News

A logo denoting home-compostabilility could be rolled out nationwide as early as March, following some 18 months of work by the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC).

NNFCC technology transfer manager John Williams told Packaging News that retailers such as Sainsbury's and the Co-operative would be involved in a testing period for the logo at the start of next year, after the final version is signed off next month.

The organisation hopes to have the logo, which will include European Bioplastics' "seedling", ready to be rolled out nationwide at the end of March.

Williams said the situation in the UK, and Belgium, was different to most other countries in that there was a large home composting scheme.

"Most bioplastics will compost at home, but others, such as PLA, need industrial conditions," he said. "If we can clarify this to the consumer, it will make the waste streams a lot simpler."

Several supermarkets, including Asda, have decided not to use bioplastics due to concerns for disposal, and although Williams recognised there had initially been problems with the functionality of the materials, he defended their use in food packs.

He suggested that flexible films for fresh food products where there is a food waste disposal route would be an ideal use of bioplastics as that type of packaging is difficult to recycle.

"There no such thing as a bad material, just a bad application. There will be an increase in capacity and use of bioplastics over the next few years," he said.

The NNFCC has been working with organisations such as Wrap, the Green Alliance, the Association for Organics Recycling (formerly the Composting Association) and European Bioplastics to develop the logo.