Consumers are ready for compostable packaging and labels; they’re just waiting for companies to supply them. A “first-of-its-kind consumer behaviour trial” which involved households receiving groceries in packaging clearly labelled as compostable has reported a fivefold increase in consumers disposing of it in food waste bins. The experiment – led by Ocado, Recoup and Compostable Coalition UK – saw 120 households in Medway, Kent receive grocery boxes with goods in both compostable and plastic packaging.
The participants were informed they could dispose of compostable packaging in their food and garden waste bin, and any compostable packaging was marked with newly developed labels by environmental charity Hubbub, with input from the not for profit on-pack recycling label scheme OPRL. Households also received educational resources designed by Hubbub, with insight from behavioural scientists at the University of Sheffield, which encouraged residents to check packaging labels, use their food waste bin, and explained the composting process.
As well as the increase in consumers disposing of the compostable packaging in food waste bins, the trial saw the amount of food discarded in food waste bins increase by 23%, while contamination levels in food and garden waste bins dropped on average from 9% to just 3% by the end of the trial.
“Compostable packaging offers a new way to achieve circularity for some of the most challenging hard-to-recycle plastics,” said Julia Schifter, VP of strategy analysis of packaging supplier TIPA and co-founder of Compostable Coalition UK. “Yet, the proper collection and treatment of compostables is key to achieving a full circularity for these products. The results of our study clearly prove that once consumers are provided with a label that positively instructs them where to discard such packages, their ability to behave accordingly increased dramatically.” “Moreover, it also increased their overall disposal of food waste in the food waste bin while significantly reducing contamination,” she added.
Items involved in the trial included confectionery, snack food, fresh produce, teabags, coffee pods, and shopping bags from retailers and brands including Co-op, Ocado, Lipton Teas and Infusions. The Compostable Coalition UK advocates for greater use of compostable packaging and has targeted three types of widely used plastic packaging which are all considered ‘hard to recycle’ and have negligible or no recycling venues in the UK or worldwide; namely consumer flexible packaging (such as crisp bags and fresh produce bags), small format (such as coffee pods and teabags), and single-use serviceware. It also seeks to demonstrate the “practicality of effectively collecting, sorting and recycling compostable packaging via existing UK infrastructure”.
The disposal of compostable packaging in the food and garden waste bin is not currently mandatory nationally, and advice varies between local authorities. Whilst compostable packaging is designed to be collected and treated along with food and other bio-waste in industrial composters, only 51% of councils in the UK offer food waste collections, and 17% offer a co-mingled food and garden waste collection. However, many do not include compostable packaging as a target material due to contamination and processing concerns.
“This trial reinforces the message that providing consumers with clear, visible labels can have a positive impact on both participation and contamination. The findings of the pilot back up OPRL’s own consumer research, which shows that consumers look for information on recycling at the point of disposal,” said Alice Harlock, director of technical and member services at OPRL. “In our survey, the majority – 54% – also reported the greatest barrier to recycling was confusion over whether items were recyclable. So we can be confident that tackling confusion with clear labels and instructions will help to drive greater volumes of material for recycling,” she added.
The trial’s findings will be used to inform Defra’s new Simpler Recycling reforms, which mandates the collection of food waste from all households across England by 2026. “We were delighted to participate in this trial which has delivered such positive results. Ocado remains committed to continued collaboration with the industry to determine the role compostable packaging can play in the circular economy, especially when supported by an effective collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure,” said Laura Fernandez, senior packaging and sustainability manager at Ocado Retail.
Alongside the Medway experiment, Compostable Coalition UK also undertook a composting trial at Envar, one of the largest composting sites in the UK. The work saw 13 tonnes of compostable items including coffee pods, tea bags, fresh produce packaging, twist wraps, snack food packaging and single use serviceware tested for their effectiveness to biodegrade under the normal operating conditions of an industrial composting site. Results showed those products supplied in their ready-to-use state biodegraded successfully, with the finished compost passing PAS100 certification, the high-quality standard for compost in the UK.
Produce stickers
Hamburg-based Dole Europe GmbH (not to be confused with Dole Europe BV, based in the Netherlands) has added a new type of home-compostable sticker to the bananas it sells in northern Europe. The trademarked Sinclair EcoLabel Home fruit labels represent a major step forward for the company, which describes them as “Innovative, sustainable, and intelligent”. Certified for use with all fruit and vegetables, the stickers are made of partially bio-based and plastic-free materials, which means they can be disposed of in a home compost, where they disintegrate and become part of usable compost material. The exact time it takes for them to degrade into usable compost depends on factors including storage method and temperature.
The move is one of Dole’s latest efforts to establish environmentally friendly packaging solutions. “This is a major benefit for Dole customers, who can simply put Dole banana peels and stickers on their home compost heaps and know they are helping the environment,” says a spokesperson.
Dole recently launched a new sustainability section on its blog where it shares advice on how to make everyday life more sustainable. The site includes helpful tips on sustainable gardening methods, avoiding food waste, and social engagement. Dole says it is also committed to environmental compatibility, and conserving resources in its source countries and when transporting fruit.
Sustainable banana labels
As a leading manufacturer of food-safe fruit and vegetable labels, Sinclair has a reputation for excellent quality and has recently sought to develop new, compostable versions of its fruit label products. The Dole banana stickers are home compostable. They comply with France’s own home composting standard NF T 51-800 and, as a result, the terms of Law 2020-105, Article 80. In addition, the label’s finished construction is certified as home compostable under the OK Compost Home scheme run by Austria’s Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV). When it comes to fruit stickers, compostable means products decompose safely into usable compost, without adverse impact on the environment.
US Compostable product labelling guidelines
The US Composting Council (USCC), Raleigh, North Carolina, and New York City-based Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) have released a set of guiding principles to inform model legislation for labelling compostable products. The principles were developed after months of consensus-building by a task force comprised of both organisations’ members, including compostable product-makers, certifiers, municipal leaders, allied members of USCC and compost manufacturers.
Task force members agreed that products should be labelled with distinguishing elements including tinting and striping and the use of certification logos, while non-compostable items should be prohibited from using identical labelling and misleading terminology. Additionally, all compostable items should be defined by required lab testing, and their manufacturers should be encouraged to consider field testing.
“The Compostable Labeling Task Force debated how best to communicate to policymakers the challenges involved in ensuring compostable products make it to compost manufacturers, are easily identifiable and break down in compost facilities,” USCC Executive Director Frank Franciosi says. “Having representative voices at the table ensured that the principles reflect the real-world conditions and the business choices facing compost manufacturers. We hope product manufacturers, brands and regulators will quickly and voluntarily adopt these principles.”
While the few existing labelling bills include requirements for third-party certification or testing to current ASTM testing standards, additional principles include:
- limiting compostability claims to products that touch, contain or carry food products, scraps or other organic material accepted by compost manufacturers;
- prohibiting misleading or unsubstantiated terms, such as “biodegradable,” “degradable,” “decomposable;”
- recommending field testing to ensure compatible facility conditions;
- requiring compostable products, such as produce and food collection bags and other food service ware to be labelled “compostable,” carry a certification mark, and (product depending) distinguish themselves with a green, brown or beige colour, tint, or quarter-inch stripe;
- prohibiting non-compostable food packaging and food service ware from using identical compostable colours, labeling or marks;
- restricting degradation claims to specific, intended environments (i.e., compost, agricultural soil); and
- exempting compostable products from using resin identification codes to reduce consumer confusion.
“With interest in both composting and compostable products increasing across the United States, we are excited to partner with USCC on co-branded labelling principles that will guide policies to combat contamination from conventional packaging and boost confidence in accepting certified compostable products,” BPI Executive Director Rhodes Yepsen says. “Policies around compost infrastructure and compostable product labelling vary greatly from state to state, and consistent requirements are needed for both producers and receivers of compostable products to be successful.”
USCC and BPI plan to distribute the principles and the model bill that will follow through webinars, meetings and presentations to legislators, legislative staff, regulators and industry and environmental advocacy groups. Other advocates are welcome to use them, as well. The principles are meant to inspire legislation that will create uniformity across states or national legislation to standardise labelling.
“The concepts in these guidelines began in Washington state where we worked years ago to begin addressing this issue in legislation,” says Susan Thoman, managing director of Compost Manufacturing Alliance, a task force member and a national field testing certification organisation. “Having these adopted in a number of states or nationally would be a game-changer for compost manufacturers.”
The EU
UPM Specialty Papers now offers a compostable solution for paper-based food stickers. UPM LabelCoatTM and UPM LabelCoatTM Prime label face papers are certified as both industrially (EN13432:2000) and home compostable (NFT51-800:2015), helping customers and brand owners meet EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation proposal (PPWR) requirements.
PPWR aims to ensure that all packaging in the EU must be reusable or recyclable by 2030. It also sets out the requirements that sticky labels attached to fruits and vegetables need to be compostable in industrially controlled conditions. “We are happy to provide a compostable solution, which helps our customers to meet this regulatory change as well as their sustainability targets,” says Juhani Ylikoski, Sales Director at UPM Specialty Papers. In addition to fruit stickers, UPM LabelCoat TM and UPM LabelCoatTM Prime can be used for a variety of other pressure-sensitive labelling applications.
A wide range of UPM Specialty Papers’ label papers have been certified as industrially and home compostable, helping brand owners and label converters meet their target of prioritising materials with a sustainable end of life. The preferred end of life for any paper is to be recycled as fibres. However, compostability is an area that sets fibre-based and fossil-based materials apart. While it is estimated that fossil-based materials take hundreds of years to decompose, the industrial compostability standard requires that material disintegrates into soil in less than 12 weeks.
The compostability certification ensures that the labelling materials, given the right conditions, break down into compost suitable for plant growth. “Compostability certification also sets the bar high for ensuring the non-ecotoxicity of the material. Therefore, the certification affirms our commitment to product safety and approach to sustainable product design,” states Susanna Hyrkäs, Senior Manager, Sustainability, UPM Specialty Papers. UPM has set ambitious responsibility targets for 2030, such as promoting a circular economy and sustainable product design. Recyclability and compostability are part of the solution by ensuring a sustainable product end of life. UPM Specialty Paper also offers a range of compostable packaging papers.