"compostable" news and stories

There's a new eco label coming out this spring to address products -- like water bottles and grocery bags -- made with bio-based ingredients (primarily corn), which decompose instead of requiring recycling: "USDA Certified Biobased Product."

Totally Green, for example, produces a corn-based water bottle that can be composted along with other food waste, and plans to use the label as soon as it is released, reports the Des Moines Register. Unfortunately, compostable chip bags never caught on thanks to their insanely loud crinkling, but these water bottles have no noise issues, so perhaps they'll have better luck.

Cotton and wool products won't apply because the program is intended to support the agricultural commodity market. That being corn, of course. Look for the label on anything from dish soap bottles to skin-care products. Will you make the switch?

Frito-Lay is dropping their 100% compostable Sun Chips snacks, not out of any concern over whether the bags actually decompose (they do, in an estimated 14 weeks), but because they're insanely loud. Apparently the crinkling is louder than the average potato chip bag -- as proven here -- and sales have dropped 11% since hitting shelves in January.

Video bloggers have taken to the airwaves with their complaints, among them a pilot who likened it to a jet cockpit mid-flight. Okay, we think that's a stretch, but it's true the bag is louder than most. Even so, has a loud pretzel or ruffled chip ever stopped us from snacking before?

Amy Epstein, managing director of the Americas at ABI marketing public relations, explains that a company's decision to go sustainable involves evaluating how much a consumer is willing to sacrifice for a green product. In this case, she says, if the average consumer were a bit more interested in sustainability, maybe they wouldn't mind the sound. Or maybe Frito-Lay should have tested it out more thoroughly during market research. Companies also have retailers pushing for sustainable products, which they believe is a growing market -- so "there's been a slight shift of focus away from the consumer," says Epstein.

ABI helps sustainable-packaging companies meet their market, so she does applaud the company for raising awareness. This move doesn't mean there won't be another compostable chip bag, just maybe one that isn't so loud.

Seattle is giving Portland, Ore., a run for its money when it comes to being the most eco-forward city in the Pacific Northwest.

With a ban on Styrofoam in restaurants and grocery stores going into effect on July 1, the city's Metropolitan Market chain and other businesses have come up with a clever packaging solution -- compostable meat trays made of corn, KPLU reported.

Made by Illinois-based Pactiv, the tan trays can be used for meat, fish and poultry and then tossed into the compost pile along with other food waste, the radio station reported.

Pactiv also makes Hefty products. The company launched its EarthChoice brand of nearly 80 sustainable packaging products including cups, hinged-lid containers, plates, and straws in May.

Fast-food restaurants get a ton of flak. For one thing, there's the food -- not-so-affectionately referred to as junk. However, the industry is increasingly criticized for creating actual garbage -- takeout requires disposable packaging, and that packaging tends to be disposed of in landfills. Where it sits. And sits. And, especially in the case of polystyrene containers, continues to sit -- for eons.

One notoriously progressive city is looking to change that. Beginning this July, all fast-food joints in Seattle will be required to use recyclable or compostable wrappers, containers, and cups, reports the Seattle PI. The Seattle City Council report was clear in its reasoning; according to the official statement, packaging waste creates "significant adverse impacts on the environment," and the cost associated with polystyrene products "creates burdens on the City's solid waste disposal system." Furthermore, the report states that Seattle is "a national leader among cities in greenhouse gas reduction and seeks to further that effort through waste reduction and increased recycling." All signs point to compostable, recyclable packaging.

At a recent outdoor wedding reception (the same one that served the faux meat), I found myself standing around talking and eating the ice cream cake that was dessert. A friend was stirring a cup of coffee with a disposable spoon and when she pulled it out of the cup she discovered that the spoon had started to melt in the heat of the liquid. It turns out that it was a compostable utensil made from corn. Good for the environment but not so good for hot beverages.

However, it looks like the newest biodegradable disposable cutlery out there might have withstood the heat a little bit better. Spudware is made from 80% potato starch and 20% soybean oil and takes but half a year (180 days) to break down. It's a little spendier than traditional plastic utensils, running $20 for a set of 50 forks, spoons and knives. If you're interested, you can get it here.

Via Josh Spear

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