ABOUT OUR COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING

Our compostable packaging is primarily made from wood cellulose and other bio-resins.

Our Kraft pouches have an additional layer of paper on the outside.

Ask your composter if they accept compostable packaging. All of the materials used in our packaging meet ASTM D6400 or ASTM D6868 standards. This means that they are safe for composting and can compost in a timely manner.

Unfortunately, many composters have received non-compostable materials along with compostables. It can be expensive and time-consuming to sort through contaminated materials. As a result, some composters have decided to stop accepting compostable packaging altogether.

Don’t let that spoil your excitement about sustainable packaging! Our mission is to create mainstream access to composting - if your composter does not accept compostable packaging, please introduce them to the Compost Stewardship Institute. CSI can help your composter accept your packaging and invite them to participate in the Compost Stewardship Program. The Compost Stewardship Program collects and delivers approved compostable packaging to the composter in a way that is beneficial and profitable to them.

Our packaging is approved for all types of composting. However, each individual composter or facility has the right to refuse anything that goes into their system.

Composting is not trash disposal, each of the ingredients are input for compost creation. A bakery is not required to use every brand of chocolate chips for their cookie recipe, and a composter (be they home, municipal, or industrial) is not required to accept every type of compostable product.

Our packaging is safe for home composting.

There is not yet a home compost standard in the USA, however we encourage customers to include our products in their home compost. They will decompose in a reasonable time and are non-toxic, resulting in healthy compost to regenerate the soil.

The specific amount of time that will take depends greatly on the home compost site. The speed and efficacy are largely determined by factors such as local climate, season, carbon-nitrogen mix, and air circulation.

Our bags will break down in less than 89 days in an industrial composting facility. A home composting environment is slightly different. Decomposition in home compost may take up to 6 months due to differences in climate, temperature control, composition, and pile management.

All of the materials used in our packaging meet ASTM D6400, or ASTM D6868, standards. This means that they are safe for composting, and can compost in a timely manner.

Compostable packaging is not intended for recycling.

Plastics can only be recycled a limited number of times before they become unusable and we’re right back where we started - plastic waste. Our compostable packaging uses the natural decomposition process and is intended to create healthy compost.

Anything that ends up in the ocean will eventually be broken down, eaten by sea-life, or washed ashore. No matter what packaging is made from, it does not belong in the ocean.

Compostable packaging is not intended for disposal in the ocean, as litter, or in other non-composting environments. Because our packaging is made from primarily wood cellulose, it contains no toxins and will not produce microplastics.

Elevate Packaging uses the most innovative compostable packaging materials on the planet. This allows us to achieve the barrier and strength properties required to keep your products protected.

With that said, this isn’t petroleum plastic. There is some chance for aesthetic defects and tearing, and our materials are not waterproof. We are continually improving our materials, and have already made huge advances in functionality!

The properties that allow plastic packaging to protect a product almost indefinitely are the same properties that cause it to pollute the earth. Something used once or twice shouldn’t stick around for 1000 years. Like banana peel (nature’s packaging) compostable packaging returns to the soil once it has served its purpose.