FAQ’s

What materials are used in the manufacture of Hydropac products?

• The foam liners within the Insulated Shipping Systems are made of closed-cell, non-cross linked polyethylene; a material that is fully recyclable through your normal household recycled collections; almost indestructible, waterproof, wipe clean and totally reusable. Please check your local authority if they collect LDPE. If not, you can dispose LDPE at your local supermarket plastic bag collection points.
• Hydropac’s Thermal Postal Pockets are made entirely of LDPE materials and can also be recycled through your normal household recycled collections. Please check your local authority if they collect LDPE. If not, you can dispose LDPE at your local supermarket plastic bag collection points.
• Hydropac’s Ice Packs (gel and water) are made entirely of LDPE material which is completely recyclable through your normal household recycled collections, but don’t forget to empty the water contents down the drain or even water your plants with it – remember, our water is the purest there is, your plants will love it! The gel however cannot be disposed of down the sink, it will need to be disposed of in your general waste! Please check your local authority if they collect LDPE. If not, you can dispose LDPE at your local supermarket plastic bag collection points.
• Carry Home Bags – what can we say, these also totally recyclable through your household recycled collections.
• Reflective Air Bags – Unfortunately, despite being made of totally of recyclable materials, most recycling centres in the UK are not quite ready to separate the materials for recycling, but due to the very low weight ratio compared to other systems, the effective disposal costs are minimal.
• The Polystyrene Boxes/Systems (made from EPS) can be recycled at any one of the following recycling centres throughout the UK.

Which of Hydropac’s products can be reused?

All of Hydropac’s systems are totally reusable, just wipe them clean and use them again. Even the ice pack range can simply be re-frozen and reused.

How many times can Insulated Boxes be reused?

All of Hydropac’s systems can be reused time and time again; provided the structure remains intact, the thermal protection will remain as good as new.

If end-users are encouraged to recycle Hydropac’s systems up to 5 times, then our customers can save around 29% on their packaging costs – it means, of course, less business in the long term for Hydropac, but as part of its commitment to the environment, this is more than outweighed by creating valuable customer relationships.

Every single ice pack made at our inhouse facilities, whether that be gel or water, has to pass rigorous QC processes. These include a 3-stage filtration process, softening, chlorination and finally being treated with UV light.

Once this has happened, quality-controlled samples are sent from every single production run to an independent lab for microbiological testing. As such, a full cleanliness and safety certification is provided for every single order leaving the factory.

Hydropac water ice packs have even been granted accreditation as “safe to ingest” by an independent microbiologist.

Full certification for Hydropac water ice packs can be found here: https://hydropac.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FSATemperatureControlGuide.pdf

The single pocket ice packs (500g-1 Pocket) were introduced because the trend was moving towards low-cost ice packs, however, the multi-pocket ice packs work better and are more economical for larger boxes!

Why?…

If you have a box of food ready to post, ideally you should fill the footprint of this box with ice, add your foodstuffs and then fill the top layer with more ice packs. This helps to achieve even temperature coverage throughout the box and the food within. Covering all the area will ensure that the food maintains a constant temperature throughout, with no ‘hotspots’.

If you use the single pocket packs (500g-1 Pocket) you would need to use a considerable amount of them to cover the footprint that it becomes uneconomical, so a multi-pocket pack is the best choice to ensure the food is evenly chilled or frozen and importantly maintained throughout the journey.

At what temperature do the sheets/mats guarantee?

Ice sheets must be frozen to -18ºc in order to deliver optimum cooling performance during shipment. They are then guaranteed to keep produce below +8ºc during shipment as long as the correct numbers of ice sheets are used per Kg weight of produce.

How long do ice sheets stay at the required cooling temperature?

Ice sheets should not be removed from the freezer until you are ready to pack and seal your produce in an insulated box. Hydropac guarantee at least 24 hours cooling performance but can offer bespoke products to achieve in excess of 48+ hours where required.

How can I maximise the effectiveness of each sheet/mat/box?

To maximise the effectiveness of each product, Hydropac recommends that its customers:
1. Keep products at the lowest temperature before packaging, recommended, just above zero.
2. Wrap products in an insulating material such as “bubble wrap” to prevent Ice Sheets from freezing the produce.
3. Remove the ice sheets from the deep freeze (-18c) just before packing.
4. Place the ice sheets evenly across the top and bottom of the insulated box. If there is an odd number of ice sheets place the higher number at the bottom of the Insulated Box.
5. Add “dunnage” (e.g. bubble wrap, Void Fill) to prevent the products from moving around during transit. Do not use an excessively large box.
6. Once packed, ensure that the insulated box lid is fitted snugly and taped securely.