Study shows value of foodservice packaging as feedstock in compost production
The testing showed that foodservice packaging performed as well as wood and other traditional feedstocks.
Results of a 6-phase study confirmed that compostable foodservice packaging can be effectively used as a feedstock in commercial composting facilities. The testing, funded by the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI), Falls Church, Va., and the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), New York, showed that foodservice packaging performed as well as wood and other traditional feedstocks.
“While the compostable packaging industry believed that these items had value to composting operations beyond diversion of food waste, there was little data to support this,” says Rhodes Yepsen, executive director of BPI. “The goal of this study was to determine the impact a large volume of compostable foodservice items would have on the composting process, when compared to traditional compost inputs like yard trimmings, straw, wood shavings and grass.”