Is Compostable Packaging the Next Big Thing for E-commerce?

The Better Packaging Co. / via Facebook
The Better Packaging Co. / via Facebook

As e-commerce continues to boom amid the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the excess of packaging and shipping materials used during the process is also surging.

The Better Packaging Co. is a New Zealand-based company focused on supplying sustainable e-commerce packaging. The company’s compostable shipping materials were created to help minimize the more than 2 billion tons of waste produced globally by e-commerce shipping every year.

The company’s compostable mailer is certified AS 5810 to completely biodegrade in a home composting or industrial composting environment within 180 days. The packages are non-toxic, free of microplastics and made from plants—providing a long-lasting, durable solution to this escalating environmental problem, the company stated. 

The details:

  • comPOST Packs are made from 100% biodegradable and compostable materials; corn starch, PLA (synthesized from corn) and PBAT (polybutyrate adipate terephthalate). PLA (polylactide) is a bio-based, biodegradable material made from renewable plant material (starches such as corn husks, rice straw and wheat straw).
  • This combination of materials reportedly represents a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to traditional plastics, is non-toxic and contains no phthalate or bisphenol A (BPA).
  • The inputs to the products are certified free of GMO material.
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