Compostable

On a mission to find a sustainable alternative and reduce the menace of plastic pollution, Kagzi Bottles, a company based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, has produced a 100 per cent compostable paper bottle, that claims to be the first-of-its-kind in India.

India generates 3.3 million metric tonnes of plastic waste annually, as per this 2018-19 report.

The idea to find an alternative to single-use plastic first took shape when Samiksha Ganeriwal, the founder of Kagzi Bottles, was working on a college project.

The Smilepack egg cartons are made with fiber recovered from recycled paper, which can be reused up to seven times. The cartons can be recycled in regular paper stream and they are home and industrially compostable. Smilepack is already in use in the U.S. by a prominent producer and distributor of free-range eggs, whose products are sold in retail stores across the country. It is estimated that by switching to fiber packaging, this company will eliminate around 4.6 million plastic egg cartons, or around 200 metric tons of plastic annually.

WestRock Company, a leading provider of differentiated paper and packaging solutions, has announced an expansion of its produce packaging offerings with the launch of its EverGrow™ Collection.

WestRock has achieved a proprietary approach for a produce packaging collection made using sustainably sourced wood fiber. WestRock EverGrow packaging is curbside recyclable when emptied and flattened, supporting the company’s ambition to reduce waste and build a 100 percent reusable, recyclable and compostable product portfolio.

The company delivers organic, whole food to California and the surrounding region. As they grew and developed, the team became concerned that their use of single-use plastic packaging was also unintentionally contributing to global plastic waste.

Food and food packaging materials make up almost half of all municipal solid waste, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).To avoid contributing to these statistics, Sun & Swell set out to find a better packaging alternative.

This patent-pending compostable lidding is the only BPI-certified lidding that works with new multi-prong technology found in the leading brand of single-serve brewing machines. C-P’s proprietary compostable lidding allows several prongs to puncture the coffee pod without tearing, allowing multiple streams of hot water to saturate coffee grounds—extracting more aroma and flavor.

This compostable lidding joins the C-P GreenStream™ portfolio of sustainable packaging solutions designed to minimize environmental impact.

"With plastics in the ocean playing a major role in the health of many fisheries around the world, we're taking the lead in bringing an alternative to poly bags to the market," says Grundéns CEO David Mellon. "Sustainability is a journey, and we are constantly striving to improve the environmental performance of our own products, packaging, and operations. This new compostable packaging will allow customers to drop it into their own home or municipal compost stream, confident they aren't adding plastic waste into the environment."

Biotre is a flexible packaging film made from renewable and compostable resources, such as wood and pulp. Available in a range of sizes, Biotre can reduce the amount of packaging in waste disposal because it breaks down naturally in a home composting environment. Biotre also preserves natural resources by reducing the use of fossil fuel and mineral resources.

Created for Irish farm potato business Meade Farm Group, the packaging has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The packaging is the result of close collaboration between the three companies over a period of two years.

It uses Mondi’s speciality kraft paper and biodegradable Sustainex coating, water-based ink and corn starch-based netting.

The bag is designed to maintain strength when handling while providing barrier properties to keep the produce fresh. It has so far been launched in Ireland, Poland, France and Germany.

According to the company, the flexible packaging industry is focused on addressing end-of-life issues, such as recyclability and composability. The adhesive holds the entire structure together and, to make the whole package compostable, the adhesive must also be compostable.

The new Flextra Evolution SF1000CP/XR2000CP is a 2K solventless adhesive that offers excellent design benefits, such as sound-dampening and adhesion to a variety of biodegradable film substrates from bar wrap to snack packaging.

Israel-based compostable packaging producer Tipa and shelf-life extension specialist from the Netherlands, PerfoTec, have partnered to offer fully compostable packaging that extends the shelf-life of fresh produce. 

The partnership comes as consumer demand for low-waste packaging continues to grow, and suppliers seek sustainable packaging solutions that don’t compromise produce quality.