Sustainable Packaging Toolkit
A comprehensive resource and guide to understanding sustainable packaging.
By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight. Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the ocean, a rate expected to double by 2030. Ravaging our human and planetary health, radical change can no longer wait.
As an industry of progressive thinkers using business as a force for good, it is absolutely critical that the natural products community takes action to drive change and rewrite the future of our plastics problem.
In an effort to make the complicated topic of sustainable packaging digestible and actionable, Informa Health and Nutrition’s portfolio of New Hope Network, Natural Products Insider, Food & Beverage Insider and Vitafoods Insights are partnering to produce the Sustainable Packaging Toolkit.
The Sustainable Packaging Toolkit is a consolidation of information and resources to empower stakeholders to be the catalysts for change. Throughout the course of 2020, digital content covering an array of topics across the packaging value chain will be published and broadcasted through Informa Health and Nutrition.
Composting 101
The 3 stages in the composting cycle
Stage 1
The case for
How composting works, where it ends up
and when compostable packaging makes sense
Stage 2
Stage 3
composting
Composting creates an ideal environment for microorganisms
to thrive -> speeding up the natural decay of food scraps
and other compostable materials
1
Compostable
Biodegradable
Any material that is compostable is biodegradable, however materials that are biodegradable are not necessarily compostable.
Where does it go?
The main end markets for compost are:
How can brands support these end markets?
Purchase compost
for onsite landscaping
Provide compost
to employees
Buy from farmers
who use compost
Why composting matters
It enhances nutrients in the soil, increasing
Compost has superpowers:
It protects the planet
Manufacturing compost, on a per-ton basis, employs:
Plant immunity
Crop yields
Nutrition of our food
Water holding capacity
It creates jobs
Produced as a part of the
Sustainable Packaging Toolkit
Landscapers
Nurseries
Residents
Public agencies
Agriculture
for food and
non-food crops
for industrial/commercial
properties, athletic fields,
landfill covers
for plant seedling
crops and reforestation
projects
for parks, recreational areas
and other pubic spaces
for home landscaping
and gardening
of mineral rich food material goes
into landfill each year in the U.S.
into landfills in the U.S.
could have been composted
60 billion+ lbs
51%
of trash going
Food scraps in landfills
generate methane -> up to
84x more potent than CO
But when food scraps are composted
and applied to the land, carbon is
sequestered, offsetting greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions
Food scraps in landfills
generate methane -> up to
84x more potent than CO
2
workers than landfills
workers than incinerators
2x more
4x more
Timelines
Environment
Materials
What to keep in mind when considering compostable packaging:
Certifications matter
1. Cornell University http://compost.css.cornell.edu/microorg.html.
Disintegration:
Biodegradation:
Non-toxicity:
Item must achieve
90% disintegration
in 90 days
Item must demonstrate
a 60% conversion to CO
within 180 days
Material doesn't
leave toxicity
in soil
2
compostable packaging, resins,
foodservice items and more
A coalition of forward-thinking brands who want their packaging to be recycled and composted and are empowering consumers
through smart packaging labels
How2Compost
and How2Recycle:
Check out the
for certified
BPI catalog
Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) is a third-party
certification program for compostable products and packaging
BPI certifies packaging in compliance with
for compostability to ensure:
ASTM International
standards
Produced as a part of the
Materials such as polylactic acid (PLA)
will only break down in commercial
compost facilities that provide optimal
conditions – in a home compost, these
materials won’t biodegrade
It’s important to consider whether or not
recyclable packaging will provide greater
overall environmental benefits in a
particular application
Not all compostable items will actually
break down as fully or quickly
as we need them to
Materials such as polylactic acid (PLA)
will only break down in commercial
compost facilities that provide optimal
conditions – in a home compost, these
materials won’t biodegrade
means a material can biologically decompose in a composting site within certain timelines and parameters. ASTM International sets these standards and BPI certifies* them
(see below).
Compostable
Materials such as polylactic acid (PLA)
will only break down in commercial
compost facilities that provide optimal
conditions – in a home compost, these
materials won’t biodegrade
is not tied to any set standards. Ultimately, everything biodegrades after enough time
has passed.
Biodegradable
Mesophilic microorganisms, or
microorganisms that thrive in temperatures
of 68 to 113°F, break down the biodegradable compounds, producing heat.
Mesophilic microorganisms are replaced
by thermophilic microorganisms (microorganisms that thrive in higher temperatures), which break down the
organic material into finer pieces.
The thermophilic microorganisms use up the available supply, and temperatures begin to drop enough for mesophilic microorganisms to resume control of the compost pile and finish breaking it down into usable humus.
Food waste is the single
largest component taking up
space inside U.S. landfills
Compostable packaging offers the
opportunity to divert large volumes
of food waste away from landfills
and into our compost systems
Compostable packaging offers the opportunity to divert large volumes of food waste away from landfills and into our compost systems