We need to include compostable packaging in the definition of biowaste.
Consumer awareness and concern about mounting waste and its detrimental impact on the planet has never been higher. But with education comes action, and the global rejection of plastic on both consumer and corporate levels has enabled innovation to find an alternative to plastic that’s performs the same functions but is less environmentally damaging.
As is often the way with complex problems, the solutions have been around, albeit relatively unnoticed, for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence on the British Isles found that the inhabitants of prehistoric Scotland used compost to enrich soil with nutrients as far back as 12,000 years ago. Composting has today developed on an industrial scale, with the UK hosting 53 compost plants and 170 anaerobic digester plants that can treat over five million tonnes of green and food waste annually. But what if we could compost the packaging that contains our food in the same manner?