Codes Of Conduct

Environmental concerns surrounding unrecycled plastic waste have prompted a rise in alternative ‘sustainable’ solutions which look and feel like traditional plastic but can be composted at end of life, helping to combat excess waste.

These solutions sound great in principle, but it far less straightforward in practice. In fact, many people in the industry are starting to recognize that improper use of compostable plastic packaging could do more harm than good.

A primary concern with compostable plastic is disposal. If a consumer incorrectly disposes of a compostable plastic container in a recycling bin, it can contaminate the recyclable waste around it.

This contamination may adversely affect waste recovery and recycling systems, which have evolved to manage common packaging materials.

Introducing new materials can be problematic. Indeed, existing MRFs (Materials Recovery Facilities) have been designed to segregate and handle materials that we value and materials that councils want to recycle—such as PET, aluminum, steel, glass and cardboard.

When new materials are introduced, there is no guarantee that they will flow as they need to, or they may inhibit the ability of the system to capture existing target materials.

Just a small amount of compostable material can contaminate standard plastic recycling streams—leading to the waste of vast quantities of recyclable material.

In light of these issues, leading global climate action group WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) recently published new guidance materials to help businesses make informed choices when considering the use of compostable packaging.

“Businesses need to be clear on when it is viable to use compostable plastics, given the complexities surrounding current treatment infrastructure,” says WRAP’s resource management specialist Helen Bird.

“It is critical that end markets for recycled plastics are not compromised; people need clear instructions not to place compostable plastics in the recycling bin.”

The key to the successful use of compostables is finding areas where collection and recycling of single-use plastics is problematic and where compostable materials could help to divert food waste from landfills.

For example, hard-to-recycle, heavily food-contaminated items do not currently have an ideal waste stream for disposal.

Such items can cause issues when placed in traditional recycling streams and can contribute to methane emissions caused by the anaerobic breakdown of residual food waste sent to landfill.

This latter point is key to any discussion surrounding compostables. With methane from landfill being a significant contributor to global GHG (greenhouse gas emissions), governments worldwide are committing themselves to the introduction of mandatory household food waste collection programs.

Some of the upcoming regulations include:

• European Directive (EU) 2018/851, mandating the introduction of separate collection of food waste as of January 1, 2024, within the European Union.
• The U.K. government’s Resources and Waste Strategy, which pledges the introduction of separate collections for household food waste in the U.K. by 2023.

As the scenarios below outline, these upcoming regulations present a considerable opportunity for compostable plastic packaging when used correctly:

1. HEAVILY SOILED POTS, TUBS, AND TRAYS.
One of the most cited scenarios where compostable packaging could come in useful is with food contact packaging, where the product is heavily contaminated by food waste and difficult for consumers to clean, such as microwavable ready-to-eat meal trays.

Instead, a compostable microwavable tray could be placed into a food waste bin in areas where industrial composting facilities exist or, depending on the material, into a home composter. Any leftover food within the tray would then become compost, rather than food waste sent to landfill.

This would also reduce the number of trays being sent to landfill and improve the quality of recyclables by keeping contaminated products out of recycling bins.

2. FLEXIBLE FOOD CONTACT PACKAGING.
Flexible plastic wrap is a popular feature in food and beverage applications in everything from single-serve condiment sachets to pre-packed, ready-made salads and convenience pouches.

However, these materials can be challenging and costly from a recycling perspective, as they can stick together and get tangled with other recyclables. Compostable plastics could have a role to play here—especially where products are contaminated with food, as in the case of single-serve sachets. In such a scenario, compostable packaging and any leftovers could be disposed of together in a food waste bin for collection and treatment.

3. ITEMS DESTINED FOR THE COMPOST PILE.
Certain items regularly end up in home compost, or organic waste collection, despite containing conventional, non-compostable plastic. Such items include tea bags, which many consumers incorrectly assume to be entirely compostable, and fruit and vegetable stickers that are often disposed alongside fruit and vegetable peelings.

In these instances, where conventional plastics regularly end up in organic waste, it makes sense to switch to compostable alternatives to improve the quality of the final compost.

Interestingly, WRAP highlights tea bags as one of the only areas where compostable plastic packaging should always be used in place of traditional plastics, because they are regularly placed within the organic waste collection.

Ensuring consumer awareness of correct disposal methods is of the utmost importance when considering the use of compostable plastic solutions. Manufacturers using compostable plastics should ensure that all items are clearly labeled to avoid the risk of compostable materials being disposed of inappropriately and contaminating the natural environment or conventional plastic recycling systems.

Considerations should bear in mind the differences in regional recycling systems. When using industrially compostable materials, for example, brands should advise how to dispose of an item in the absence of an industrial composting facility.

WRAP advises that manufacturers consider the introduction of special labeling to inform consumers how items should be disposed of, rather than using vague statements, such as ‘100-percent compostable,’ without disposal information.

Where on-pack space is at a premium, information could be included within a 2D code, such as a QR or Data Matrix code, to provide easily accessible information to consumers via a smartphone or tablet. The beauty of using a 2D code for such applications is that a brand is not limited in the amount of information it can provide.

Standards such as GS1 Digital Link could be utilized to identify a consumer’s location and provide personalized information based on their regional recycling capabilities—potentially even linking to the nearest available recycling point.

In addition, brands can use product coding and marking to assist in the identification of packaging types at recycling centers and allow for the removal of compostable material that has ended up in plastic recycling. Projects supporting such initiatives include Holy Grail 2.0, which utilizes digital watermarking for product identification.

There is no doubt that compostable materials are an exciting new development in the packaging market. However, as with any switch in materials, the use of compostable plastic packaging requires careful consideration. In addition, any brand considering a switch in packaging solutions should enlist responsible and experienced supply chain and manufacturing partners to minimize the risk of change.

All brands should partner with an experienced coding and marking provider who can support sustainability design with coding solutions for compostable plastics, advise on appropriate labeling choices, and help ensure products will be accepted by retailers, valued by consumers, and trusted by everyone with an environmental conscience.

Lee Metters is group business development director at product coding technologies group Domino Printing Sciences in Cambridge, U.K.