The Case for Standardized Labeling of Compostable Packaging
Savannah Seydel, VP of Sustainability / 10 Minute Read
Imagine you're on a cross-country road trip. You’re cruising through Georgia and cross the state line into Tennessee. You are at the front of growing traffic as you approach a stoplight ahead, and as you get closer, the light suddenly changes from green to...purple? You panic. There’s no one in front of you to guide the way, and it’s a busy intersection on all other sides. You slam on your brakes and feel the impact of someone rear-ending you. Car horns blare.
Thankfully, we don’t have to navigate this kind of chaos on American roadways due to clear standardized signage state-to-state. However, this is how we’re now feeling at any given waste station, where a lack of streamlined labeling across packaging has left consumers frustrated and communities managing broken, contaminated waste streams.
All roads begin with good intentions. The food service industry has been grappling with a stark reality: our linear, take-make-dispose model is not working. From soil degradation to overfilled landfills and plastic pollution, the consequences of the status quo are being seen everywhere.
And consumers demanded change. A 2022 report discovered that three in four Americans wanted companies to reduce single-use plastic, a statistic that was echoed globally. This fervor is even greater among younger generations, where over 80% will prioritize sustainable products and packaging. Legislators listened and cemented this momentum into bans on single-use plastic and expanded polystyrene across the country.
Thankfully, we don’t have to navigate this kind of chaos on American roadways due to clear standardized signage state-to-state. However, this is how we’re now feeling at any given waste station, where a lack of streamlined labeling across packaging has left consumers frustrated and communities managing broken, contaminated waste streams.
All roads begin with good intentions. The food service industry has been grappling with a stark reality: our linear, take-make-dispose model is not working. From soil degradation to overfilled landfills and plastic pollution, the consequences of the status quo are being seen everywhere.
And consumers demanded change. A 2022 report discovered that three in four Americans wanted companies to reduce single-use plastic, a statistic that was echoed globally. This fervor is even greater among younger generations, where over 80% will prioritize sustainable products and packaging. Legislators listened and cemented this momentum into bans on single-use plastic and expanded polystyrene across the country.
Among younger generations, 80% will prioritize sustainable products and packaging
As the packaging industry grappled to meet consumers’ urgency for plastic-free solutions, the sustainable packaging market has flooded to meet growing demand. “Environmental” marketing and terminology has begun to read like the nutrition label on processed foods: vague, confusing, or simply chemical. Think: “natural,” “eco-friendly,” “biodegradable,” or “oxo-biodegradable.” Even the most well-intentioned consumers are left swimming through a sea of language as they decipher what is truly compostable, recyclable, or waste going to a landfill.
In the sustainability world, this kind of marketing is called “greenwashing”: a term to describe deceptive marketing claims meant to mislead consumers and the public about an organization’s actual environmental performance. So where do we go from here? How do we solve both the plastic crisis and the need for more consumer confidence in packaging disposal?
Within the myriad solutions consumers now face, certified compostable packaging stands out as a vetted and verified sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastic that can help catalyze a regenerative and circular system. Made from plants, compostable packaging is designed to break down into nutrient-rich compost in commercial composting environments at its end of life alongside any remaining food and yard waste. This is critical as nearly 40% of food is currently wasted and sent to landfills in the U.S., leading to methane emissions and the exacerbation of climate impacts.
But the question remains – how do we know what from what? Without proper methods to distinguish compostable packaging from greenwashing alternatives, consumers are left to make guesses. And this guessing leads to contamination in the compost pile. And a lot of it.
In the sustainability world, this kind of marketing is called “greenwashing”: a term to describe deceptive marketing claims meant to mislead consumers and the public about an organization’s actual environmental performance. So where do we go from here? How do we solve both the plastic crisis and the need for more consumer confidence in packaging disposal?
Within the myriad solutions consumers now face, certified compostable packaging stands out as a vetted and verified sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastic that can help catalyze a regenerative and circular system. Made from plants, compostable packaging is designed to break down into nutrient-rich compost in commercial composting environments at its end of life alongside any remaining food and yard waste. This is critical as nearly 40% of food is currently wasted and sent to landfills in the U.S., leading to methane emissions and the exacerbation of climate impacts.
But the question remains – how do we know what from what? Without proper methods to distinguish compostable packaging from greenwashing alternatives, consumers are left to make guesses. And this guessing leads to contamination in the compost pile. And a lot of it.
4 out of 10 composters in the study found trace amounts of conventional flexible plastic in their finished compost
A recent report by Closed Loop Partners illuminated the true cost of contamination for today’s composters. On average, contamination represents over a quarter of composter operating costs, and conventional plastic remains the most common contaminant. It is so persistent that despite diligent efforts to combat contamination, 4 out of 10 composters in the study found trace amounts of conventional flexible plastic in their finished compost.
For compostable packaging to be successful in diverting food waste and packaging from landfills, third-party certification and clear, standardized labelling of packaging is necessary. Certification programs such as the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) provide clear guidelines for assessing the compostability of packaging materials, including criteria for biodegradation, disintegration, and the absence of harmful residues, additives and substances.
Clear visibility of this label also ensures that all stakeholders handling this packaging, from operators to consumers and composters, can readily identify and differentiate compostable packaging from greenwashing alternatives, and ensure its proper disposal and processing.
“Compostable products and packaging exist to help facilitate the diversion of food scraps from landfills,” explains Rhodes Yepsen, Executive Director of BPI, to the publication BioCycle, at the launch of their standardized labelling guidelines. “Unfortunately, the threat of contamination from ‘look alike’ non-compostable packaging has led some composters to discontinue accepting even certified compostable items.
The first step to managing this contamination is through consistent and clear labeling. These new guidelines set the standard for designing products that are readily and easily identifiable as compostable. A consistent identification strategy employed by product manufacturers and brand owners is a key driver in achieving differentiation and will assist in the acceptance of food scraps and compostable products on a larger scale.”
Third-party certification of compostable packaging is indispensable in upholding sustainability principles and fostering trust in sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. At the end of the day, clear, standardized labelling indicating verification by a trusted third-party for environmental marketing claims puts consumers back in the driver’s seat in our collective transition towards a regenerative, circular future.
For compostable packaging to be successful in diverting food waste and packaging from landfills, third-party certification and clear, standardized labelling of packaging is necessary. Certification programs such as the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) provide clear guidelines for assessing the compostability of packaging materials, including criteria for biodegradation, disintegration, and the absence of harmful residues, additives and substances.
Clear visibility of this label also ensures that all stakeholders handling this packaging, from operators to consumers and composters, can readily identify and differentiate compostable packaging from greenwashing alternatives, and ensure its proper disposal and processing.
“Compostable products and packaging exist to help facilitate the diversion of food scraps from landfills,” explains Rhodes Yepsen, Executive Director of BPI, to the publication BioCycle, at the launch of their standardized labelling guidelines. “Unfortunately, the threat of contamination from ‘look alike’ non-compostable packaging has led some composters to discontinue accepting even certified compostable items.
The first step to managing this contamination is through consistent and clear labeling. These new guidelines set the standard for designing products that are readily and easily identifiable as compostable. A consistent identification strategy employed by product manufacturers and brand owners is a key driver in achieving differentiation and will assist in the acceptance of food scraps and compostable products on a larger scale.”
Third-party certification of compostable packaging is indispensable in upholding sustainability principles and fostering trust in sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. At the end of the day, clear, standardized labelling indicating verification by a trusted third-party for environmental marketing claims puts consumers back in the driver’s seat in our collective transition towards a regenerative, circular future.
Author Profile
Savannah Seydel
VP of Sustainability, Better Earth
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Earth Pulse is an advocacy blog produced by Better Earth. It is intended to help inform and educate about the urgent issues around sustainability, the environment, and social justice, through posts from a variety of authors.
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