PETALUMA, Calif. — Petaluma Poultry is launching new tray-less packaging, which eliminates the Styrofoam tray in favor of freezer-safe leak resistant plastic for its all-natural Rocky The Range Chicken and Rosie Organic Chicken. The new packaging will reduce the company’s total packaging volume by 73%, said John Bogert, chief marketing officer of Coleman Natural Foods, parent company of Petaluma Poultry.

Beginning in early July, the company will phase in the new packaging starting with its most-popular cut, boneless skinless chicken breasts, which are available at many Whole Foods locations in California and at other natural retailer locations where the brand is sold. The new tray-less packaging can also be seen on the Coleman Organic brand of products in select Costco locations on the West Coast as well. This rollout began in mid June.

"Two-and-a-half million tons of non-recyclable chemical compounds found in Styrofoam end up in landfills each year; removing Styrofoam from our packaging results in 73% less volume of waste in the landfill and makes sense for our consumers, our retailers and the environment," Mr. Bogert said.

He added Petaluma Poultry’s tray-less packaging allows 25% more items to fit into a shipping box, thus reducing the amount of cardboard – and fuel required for transport – for a smaller carbon footprint.

"We have been practicing sustainable and environmentally sound farming practices for many years and are proud to introduce packaging that reflects our core principles as a company," Mr. Bogert said. "We look forward to phasing in more environmentally conscious packaging across both our Petaluma Poultry and Coleman Natural brands over the months ahead."