Our Packaging

Don't Throw It Away! Give Your Wool Packaging a Second Life

At Boerie, we believe good food deserves good packaging. When we send our South African favourites to customers across the UK, we want them to arrive in the best possible condition. That's why we use natural wool insulation to help keep our fresh meat chilled during transit. 

Once you've unpacked your order, separate the wool from its plastic liner. According to the packaging supplier, the wool can be composted, while the plastic liner can be recycled separately.

But did you know that the wool sheets in your delivery can have a useful life long after your order arrives?

Why do we use wool packaging?

Getting fresh meat safely from our hands to your doorstep is a priority. Our wool insulation helps maintain the temperature inside your parcel during its journey, working alongside our chilled packaging to help protect the quality of your order.

Wool is a natural, renewable material with excellent insulating properties. Rather than relying solely on conventional synthetic insulation, we use wool as a practical alternative that can also be reused in all sorts of ways.

And the best part? You don't necessarily have to throw it away once you've unpacked your boerewors, biltong or other favourites.

Five ways to reuse your wool insulation

1. Give your garden a helping hand

Wool can be useful around the garden. Try using suitable pieces to help insulate plant pots or protect the base of vulnerable plants from cold weather. It can also be used as a liner for pots and hanging baskets, helping to retain moisture.

2. Add it to your compost

If your wool insulation is suitable for composting, cut or tear it into smaller pieces and add it to your compost heap. Natural wool fibres break down over time and can contribute nutrients to the soil. Check the packaging material first and remove any plastic or other non-compostable layers.

3. Help protect plants in colder weather

Wool's insulating properties aren't just useful for deliveries. You may be able to reuse clean pieces to wrap plant pots or protect vulnerable roots from temperature fluctuations and light frost.

4. Keep it for your next outing

Save clean wool sheets for use as extra insulation around a picnic bag or cool box. They may help slow temperature changes, although they should never replace proper refrigeration or suitable ice packs when keeping food safely chilled.

5. Get creative

From craft projects to useful household insulation, there are plenty of possibilities for giving clean wool a second life. Keep a few pieces aside and see what you can come up with.

Small changes, less waste

We know that packaging is an important part of delivering fresh food safely. We also believe it's worth thinking about what happens to that packaging afterwards.

By choosing wool insulation and encouraging customers to reuse it where possible, we hope to make a little more use of a natural material before it reaches the end of its useful life.

So, next time your Boerie order arrives, don't be too quick to throw those wool sheets away. They might just come in handy!

Have you found a clever way to reuse your Boerie wool packaging? We'd love to hear your ideas. 

Taste South Africa. Waste a little less.