Compostable, Biodegradable Update

BAGS, FOODSERVICE WARE, PACKAGING FILMS WHAT’S WHAT AND WHO’S WHO IN COMPOSTABLE PRODUCTS

Demand for sustainable packaging, established standards for compostability and biodegradability, and increasing number of organics diversion programs are driving demand for compostable products.

Nora Goldstein and Cristina Olivares

HESE are, without a doubt, excit- products over the next few years. “So many ing times for companies in the factors are influencing the direction of bio- compostable products industry — materials,” says Bob Findlen, Vice-Presi- from the manufacturers of resins dent of Sales and Marketing of the Natural to the distributors of the end prod- brand from Metabolix, Inc. ucts. After close to 20 years of “There is the concern around sustainability Tproduct and market development, a num- and the demand and activity that compa- ber of factors are converging to create de- nies like Wal-Mart are bringing to the mar- mand for compostable bags, foodservice ketplace. There is the biodegradability part ware, packaging films and containers. of the market to address issues like litter These include retailer demand for sustain- from traditional bags. Environmen- able packaging, rising cost of petrochemi- tal issues are another driving factor, e.g., cals, expansion of food residuals compost- carbon balance, along with the unsustain- ing and zero waste initiatives, and, most ability of our thirst for oil. All these things recently, passage of an ordinance in San are happening, all at the same time. But Francisco to ban large grocery stores and have we reached a critical mass? If that is pharmacies from giving out traditional defined as starting to have an effect on the plastic shopping bags, which is expected to use of petroleum, we are not there yet. But catch on in other communities. Added to compostable products are on the shelves to- those factors are the well-established cer- day and we do have sponsorship from major tification programs for resins and com- brand owners to use these materials. So we postable products, which have boosted reg- are definitely past the phase of not wanting ulatory and consumer confidence that the products perform as advertised. San Francisco’s ordinance to ban large grocery stores and pharmacies from giving While interviewing various resin and out traditional plastic shopping bags opens product manufacturers for this article, we up market opportunities for compostable asked if anyone was observing a “critical bags such as the one manufactured with mass” of interest and demand that will lead Novamont’s Mater-Bi resin (resin pellets in to rapid growth of the use of compostable bottom photo).

38 BIOCYCLE JULY 2007 to be the first to use the products.” Cortec markets its compostable Jeff Cole with Genpak — one of the ma- bags under the EcoWorks and jor foodservice supplier “brands” using EcoFilm brands. The company biodegradable and compostable resins for uses a corn-based resin its Harvest Collection line — also believes blended with . considerable progress has been made in the industry, but still sees challenges in the marketplace. “Genpak is one of the biggest providers of quality single use products in the industry,” he says. “I would guess that 40 to 50 percent of the inquiries we get via our website these days are related to our Harvest Collection line. People want to learn more about these products, e.g., what their properties are. But the key question to ask — despite this tremendous interest — is ‘If traditional plastics went away today, are alternatives ready to step in?’ The an- swer is no. There are not enough suppliers BioBag manufactures a full range of bags to fill that demand, but it is growing.” for food waste and yard trimmings The price gap between single-use items collection, as well as makes shopping bags that are compostable and those that are not for retail stores. An extruder in the BioBag is still significant, he adds. “Typically food- production facility is shown above. service operators want something that is

Table 1. Compostable bags only (all BPI 1 certified)

Resin(s) Company Brand Products Used

Al-Pack Al-Pack Retail food and yard waste Co- bags, shopping bags compostable resins

Alte-Rego Corp. Compost-A-Bag Retail bags, commercial n/a size food waste bags

BioBag USA BioBag Retail and commercial food Novamont’s Mater-Bi and yard waste bags, commercial shopping bags

BioBag Canada, Inc. BioBag Retail food and yard waste bags, Novamont’s Mater-Bi commercial food waste bags, commercial yard waste bags

Cortec EcoWorks, EcoFilm Commercial food waste bags, Corn-based resin with retail food waste bags in some polyesters markets, cyrogenic bags for commercial use

Farnell Packaging, Ltd. BioTrue 2, 30, 32, 45, 90 gallon bags BASF Ecoflex

Fortune Plastics Comp-Lete Bags for retail, commercial, Novamont’s Mater-Bi institutional use

Heritage Bag Co. BioTuf Bags for commercial, institutional, HB956 from industrial use Heritage Plastics, Inc.

Northern Technologies Natur-Tec Bags; films available to converters Proprietary blend

Plastics Solutions EcoSafe 6400 Commercial and retail food waste bags Proprietary blend Compostable Bags and bin liners, commercial and retail yard waste bags, specialty bags for trade shows, store use and packaging

Poly-America L.P. Husky Eco-Guard Full line of lawn and leaf Starch-based Lawn & Leaf and food waste bags resin

W. Ralston Bag and BioSak Compostable Kitchen curbside (incl. organics bin Novamont’s Mater-Bi Film Manufacturer Brown Bag liners), yard waste bags in various sizes for retail, ICI use 1BPI=Biodegradable Products Institute (www.bpiworld.org); all BPI-certified bags meet ASTM 6400 standard.

BIOCYCLE JULY 2007 39 functional but won’t drive up the price of their supplies. The charge for a hamburger with a bag of potato chips and a drink may There are a handful be $5. We want to be sure the packaging is of companies that not a significant portion of that $5 bill. The trick is to find customers willing to go the blend resin pellets extra step to have that zero waste ability — to bring in products that do what they are supposed to do, e.g., not melt, and then with other additives The Natur-Tec brand of lawn and leaf bags have the internal capability to capture that is made by Northern Technologies, which to give the end waste stream and bring it to a composting uses its proprietary blend of resins and facility that will take care of it.” additives. products the Cole sees two types of customers in this necessary particular market — one that has done all ed to go. By this point, the resins used to their homework and has figured out how to make biodegradable bags fell into two gen- properties. completely close the loop and not have it eral categories — natural and synthetic. cost them more, and the other that wants Stated the article, “Natural (or biopoly- to buy the Harvest line — with or without mers) are based largely on renewable re- the ability to close the loop — because it sources and include (PLA), makes them feel better about their pur- cellulosics and starches, and polyhdrox- chasing decisions. yalkanoates. Synthetic are made Frederic Sheer of Cereplast, which for- from petroleum-based feedstocks and in- mulates resins used to make a range of clude polyester and polyethylene polymers. compostable products, has been in the An example of a biodegradable, synthetic compostable and biodegradable plastics polymer is polycaprolactone, a thermoplas- industry for many years. He believes the tic polyester resin. Most biodegradable key factor to achieve a critical mass is to be plastic bags are made from a blend of natu- able to deliver a large quantity of resin ral and synthetic polymers.” This catego- with consistent quality at competitive pric- rization still holds true 12 years later. ing with traditional petroleum-based An ASTM (American Society for Testing resins. “At Cereplast, we primarily focus and Materials) standard had been updated on resins that can compete with their in 1994 (ASTM D-5488-94d) to establish petroleum counterparts,” he explains. “For terminology for compostable and example, we are focusing on injection biodegradable packaging. Eventually, the molding and resins that we ASTM standards were refined into the cur- offer at pricing as low as $0.65/lb. In terms rent and widely accepted specifications — of production, we have increased our ca- ASTM D6400 “Specifications for Com- pacity from 14 million pounds to 55 million postable Plastics” and ASTM D6868 “Spec- pounds in 2007, and we anticipate in- ification for Biodegradable Plastic Coat- creasing it again.” ings on Paper and other Compostable Substrates.” The test methods and specifi- A BIT ‘O HISTORY cations found in ASTM D6400 and D6868 BioCycle has been reporting on alterna- mimic what takes place in well-run munic- tives to traditional petroleum-based plas- ipal or commercial composting facilities. tics for about 20 years. In the late 1980s, as There are three key tests involved. All are growing numbers of municipalities began referenced in the ASTM D6400 and D6868 to roll out curbside collection and compost- standards. The first measures the ability of ing programs for yard trimmings, it quick- the product or material to be converted to ly became evident that plastic bags com- carbon dioxide by the organisms found in a peted with odors as Enemy #1 at the compost pile at an acceptable rate. The sec- composting sites. They became entwined in ond test measures the ability of the mate- the turning equipment and when shred- rials to fragment, so that products do not ded, were both a source of litter and an end clog the screening equipment or detract product contaminant. The early genera- from the value of the finished compost. The tions of “compostable” plastics were essen- third test measures the ability of the re- Farnell Packaging Ltd. uses tially a blend of polyethylene and starch sulting compost to support plant growth BASF’s EcoFlex resin to make and/or other additives. Questions and con- and insure that the product does not con- its line of BioTrue bags, which cerns arose about the biodegradability of tain high levels of regulated metals. range in size from 2- to 90- these products — primarily bags. A num- In 1999, the Biodegradable Products In- gallons. ber of companies came and went during stitute and the U.S. Composting Council this time period, and it soon was recognized established a certification program for that in order for this market to develop, compostable products. Today, the BPI web- standards had to be established to verify site (www.bpiworld.org) lists approved the biodegradability and compostability of products in four categories: Resins (10 ap- the resins and fibers and products being proved); Compostable bags (15 approved); marketed. Foodservice (7 approved); Packaging (4 ap- A November 1995 article in BioCycle, “Un- proved). “From a product certification per- raveling The Biodegradable Plastics Maze,” spective, manufacturers need to meet the provides a valuable snapshot of where the ASTM standard appropriate to the appli- industry had evolved to, and where it need- cation,” explains Steve Mojo, BPI’s Execu-

40 BIOCYCLE JULY 2007 tive Director. “ASTM D6400 is for products ing Association in the United Kingdom, that are made only of plastic, such as bags which operates a certification program and cutlery. ASTM D6868 is for products with the German certifier, Din Certco. that combine plastic with paper, cardboard, A number of composting facilities in the bagasse or some other fiber. We also use U.S. accept BPI-approved compostable D6868 to approve products that do not con- products (see BioCycle’s www.findacom- tain plastic at all, e.g., the Chinet brand, to poster .com). Cedar Grove Composting, ensure that they disintegrate and don’t con- based in Seattle, Washington, requires tain metals or other contaminants. Both that all products claiming compostability specifications have the same requirements be tested in its composting process prior to for disintegration, biodegradation, metals accepting that material in compost feed- and plant growth.” stocks (see “Biodegradable Plastics Make In Europe, the equivalent standard is Market Inroads,” May 2006). Cedar Grove EN 13432, the European Union standard uses the GORE cover composting system. for compostable and biodegradable packag- To date, only compostable bags have been ing. The United Kingdom adopted the stan- approved. Accepted brands include Al-Pak, based in Canada, dards as well (BS EN13432). There are a BioBag, Biosak, BioTuf, Cereplast, Comp- makes food, yard waste and number of certification bodies across the Lete, EcoFilm/EcoWorks and Marshall shopping bags. European Union, including The Compost- Plastic Film (all referenced in Table 1). To

Table 2. Compostable serviceware, films and bags

Resin(s)/ Company Brand Products 1 Raw Materials Certification 2

Biocorp, Inc. Biocorp Food serviceware, e.g., Biograde 300A; DIN-Certo plates, cups, deli containers, fibers; sugar cane for cutlery straws, cutlery

Biosphere Biosphere Various plates, trays, Starch-based BPI Industries, LLC bowls, and other dishes Biosphere's PPM100

Cereplast Nat-Ur Cups, cutlery, straws, Proprietary blend; ASTM 6400, food containers use NatureWorks PLA 6868; BPI

Earthcycle Earthcycle Fresh produce, nuts Palm fiber ASTM 6400, Packaging Ltd. packaging; plates, food trays 6868; BPI

Fabri-Kal Corp. Greenware Retail and commercial cups NatureWorks PLA BPI and lids for cold drinks

Genpak LLC The Harvest Plates, cups, and bowls, and a Cereplast ASTM 6400, Collection medium hinged container in both 6868; BPI one and three compartments

Huhtamaki Chinet, Serviceware, Chinet molded fiber plates, Recycled paper ASTM 6868; Strongholder bowls, platters, and school fibers and renewable BPI lunch trays; Serviceware resources molded fiber trays; Strong- holder cup carriers and trays

Innovia Films NatureFlex Films mainly used for Proprietary ASTM 6400; wrapping produce, etc blend BPI

Innoware, Inc. Return To Nature Thermoformed to-go containers Cereplast BPI

International Paper ecotainer Commercial hot cups and Modified NatureWorks ASTM 6400; food containers; developing PLA functionalized by EN 13432; cold cups and lids DaniMer Scientific BPI

Nature Friendly Nature Friendly Over 160 different types of table Tableware items are ASTM Products products, such as plates, cups, manufactured in China compliant 3 bowls, trays, carryout boxes, with sugar cane trash bags, cutlery (bagasse); Cutlery made w/version of PLA

Penley Corp Full Circle Cutlery 24-count cutlery Cereplast ASTM 6400; BPI 1Compostable products in Table 2 include foodserviceware, e.g., hot and cold cups, plates, cutlery; carryout (“to-go”) containers; and packaging films. Some companies also market compostable bags. 2Certification programs include Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), EN13432—European Union regulation for compostable and biodegradable packaging (also adopted by the UK as (BS) EN 13432), and DIN-Certco (German standard); 3Company states products meet ASTM D6400 and D6868. Company applying for BPI certification.

BIOCYCLE JULY 2007 41 be tested, compostable products need ings that are adhered to paperboard, to be BPI-certified or pass the ASTM which then is used to make compostable D6400 test. Foodservice ware and products such as cups and plates. An ac- other items can be tested in addition companying article in this special report, to bags (details on the testing proto- “Paper Company And Coffee Roaster cols can be found at www.cedar- Launch New Product,” describes a hot cup grove.com). manufactured by International Paper that uses a formulation that includes Na- WHAT’S WHAT, WHO’S WHO tureWorks PLA. All companies listed in the accom- Genpak is using Cereplast’s PLA-based panying tables were contacted for resin to make its Harvest Collection line. this article and “Cereplast has modified asked to review our resin so that it has ASTM D6868 the information provid- better thermal proper- is used to ed. Table 1 lists compa- ties,” explains Jeff Cole. approve nies marketing only “It can handle foods up compostable compostable bags. Not to 130°F, which is proba- products listed in the table are bly its biggest limitation that do not contain manufacturers of kraft for foodservice single use plastic at all, such as the Chinet paper bags still used by items. That is good but brand of foodservice items, some municipal pro- not the brass ring. Har- e.g., divided single use plates grams for yard trim- vest Collection is de- and drink holders. mings collection (e.g., signed for cold and warm Duro Bag, Resourcesful food applications only at Bag and Tag and Smur- this point. In general, I fit-Stone Container think all the resin sup- Corp.). Table 2 lists pliers are working fever- companies that make ishly to come up with other compostable better products for com- products; several com- panies like Genpak to panies in Table 2 also use. That is what the include bags in their product lines. The accompanying directory The Harvest includes contact information and websites Collection from for all the companies listed in the tables. Genpak is BASF with its EcoFlex resins, Nova- targeted to the mont, which makes the Mater-Bi resin, food service and NatureWorks PLA are the resin sup- industry. The pliers with the longest history in the mar- Cereplast PLA- ket. Metabolix, Inc. is expected to start based resin marketing its resin on a wide-scale basis used in the product line has by the end of 2008. In addition to the resin been modified manufacturers, there are a handful of to handle foods companies that blend the resin pellets up to 130°F. with other additives to give the end prod- ucts necessary properties. Blenders in- consumer wants — a product that works clude Cereplast and Heritage Plastic. The just like traditional plastics. They don’t “resins used” columns in Tables 1 and 2 want to lose anything.” indicate the resins and blends used to Novamont, which makes the Mater-Bi make the compostable products listed. A resin, is headquartered in Italy. The com- company such as Cereplast makes both pany’s primary market is compostable bags blends for other companies and its own that service source separated organics col- products. It takes one or more raw mate- lection programs in Europe. Organics recy- rials and extrudes them into new pellets cling is the market it also focuses on in that are used to make the finished prod- North America. “Bags make the process of ucts. Several companies make film coat- source separation in households and busi-

The Fabri-Kal Greenware cup made for cold drinks is shown in various stages of decomposition during composting — from left to right, Day 1, 35 and 50.

42 BIOCYCLE JULY 2007 Innovia Films introduced a metallized biodegradable film (left) for candy and snack manufacturers. Innovia’s 120 NVS film is used with Earthcycle Packaging Ltd.’s palm fiber trays to provide produce packaging for major retailers The Proof is in the LABEL! like Wal-Mart (below). The Biodegradable Products Institute awards this symbol only to items that meet stringent scientific standards and will biodegrade swiftly and safely in municipal or commercial facilities.Today, bags and nesses more acceptable,” says Tony Gioffre, who works food service items carrying this symbol are in use in in Novamont’s office in composting programs from San Francisco, Ridgefield, Connecticut. California to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia. “Bags address the yuck factor that people have when sepa- Each product is rating wet food waste.” •Tested in pre-approved third party laboratories Its market development strategy has been to find • Data is verified using independent scientists partners to work with to make the end products, such as BioBag in Canada and the U.S., as well as W. Ralston in Cana- Look for the growing list of approved products da. “We seek to identify partners that have Novamont’s vision, and manufacturers on the BPI website: which is to replace fossil fuels with renewables,” adds Gioffre. www.bpiworld.org “That has been the driving force of our company since it start- ed.” He believes that the key to building markets for com- postable products is having the proper infrastructure estab- lished to receive the products. “If communities have organics collection programs, then it makes sense to use the bags. If a company is making a compostable bottle, it is more likely it will end up at a recycled plastics processing facility versus a composting site, which can cause problems for the recycler. In- troducing products prematurely gets more forces against their proper development and distribution.”

PLANT-FIBER ORIGINS A fairly new company in the compostable products industry Searchable is Nature Friendly Products (NFP), based in Beachwood, Ohio. Database Started about a year ago, NFP sells about 160 different con- sumer products that include tableware, cold cups and straws, of Composting and bags. Cutlery is expected to be introduced fairly soon. Bill Biggar, Managing Partner, comes to the compostable products Facilities in the marketplace from the frozen food and foodservice industry. “I United States... spent 21 years with Nestle’s frozen and refrigerated foods divi- where you can find sion, and left seven years ago to form a consumer goods busi- sites to process organics, ness,” he says. “We learned about a company in China that was sources of compost and making foodservice products out of waste sugar cane fiber pulp blended soils, that is pressed into pulpboard. In turn, that is combined with plus more. hot water and made into a paste that is then put into molds to make products such as plates and bowls. Our Chinese partners sold these products mostly in Asia and Australia. We became the exclusive marketing rep for the manufacturer in North America.” NFP sells to foodservice distributors that supply colleges, uni- versities, hospitals, restaurants, etc. The products have met the ASTM D6868 standards, and the company is going through the certification process with the Biodegradable Products Institute, adds Biggar. “Our whole product line is designed to replace Sty- rofoam, plastics and coated paper that isn’t compostable. We have put our products through all the standardized testing and comply.” Bags sold by NFP use a polyester-based proprietary

BIOCYCLE JULY 2007 43 Nature Friendly ply because it is a renewable resource. The Products sells a compostable angle was only marginally in- full line of teresting. So we redid our label to now in- foodservice clude, ‘Renewable Resource, Backyard ware that is manufactured Compostable.’” from a fiber pulp made out WHAT’S NEXT? of waste sugar Demand is expected to continue to grow cane. for compostable products and the raw ma- terials from which they are made. “Right resin developed now we see more demand than we have by Northern product available,” says Glenn Johnston, Technologies, Global Regulatory Manager for Nature- Inc. The Natur- Works LLC, a stand-alone company owned Tec bags are by Cargill that manufactures a polylactide BPI-approved. polymer processed from plant sugars. Innovia Films manufactures NatureFlex, “There is a definite pull from the industry a line of biodegradable cellulose-based to drive more volume.” An article in the “From a product films derived from wood pulp and certified Wall Street Journal last April reported that to meet ASTM D6400 and EN13432 stan- Cargill’s $1 billion complex in Blair, Ne- certification dards for compostable packaging. The films braska employs 530 people and is “the are used in packaging of candy, bakery world’s biggest maker of renewable plas- perspective, goods, produce, household products and tics.” The Journal noted that production is manufacturers need personal care items. “Our films are stiffer nearly 150 million pounds annually. and more oriented than many biopolymers Companies interviewed for this article to meet the ASTM currently on the market, which makes anticipate that the start-up of Telles’ Natu- them ideal for use in standard flow-wrap ral Plastics resin production facility in Clin- standard and form-fill-seal equipment for confec- ton, Iowa in late 2008 will accelerate the tionery packaging,” says Macolm Cohn, ability to manufacture more compostable appropriate to the Market Manager-Americas, with the Na- products. Telles is a joint venture between ture Flex line. “They are glossy and trans- Metabolix, Inc., a bioscience company based application,” says parent and static-free, making them suit- in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Archer Steve Mojo of BPI. able for twist wrap applications.” He adds Daniels Midland (ADM), an agribusiness gi- taht the company introduced the first met- ant. The Iowa facility will start with capac- allized biodegradable film (it meets ASTM ity to produce 110 million pounds of Natural criteria) on the market, which can be used Plastics annually. Metabolix developed a by candy and snack manufacturers. “microbial fermentation platform” that ge- Innovia Films works with Earthcycle netically modified a “corn-eating strain of E. Packaging Ltd. in British Columbia to pro- coli to make the polymer, PHA,” ex- vide produce packaging for Wild Oats and plains the same Journal article. ADM will Wal-Mart. The company’s 120 NVS film is used to wrap produce in Earthcycle’s palm fiber trays. Both are BPI-approved. Earthcycle’s product line, which includes packaging for produce and nuts, plates and food trays, is manufactured in Malaysia at an integrated facility that includes a palm plantation, fiber and pulp production and final manufacturing of the packaging. The company is the exclusive North American distributor. Other major retailers using the palm fiber packaging include Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Safeway and Publix. Shannon Boase, President of Earthcy- Four companies listed in Table 2 offer cutlery cle, has learned quite a bit over the past (sample above) for the foodservice market, few years in terms of promoting composta- including zero waste special events. bility as part of the packaging’s attributes. “Initially, we felt that the key benefit to supply the corn using the Metabolix fer- our products was the ease, or as we say ‘re- mentation process. sponsible’ disposal of them,” she recalls. Telles is operating a pilot plant that is “We emphasized the compostable angle. producing 25,000 lbs/month of the raw ma- We had POP (point of purchase) stickers terial. It is used for product development that many of our clients applied to the purposes, and to work with customers on package, which read, ‘Earthcycle Packag- development of applications, says Bob ing: Backyard Compostable.’ Then we did Findlen of Metabolix. “Our strategy is to some focus group work with one of our work with brand owners who will put prod- large clients. The overwhelming response ucts and packaging made from these mate- from the consumer — aside from the fact rials on the shelves.” that they loved the look and feel of the There is consensus among companies in- product — was that they would buy it sim- volved in compostable plastic products —

44 BIOCYCLE JULY 2007 COMPOSTABLE BAGS, FOOD SERVICE WARE AND PACKAGING DIRECTORY

Al-Pack Cereplast, Inc. Genpak LLC Nature Friendly Products 180 Henri Dunant St. 3421 W. El Segundo Blvd. PO Box 727 24050 Commerce Park Moncton, NB E1E 1E6 Hawthorne, CA 90250 Glens Falls, NY 12801 Suite 101 Canada 310-676-5000 518-798-9511 Beachwood, OH 44122 506-852-4262 www.cereplast.com www.harvestcollection. 216-464-5490 ext. 105 www.mycompost.com genpak.com www.nfpco.com Cortec Corporation Alte-Rego Corporation 4119 White Bear Parkway Heritage Bag Co. Northern Technologies 36 Tidemore Ave. St. Paul, MN 55110 1648 Diplomat Dr. 4201 Woodland Road Toronto, ON M9W 5H4 800-426-7832 Carrollton, TX 75006 P.O. Box 69 Canada www.cortecvci.com 800-527-2247 Circle Pines, MN 55014 416-740-3397 www.heritage-bag.com 763-225-6600 www.alte-rego.com Earthcycle Packaging Ltd. www.ntic.com Suite 1100 –1166 Alberni St. Huhtamaki - Chinet BioBag Canada, Inc. Vancouver, BC V6E 3X3 608 Mathis Mill Rd. Penley Corporation #103-1687 W. Broadway Canada Albertville , AL 35950 West Paris, ME 04289 Vancouver, BC V6J 1X2 604-899-0928 256-894-1100 985-624-4003 Canada www.earthcycle.com www.us.huhtamaki.com www.thepenleycorp.com 604-876-5100 www.biobag.ca Fabri-Kal Corp. Innovia Films, Inc. Plastics Solutions, Inc. 600 Plastics Pl. 290 Interstate North Circle, 476 - 7231 120th St. BioBag/BioGroupUSA Kalamazoo, MI 49001 Suite 100 Delta, BC V4C 6P5 P.O. Box 369 800-888-5054 Atlanta, GA 30339 Canada Palm Harbor, FL 34682 www.f-k.com 770-970-8598 604-597-7063 727-789-1646 www.innoviafilms.com www.degradableplastics.com www.biobagusa.com Farnell Packaging Ltd. 30 Ilsley Ave. InnoWare, Inc. Poly-America L.P. Biocorp, Inc. Dartmouth, NS B3B 1L3 225 Peachtree St., 2000 West Marshall Dr. 15301 140th Ave. Canada Suite 400 Grand Prairie, TX 75051 Becker, MN 55308 902-468-9378 Atlanta, GA 30303 972-337-7585 866-348-8348 www.farnell.ns.ca 800-237-8270 www.poly-america.com www.biocorpaavc.com www.innowareinc.com Fortune Plastics, Inc. W. Ralston Canada Biosphere Industries LLC P. O. Box 637, Williams Ln. International Paper 455 Cote Vertu Rd. 1025 Cindy Ln. Old Saybrook, CT 06475 6400 Poplar Ave. Montreal, PQ H4N 1E8 Carpinteria, CA 93013 (860) 388-3426 Memphis, TN 38197 Canada 805-566-6563 www.fortuneplastics.com 901-419-9000 800-334-1567 www.biospherecorp.com www.internationalpaper.com www.cttgroup.com

Subscribe Get The Most Valuable Resource On Composting, Today and Organics Recycling & Renewable Energy Save!

YES, please enter my subscription to BioCycle, □ One Year (12 issues) $45 The Magazine For Advancing Composting, Organics A savings of $29 Recycling & Renewable Energy at the special □ Two Years (24 issues) $90 A savings of $30 introductory rate for the term checked on right. Canada and Foreign — please add $20 per year for postage; Checks payable to BioCycle in U.S. Funds only.

□ Payment enclosed □ Send Invoice Name □ Visa/Mastercard □ American Express Affiliation Card No. Expires Address Your Satisfaction Guaranteed: If you ever decide BioCycle isn’t helping you during the term of your subscription, we’ll mail your money back in full. City State 419 STATE AVENUE, EMMAUS, PA 18049 Zip Phone: (610) 967-4135 • Fax: (610) 967-1345 BC INTRO PDF0708 Subscribe online: http://www.biocycle.net or email [email protected]

BIOCYCLE JULY 2007 45 from the resin manufacturers to the major looked at differently and understood dif- brand foodservice suppliers — that con- ferently,” says Frederic Sheer of Cere- sumer education and a widespread com- plast. “This is a different message to pass Consumer posting infrastructure to process the end along and it is not easy. Another challenge education and a products are the keys to reaching a critical is to make sure that consumers and con- mass in the marketplace. “ verters understand what compostable widespread have a different reality than traditional means and why it is important to use Ⅵ composting petroleum-based plastics and need to be ASTM standards.” infrastructure are keys to reaching a critical mass in the marketplace.

Reprinted From: July, 2007

ADVANCING COMPOSTING, ORGANICS RECYCLING AND RENEWABLE ENERGY 419 State Avenue, Emmaus, PA 18049-3097 610-967-4135 • www.biocycle.net

46 BIOCYCLE JULY 2007