Why is Compostable Takeaway Food Packaging Better than Plastic?
Earth’s remarkable recycling strategy — biodegradation — has successfully kept our planet waste free for many millions of years.
But, in the past 70 years or so, the use of non-biodegradable plastic has exploded, resulting in enormous amounts of non-biodegradable waste, and escalating plastic pollution and health crises.
Does it make sense to use long-lasting single use plastic to package takeaway food? Nope. Not with the huge negative impacts — and the many biodegradable solutions available.
Here are our top reasons why — when packaging takeaway food — compostable solutions are better than plastic:
Compostable packaging is made from renewable, plant-based materials — this is true for all GREEN HOME products.
Plant-based materials avoid the drilling, fracking and mining for fossils fuels, and subsequent polluting refineries, that are required to make fossil fuel-based plastic packaging.
Compostable packaging is truly circular.
Plastic can only be recycled a finite number of times and is infrequently recycled more than once, if at all. Recycling delays, but doesn’t prevent plastics from becoming non-biodegradable waste.
Compostable materials can biodegrade into natural biomass and be assimilated by our planet — existing in a truly waste free loop.
Compostable packaging is less likely to contain harmful chemicals, being made from natural raw materials. Many plastics contain harmful additives, which can leach into food, people and environments and pose serious health risks across the plastic life cycle. These additives can accumulate with recycling.
Compostable packaging is biodegradable
— it can be organically recycled, like all life on our planet. Because it can work in harmony with Nature, it never needs to become waste.
Compostable packaging can be composted together with food waste. Takeaway packaging is used for food, and food waste and compostables are part of the same, organic / green, waste stream.
Non-compostable packaging get’s ‘contaminated’ with food waste. With compostables, there is no ‘contamination’ — food residues and food waste welcome!, and everything gets composted together.
Studies show that compostable packaging can increase the amount of food waste that is composted — which results in even less waste. Win, win!
With compostable food packaging, we can build a truly circular — and waste free — economy, recycling organic materials the way Nature has done for millions of years.