Compostable plastic can offer a sustainable alternative for conventional plastics, especially in single use packaging, bags and bio-waste bags – but only if it is disposed of in the correct manner, so that it lands in the right waste stream.
This, however, does not always happen, which means that not only are the compostability benefits lost, these materials also end up contaminating the recycling stream of other plastics – the reason many recyclers remain utterly opposed to their use.
Contamination from non-compostable products continues to be the biggest challenge facing composters accepting compostable products. This significantly impacts the growth of composting infrastructure designed to process food scraps and packaging together.
Now, Eco-products, a brand of US-based packaging and food services company Novolex, has launches a new product line designed to make it easier to differentiate between compostable and non-compostable products.
The new Veridian line contains over 50 items, including cold cups and lids, hot cups and lids, clamshells, deli containers, portion cups, salad bowls and cutlery. All items feature the word ‘compostable’, display the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) Certification Mark signifying that the material is compostable, and include green or brown identification elements like tinting and striping that further help distinguish them from their non-compostable counterparts.
The items are thus design to meet new labelling rules in the US states of Washington and Colorado. The laws require products to be certified with independent third-parties, like tbe BPI, and prohibit misleading terminology like “degradable”, “biodegradable”, and “decomposable”, effective July 1, 2024. Since January 1, they also prohibit the use of green tinting, striping, and symbols that indicate compostability.
“Consistent on-item labelling is essential to giving food service operators, their customers and composters the ability to quickly and easily identify products as compostable,” said Wendell Simonson, director of marketing at Eco-Products.
Source: sustainableplastics.com
