Frequently Asked Questions

Compostable food packaging is best used in a closed-loop system where the packaging can be captured and disposed of appropriately, often along with food waste. There are many benefits to composting packaging and processing food waste and packaging together. These include:

• Playing a role in the circular economy
• Producing CO₂, water and biomass to support soil regeneration and food security by returning packaging and food materials and nutrients to the earth
• Reducing food waste contamination in standard recycling facilities, as the mix of food and packaging is not a problem for composting facilities
• Providing sites with the opportunity to apply their composted packaging and food from an on-site bioprocessor directly to land or as a feedstock for biogas boilers
• Diverting food waste and packaging from landfill

The food packaging industry in the UK has long stopped using the term ‘biodegradable’ as this term does not specify how long the process will take and what packaging will degrade into. Instead, the industry considers whether a product can be composted.

Our products are designed with circular economy principles in mind. We focus on designing our products for recyclability and compostability to improve the circularity of our products and we are constantly innovating as recycling guidelines and legislation evolve.

Compostable packaging, as part of the right closed-loop solution, can provide an excellent feedstock for anaerobic digestion and other composting facilities, including on-site bioprocessors to be used in forestry and agriculture, gardening, or as a source for biofuel burners.

Unrecyclable products are not circular. Even with circular economy principles in mind, we sometimes choose to make trade-offs to tackle other environmental issues, such as preventing food waste which has a higher carbon impact than packaging. Our modified atmosphere packaging can be harder to recycle, depending on the jurisdiction, but extends food shelf-life by over 10 days.

We offer food packaging machinery and tooling to seal our packaging. This includes our heat seal packaging range and our Modified Atmosphere Packaging (M.A.P.) range.

See our food packaging machinery range

We offer specifically designed heat sealed packaging, with integrated lids across several of our product categories including sandwich packaging and chilled food-to-go.

We also offer options to film seal ranges such as microwave soup pots, Multi-Food Pots, Stagione^®, and bespoke packaging solutions.

Our short shelf-life packaging is suitable for same day consumption. Our longer and extended shelf-life products help to preserve food contents for several days, depending on food contents.

To order samples to test our packaging with your food product, please contact our sales team.

Contact us

Unless otherwise stated, our recyclability assessments refer to the entire product. Where a window or a separable part (e.g. lid) should be removed, guidelines are given.

The recyclability information that we provide online and, in our literature, currently relates to UK On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) recycling guidelines. Recyclability assessments according to the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) are available, following the implementation of Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility in the UK.

Information on sustainability guidelines for other countries is available for each of our products. For specific country information, please see relevant country sustainability information or contact your account manager.

Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is the process of altering the genes to produce plants, animals, and micro-organisms with specific qualities. We reference non-GMO in relation to the PLA film used in our products, which is manufactured using lactic acid produced from non-GMO sugarcane. Our customers prefer products produced from non-GMO raw materials.