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The Green Alliance, the environmental body, has developed a set of criteria to help "maximise the environmental benefits" of compostable packaging by improving the chances of it being composted.

Despite the great interest in biopolymers from retailers and brands, the body believes there is a lack of awareness of the problems they can cause for consumers, local authority collections and reprocessing plants.

Green Alliance policy officer Hannah Hislop said: "The benefits of using compostable packaging can be negated if it is not dealt with properly after use."

Hislop described the guidelines, to be launched on 28 November, as a commonsense approach to help assess whether compostable packaging is the appropriate option. They will look at different issues, such as the potential waste streams in which the packaging will end up.

But she admitted that the guidelines are a work in progress. "Government interest in anaerobic digestion, Wrap's food waste campaign and retailers seeking to divert from landfill, among others, mean the situation is changing all the time."

Last week, Innocent announced it had stopped using polylactic acid in its smoothies bottles because commercial composting was "not a mainstream option" in the UK.

The guidelines are being launched at the Design Council in central London. For details on attending, email hhislop@green-alliance.org.uk.

Click here for more information on the Green Alliance.