New Report Alert: “The Value of Compostable Packaging”
Posted by Eco-Products on Jun 20th 2017
We are so excited to see yet another report that adds to the growing collection of evidence demonstrating the vital role compostable foodservice packaging plays in keeping food out of landfills. Check out the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s most recent report, “The Value of Compostable Packaging”.
We couldn’t say it better ourselves: “By using a complete suite of compostable food serviceware, not only can contamination be mitigated as consumers are able to easily dispose of food and packaging together, but compostable packaging can help deliver maximum food scraps to compostables bins.” So, not only does compostable foodservice packaging make life easier for consumers, foodservice operators, and composters, it also helps collect more food scraps that can go to compost facilities rather than landfills. We’ve been saying this for years, and it’s nice to have even more stats to back us up.
The report included studies of waste diversion using compostable products at five very diverse locations: a Farmers Market, an Evening Concert, a large scale Full Day Festival (Farm Aid – which Eco-Products was proud to sponsor!), a Quick Service Restaurant, and a National Grocery Chain.
The Quick Takeaways:
Among all of the sites, the average diversion rate (amount of compostables and recyclables kept out of the landfill) was an impressive 86%. Amazing what using compostable packaging can do for your diversion
By using compostable packaging at Farm Aid, the festival organizers:
- Kept more than 19,000 pounds of food out of the landfill, preventing the release of the equivalent of more than 14,000 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.
- Increased food scraps collection by an incredible 122%!
The portfolio is getting crowded with solid evidence that compostable packaging is the present and the future for food serviceware. Be sure to reference the reports from ReFED and the New Plastics Economy for more great information, as well as this in-depth article from Biocycle. We look forward to even more great reports like this to come.
If you have any questions about the report or know of other locations that would want to be involved in a study like this, reach out to Eco-Products’ Sustainability Maven at sustainabilitymaven@ecoproducts.com.