[USCC] SunChips bags on the way to compost

[Cary Oshins]

This story is in from USA today. I got it from Delaware OnLine
(http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090419/BUSINESS/904190338/1003) via
my Google News Service. If only we had enough composting facilities to take
the bags!

Cary Oshins

USCC

 

April 19, 2009

SunChips bags on the way to compost

Frito-Lay expects to have package ready in 2010

By CHARISSE JONES
USA Today 

NEW YORK -- Have a snack. Then feed the earth.

That's what chip munchers will be able to do when Frito-Lay introduces what
it said will be "the world's first compostable chip bag" by Earth Day 2010.

The snack maker is rolling out a media campaign this month touting that it
has taken the first step toward creating an environmentally friendly pouch
for SunChips, a multigrain product that is already associated with healthier
snacking.

"We're seeing a much greater concern about the planet by consumers," said
Gannon Jones, vice president of portfolio marketing for Frito-Lay North
America, a business unit of PepsiCo.

And Jones said that, "When it comes to the environment ... far and away,
consumers would say if there's one thing that you could improve, it would be
your packaging."

Supermarket shelves are currently being filled with new 10.5-ounce SunChips
bags with an outer layer made of plant-based polylactic acid (PLA).
Researchers now are focusing on making the inside of the pouches, including
the critical layer that keeps the chips crisp and fresh, eco-friendly as
well.

In a nation where "organic" and "fair trade" have become part of the
lexicon, packaging experts and environmental advocates say companies such as
Frito-Lay have realized the importance of showing they are helping to
preserve the environment, whether it's reducing the fuel used to make and
transport their products or altering the type of packaging that coffee, cold
cuts or conditioners come in.

A January report by The Hartman Group, a market researcher, found that
packaging was key for consumers who are concerned about the environment.

"It was almost like a marker or indicator as to how good or bad a company
may be," said Laurie Demeritt, the agency's president. "And in most cases,
when they thought about packaging [they asked], 'What can happen to it after
I get it home? Is it recyclable? Is it biodegradable?' "

Of the 1,600 people surveyed for the report, 75 percent said it was at least
somewhat important that packaging be recyclable, while 51 percent felt it
was at least somewhat important that it be compostable, meaning it breaks
down with the presence of oxygen and water.

While brands have used recycled paper for years to contain cereal, pasta and
other products, companies are increasingly taking additional steps to help
the environment, such as reducing the weight or amount of packaging.

Kraft, which has a goal to cut packaging by 150 million pounds by 2011,
shrank the amount of plastic used in each Kraft salad dressing bottle by 19
percent last year, a change that will save more than 3 million pounds
annually, said Roger Zellner, Kraft's director of sustainability for
research, development and quality. Kraft's Oscar Mayer Deli Creations cut
cardboard use 30 percent per package this year.

By fall, plastic half-liter Aquafina bottles will be 20 percent lighter,
said Bart Casabona, spokesman for PepsiCo North America Beverages. Casabona
said the weight per bottle has been cut from 24 grams in 2002 to 10.9 grams
now, saving 75 million pounds of plastic annually.

Frito-Lay is telling consumers that it is using renewable materials with a
print and online ad campaign that includes a Web video showing a SunChips
bag crumbling in the earth over 14 weeks, and an insert of a fully
compostable package in this week's People magazine, with directions to toss
the sample into an active compost bin.

"It's walking a technological tightrope because we're balancing the need to
have it break down with the need to have good shelf sustainability," said
Tony Knoerzer, Frito-Lay North America's vice president, packaging and
sustainability. "We need a significant amount of moisture protection for our
products because if they don't stay dry, they're not crisp."

 

 

____________________________________
Cary Oshins
Assistant Director of Programs
 <http://www.compostingcouncil.org/> US Composting Council

1010 North 13th St.

Allentown, PA 18102

phone: 484-547-1521

fax: 484-274-6779

 <mailto:cary at compostingcouncil.org> cary.oshins at compostingcouncil.org
USCC Main Office:

1 Comac Loop, Suite 14B1
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
phone: 631-737-4931
fax: 631-737-4939

 
Celebrate International Compost Awareness Week, May 3-9, 2009
For more details go to www.compostingcouncil.org/programs/icaw/

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