Closed Loop Partners forms Composting Consortium

The Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners, New York, has announced the launch of the Composting Consortium. The group's goal is to identify the best path forward to increase the recovery of compostable food packaging and drive toward circular outcomes.

According to a news release from Closed Loop, the consortium includes founding members PepsiCo and the NextGen Consortium. PepsiCo and the NextGen Consortium are joined by supporting partners Colgate-Palmolive, The Kraft Heinz Co., Mars Inc. and Target Corp. They are joined by the Biodegradable Products Institute and the U.S. Plastics Pact. 

“With current market forces and environmental challenges driving the growth of compostable packaging, there has never been a more critical time to collectively advance labeling, testing and infrastructure investments related to the recovery of compostable food packaging and food scraps,” says Kate Daly, managing director of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. 

Closed Loop says the demand for alternatives to traditional fossil fuel-based single-use plastic packaging is rising, and the market for compostable packaging is poised to grow 17 percent annually between 2020 and 2027. To meet the growth in compostable packaging, the Composting Consortium will work to advance composting infrastructure to fully recover the value of these materials.

The consortium will work across multiple workstreams to identify best practices for consumer understanding of compostable packaging labeling and collection. It will also work to establish when certain packaging applications are appropriate, collaborate on best practices in policymaking and build an investment roadmap for expanding composting infrastructure to recover compostable packaging and food scraps.

Consortium partners include the Compost Manufacturing Alliance, Foodservice Packaging Institute, Google, ReFED, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, TIPA Corp Ltd., University College London and World Wildlife Fund.