Eco-Products, a Novolex brand of foodservice packaging made from renewable and recycled resources, has entered into an agreement with Compost Manufacturing Alliance to test all compostable products. The new Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA) testing program will cover all of Eco-Products’, including compostable plates, cups, bowls, containers and utensils. CMA is a nationwide partnership of manufacturing facilities, which offers field disintegration testing for food service products.
The program, which offers access to the CMA composter approved logo, will validate and identify decomposition across different composting technologies. Eco-Products marketing director Sarah Martinez said: “With greater numbers of stadiums, restaurants and other venues seeking to increase their waste diversion by composting food scraps and packaging, it’s important to us that composters have confidence that our products perform in their compost operations.
“Whether the composter operates windrows, an aerated-static pile system or other technology, this specific CMA logo will demonstrate that our packaging is ‘composter approved’ to work in their operation. It is our hope that more composters will then see the value in accepting packaging as a feedstock, thus expanding access to commercial composting across the country.”
Eco-Products intends to focus more on accessing composting and waste diversion through sustainability-minded venues and backing the compost manufacturing industry.
Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) has already certified Eco-Products’ compostable foodservice packaging produced by using either plant-based plastic or fibers as compostable to achieve the applicable ASTM International standards for compostability.
Eco-Products note that it will use the CMA composter approved logo to detect which products passed CMA’s testing in various composting systems.
The new CMA program includes a technical review and field testing of compostable products when delivered to fully permitted industrial composting facilities. More than 500 products have already been tested under the program.
CMA managing director and principal Susan Thoman said: “It’s important for our partner and affiliated composter facilities to know which products will break down in their type of composting process.”