic to make a month’s supply of SmartPaks, as compared to the comparable size bucket, making SmartPaks the truly earth-friendly option.
But the good news doesn’t stop there. We’re always looking for ways to do things a little smarter, and there’s nothing smarter than taking better care of the planet we call home. After lots of hard work, we’re proud to announce that SmartPaks are better than ever – they’re just as sturdy and protective as before, but they now use 20% less plastic!
Why are we so excited about this? Because now you can feel even better than ever about using SmartPaks to help take the best care of your horse and the best care of the planet.
Still using buckets? Switch to SmartPaks today!
Smartpaks are really convenient, especially the automatic delivery. However, it is difficult to pull the cover off the strips of Smartpaks. Can you improve on the glue or sealing process?
I second the comment about them being difficult to open. It’s not so bad with pellets, but the wells with powders (such as vitamin C and MSM)are a bigger problem because you have to be very careful not to scatter the powder once the cover glue finally gives way. Obviously, a good seal is very important, but perhaps a glue could be found that would provide a good seal while not being so difficult to pull apart.
Great news about less plastic though!
Hi Barb & Springhope Farm,
We really appreciate the feedback! We’re taking it to heart, and testing a whole bunch of new ways to seal SmartPaks to make them easier to open.
Thanks again for taking the time to let us know what we can do to be better!
Have a great ride,
-SmartPaker Bjorn
Could a tab be attached to help pull the cover from the packs?
I also have a question about recycling the SmartPaks: are they still #1s after manufacturing? I thought I had read they were 5s, which no one in my rural area takes, so I’ve just been trashing them. :-(. #1s I could do!
Hi Evensong-
The SmartPaks are most definitely Recycling Category 1. They are made from 100% recycled PET with a guaranteed minimum of 35% post consumer plastic (like water bottles). Category 5 is Polypropylene, which is usually opaque. I was involved in selecting PET for SmartPaks. We chose PET for its moisture and oxygen barrier properties, for its clarity (so we can do quality control), and because it is the most widely recycled plastic, used in making fleeces, rugs, and SmartPaks 🙂
I am glad to hear that you have reduced the amount of plastic used. That has always concerned me. The SmartPaks are very convienient, and being recyclable is great, if people will do that. If people throw them away then that just adds to our landfill problem of plastic not deteriorating. I think your next project should be to aim for compostable products! At least with the buckets they can be repurposed, which I do.
That’s a great idea Karen, thanks for the feedback!
We’ve tested this a bit in the past, but haven’t found a solution that is up to our quality standards just yet. We’ll keep at it!
Thanks again and have a great ride!
-SmartPaker Bjorn
The suggestion of making Smartpaks compostable is a really good one. Could they be made from corn products which are composted in less than 3 months in a landfill. My local megamart, to quote Alton, makes ther house brand cups from corn, they are just as reliable as their plastic counterparts, and I don’t feel guilty when I see them thrown away.
I agree that sometimes the smart packs are difficult to open and I wind up sweeping supplements up off the floor when the covering suddenly gives way.
I would also wonder if the smart packs couldn’t be ROUNDED on the top edge. The corners eat through just about any plastic sack type container.
YES, I do recycle, but I take my plastics to recycling in a trash bag: on trail rides I pack the necessary feeds in the ubiquitous Wallmart sack. Those sharp corners eat through the sacks.
Hi Leslyn,
Thanks for the feedback! We’re testing a whole bunch of new ways to seal SmartPaks to make them easier to open.
In regards to the sharp corners, that’s something we’ve been working to fix for a while now. We haven’t found a solution that is up to our quality standards yet, but we’ll keep working on it!
Thanks again for taking the time to let us know what we can do to be better!
Have a great ride,
-SmartPaker Bjorn
The new strips are much harder to open and a bit frustrating. Since I’m a long time customer this is a dissatisfied but not something that would make me leave. However if I were just starting and had this experience it would have an impact on my decision.
Kim,
Thanks for the feedback! We totally understand your frustrations. We see the shortcomings and are actively working to correct them.
We don’t want your experience to be dissatisfying, disappointing or anything less than amazing and we’re committed to fixing this. Thank you for being a long time customer, your trust means the world to us.
Have a great ride,
-SmartPaker Bjorn
I also find it difficult to open the smart paks. It’s good the plastic is recyclable but it is almost to flimsy for the disproportionate amount of force needed to pull the foil away from the plastic (usually resulting in loss of product).
Teri,
Thanks for your feedback! We’re working on a solution for this problem, and really appreciate you sharing your frustration with us. We rely on riders like you being open and honest about areas where we can improve. Some riders find their SmartPaks easier to open if they’re held upside down into a feed bucket, letting the supplements fall out.
We’ll keep working on making the system better, you have a great ride 🙂
-SmartPaker Bjorn
The smartpaks are hard to open……but if you hold them in a bucket upside down and open them you are less likely to spill. I think this technique was already suggested.
I reuse the containers (mine are 3 wells) for craft projects (mixing paint, sorting beads, etc.) & I also have brought them to a local artsy store for their projects with kids. School art classes like them, too.
Susan, those are awesome ideas! We’d love to see pictures if you have any, of both the SmartPaks being reused and the art they helped create.
Thanks for sharing this with us!
-SmartPaker Bjorn
Would love to see ideas of how to reuse the paks. Was talking about that just the other day.
I’m new to smartpaks one month now, I have not had trouble opening them. Maybe it’s just luck but if I do I will try opening them in my feeder’s not to lose any product.
Terry, that’s great to hear!
Welcome to SmartPak and thanks for giving us a try, we’re thrilled to have you! Please let us know if there’s anything we could be doing to serve you better.
Have a great ride,
SmartPaker Bjorn
I like the thought of using less plastic but they are very difficult to open. They do not open as easily as previous ones. I am big on recycling so I like this process, but I have to agree with the others, can you improve on the glue or something?
Thank you
You all would be better off using a baggy like Platinum Performance uses. Must less trash and no plastic at all. Just rip and dump into the feed.
This is exciting news! I already appreciate being able to recycle the wells. Is it possible to recycle the covers, and if not, will you consider using a cover that you can recycle?
Good work, Smartpak!
p.s. Your customer service has ALWAYS been amazing. Keep up the good work!
Oh my goodness! I’m new to using SmartPaks and I thought I was just totally inept at opening them!!! I’m so relieved to hear you guys are already looking at ways to improve the sealing & opening process. Thrilled to hear about the reduced plastic as well. You guys are great!
I have thought this for awhile now to use for young plants ! We send our packets to recycle center …. thank you !
Kudos on improving the SmartPaks earth friendly appeal, but why not take your efforts further. I like getting my supplements in buckets. It’s just the way I am, except for Ultra Digest, which provides the colic insurance for my horse. Why don’t you find a way to make the plastic used in the buckets green too?
I agree that the new ones are a little harder to open, especially for the kids in my barn who love to feed. The sharp corners have been a detraction for me from the beginning, especially in the winter, I have to take gloves off to open and the cold corners are particularly lethal then. And finally, I really, really wish you could go back to the cardboard or another biodegradable replacement for the shrink wrap. Unloading the paks into drawers takes twice as long as it used to, especially the singles. I average two horses per drawer and it was so much easier to pull and drop the cardboard containers that held the paks plus still keep them separated. I found many ways to repurpose the cardboard boxes too. All that said, I still think you guys are awesome, from product selection to customer service :D!
A million thanks for thinking about our planet and recycling! My husband and I separate everything for recycling and we had felt bad that we couldn’t recycle the Smart Paks. Problem solved! Feel so much better about using the Smart Paks now!
Can we send the wells back to you to reuse? I like the idea of giving them to a school for children’s art. I’ll look into that.
I, too, have noticed the new paks are really hard to open. Especially as the weather gets colder, the glue seems to stick more and I pull and pull, and then suddenly it gives way supplements end up all over the place.
Question- are the foil covers recyclable? I have always put them in the trash assuming they are not.
Lastly, I have added horses lately and asked for new drawers; in each case, they arrived damaged, broken and almost unusable (duct tape to the rescue) because you pack them with no cushion. The corners get crushed in shipping and the drawers wont open. I had to trash more than one brand new one because they simply won’t open once they are cracked.
Well, that’s why it takes her longer to remove the seal from my SmartPak each day. I’m nagging that she hurry setting up my pellets and supplements and she tells me “to knock it off” and wait because she’s having trouble opening the SmartPak. She complains that the plastic containers/strips are harder to open because the plastic is limp and it is hard to pull the strip off. (“She” by the way is my indentured servant. Although “she” thinks she is in charge. Hah!)
She’s been recycling the sturdier plastic right along. So what’s the problem?!?!
I DON’T want to WAIT for my pellets!!! So, FIX THIS!!!
Signed,
BAILEY
Impatient Alpha Mare
I have known about SmartPak for years and finally became a customer about 3 weeks ago–I would not have changed over if these packets were not recyclable!
I’ve been reading about the difficulty long time customers have been having opening their packs.
Being new, I just found that I have the easiest go
If I hold the bottom of the pack with my left hand in the bottom of the bucket and pull with my right hand with the pull tab in the bottom of the grain bucket it all spills in as I pull the tab up.
Yes a bit of difficulty but I’ve been known to spill a scoop of vitamins taken out of a bucket too!
Thank you SmartPak for making these recyclable!
I will use some of these to sprout wheatgrass in for my chickens too!!
-Gina J
A long time user of SmartPaks. The change in the past year or so to the white plastic fiber crimped strip to hold 2 bundles of packets together instead of the brown heavy paper used formerly is so annoying. A scissors or knife is necessary to open the bundle, not always at hand to use.
I have had no difficulties with opening individual packets or with spills tho’ see where rounded corners on the container would make it easier to grasp the foil top. The recycling place I use says they cannot accept the foil tops because they are coated with the material used to print the label. That would be an area for improvement.
It’s funny that the comment about making the top peel off easier came up. I just talked with the ladies who feed at my barn and they said the same thing. They said they use to be able to pee easier but the newer ones are much harder. Just thought I’d let you know, you guys are awesome!
Here’s another vote for going back to the old adhesive, the one that made SmartPaks so easy, elegant, and painless to peel open. It could be argued that the ease of opening them was what made SmartPaks’ what it is today. Unlike the writer who said she’d stay with SmartPaks even though they were harder to open, I am losing patience with scattered supplements (and you may be sure that horses whose supplements are fed by someone other than their obsessive-compulsive owners are missing some of their doses). This is clearly a significant problem, all the more irritating since it is new and unnecessary, and SmartPak should stop hemming and hawing and FIX IT!