Devon organic veg company Riverford is warning against greenwash in new guide to ‘know before you throw’.
The plastic crisis is now well documented, and in response, companies are launching all kinds of ‘sustainable’ packaging alternatives, some greener than others.
To help people distinguish, organic veg box company Riverford has produced a brief ‘know before you throw’ guide to help people know the difference and how to dispose of each material.
The company has recently completed a switch to home compostable packaging on all its fruit and veg, a journey that took two years and extensive research into materials.
Because one of the issues with home compostable is its disposal, for those who can’t compost at home, Riverford will collect the packaging and compost it on the farm to fertilise the next season’s organic veg.
The new home compostable bags, used to keep leafy veg such as kale and salad hydrated, are made from a mixture of Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)-certified wood pulp, non-GM European corn, and sugar cane.
The home compostable nets, used on things like oranges, sprouts and onions, are made with beechwood from certified forests in central Europe, as a natural by-product of forest thinning: a process which improves the health of the remaining trees.
The company has recently completed a switch to home compostable packaging on all its fruit and veg, a journey that took two years and extensive research into materials.
Because one of the issues with home compostable is its disposal, for those who can’t compost at home, Riverford will collect the packaging and compost it on the farm to fertilise the next season’s organic veg.
The new home compostable bags, used to keep leafy veg such as kale and salad hydrated, are made from a mixture of Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)-certified wood pulp, non-GM European corn, and sugar cane.
The home compostable nets, used on things like oranges, sprouts and onions, are made with beechwood from certified forests in central Europe, as a natural by-product of forest thinning: a process which improves the health of the remaining trees.
“Some plastics labelled as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘compostable’ aren’t as good as they sound; as well as being non-recyclable, they require the very high temperatures of an industrial compost heap to break down,” says Riverford’s sustainability and ethics manager, Zac Goodall.
‘Home compostable’ describes how a material can be disposed of, not how it’s made. It will disintegrate into pieces smaller than 2mm within six months, and properly biodegrade (breaking down not into microplastics, but into carbon dioxide, water vapour and organic matter, just like a plant decomposing) within a year. It will break down like this even in low temperatures, such as your home compost heap.”
Know before you throw
The huge crisis in plastic pollution has led to a rise in green alternatives, but not all are as good as they seem. To help differentiate, Riverford has put together a guide to explain the differences: