Composters, consumers and foodservice companies now have unprecedented detail — and confidence — in BPI Certified Compostable Products thanks to the industry’s first item-level online database of products.Funded by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), the new Compostable Products Catalog features more than 3,300 different compostable product SKUs (shelf keeping units), including food serviceware (cups, cutlery, plates and trays), resins and coatings, compostable bags and films.The catalog is believed to be the world’s first web-based catalog to offer searchable product-level information on compostable products, according to BPI.
Composters, consumers and foodservice companies now have unprecedented detail — and confidence — in BPI Certified Compostable Products thanks to the industry’s first item-level online database of products.
Funded by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), the new Compostable Products Catalog features more than 3,300 different compostable product SKUs (shelf keeping units), including food serviceware (cups, cutlery, plates and trays), resins and coatings, compostable bags and films.
The catalog is believed to be the world’s first web-based catalog to offer searchable product-level information on compostable products, according to BPI.
In addition to item-level product specifications, the website also gives buyers category-specific lists of more than 140 suppliers of compostable products with contact information, website links, email addresses and up-to-date product certification status.
According to Steven A. Mojo, BPI Executive Director, this enhanced level of detail helps build trust and greater acceptance of compostable products at all levels of the value chain.
“Compostable products substitute for non-degradable plastics in zero-waste diversion efforts, making it easier to compost waste streams that are predominantly food scraps or wet/soiled paper,” said Mojo. “The new BPI catalog provides accurate, item-level identification of these certified products: essential information composters need to demand that waste generators purchase and use only specific, BPI-approved products.”
*“*The new BPI catalog will be a real resource for my clients as they look to source compostable cutlery, foodservice items and bags,” stated Carla Castagnero, President of AgRecycle, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s largest composter.
Mojo agreed, claiming the new catalog will display product and vendor information by popular application categories, making ‘comparison shopping’ easy.
“With more than 63 application categories, there is a surprisingly large and diverse collection of compostable products available,” said Mojo. “The new catalog opens up more choices — and more suppliers — to help consumers and businesses replace plastics and make composting more efficient and lost costly than landfill disposal.”
The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) is a not-for-profit organization that certifies compostable materials to be safe for large-scale composting and then licenses companies to use the BPI Compostable Logo on products and marketing materials, helping consumers and composters make informed choices. It is the largest certification organization for compostable products in North America
Any materials or products meeting ASTM D6400 or D6868 test requirements, as performed in a BPI-approved laboratory, then certified by and independent authority, can become BPI Certified.
The BPI catalog is the latest resource helping to inform buyers about the proper disposal methods of various materials and preserve the integrity of waste streams. In March, GreenBlue announced the successful completion of the soft launch phase of its How2Recycle labeling system, and the addition of The Kellogg Company to the 11 other brands already using the label. The How2Recycle label is the only labeling system for packaging that gives explicit directions to consumers to influence their recycling behavior, and specifies when a package component is not recyclable.
Published Sep 30, 2013 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT / 8pm BST / 9pm CEST