Compostable Food Packaging
Given the need for special safety and sanitation standards, developing eco friendly packaging solutions in the food and beverage industry can be challenging. Sierra’s chemists understand the growing trend for environmentally-conscious packaging, and have sourced a variety of materials and substrates to match FDA standards to create compostable food packaging.
The Standards for Compostability
Dictated by environmental controls including temperature and acidity, composting is a naturally occurring degradation process where materials are organically recycled into compost. For a packaging to be called “compostable,” it must meet two certified compostability standards – the ASTM D6400 and ASTM 6868. These standards were established by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) and ASTM to ensure that the products would truly degrade and have no negative implications on the composting, agriculture, or soil.
Benefits of Compostable Packaging
Making the shift to compostable food packaging illustrates your commitment to sustainability to your customers.
In America, 75% of the content of all active landfills is actually material that could have been recycled or composted. And in the restaurant industry in particular, between 50% and 70% of garbage, by weight, is compostable.
Because soiled compostable food packaging does not need to be cleaned in order to be processed, composting offers consumers an easier, simpler alternative to recycling. By providing compostable food packaging — including compostable food labels — and raising awareness of various composting opportunities, businesses can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decrease energy use, and save on overall material costs.
The Reliability of Paper Packaging
Virtually all paper materials, including paperboard, are compostable. When combined with compostable food-safe coatings, paper-based food packaging can significantly decrease landfill-bound waste.
Working with some of the most accomplished chemical companies in the nation, Sierra Coating Technologies qualified a number of FDA-approved, water-based coatings for packaging. Our company has experience producing compostable food packaging. To learn more about how to make your packaging environmentally friendly, contact our chemical experts.
