Pat Reynolds reported in July 2020 that listening to the stakeholders behind this determined compostable tea bag effort is a vivid reminder of how many factors must be weighed before a compostable film can be commercialized.
It took about 10 years, and it wasn’t without a setback or two. But Oakland-based Numi Organic Tea now has an overwrap for individual tea bags that is ASTM D6868-substantiated as compostable in commercial composting facilities. Developed by sustainable packaging company Elk Packaging , the three-layer adhesive lamination consists of, from the outside in, paper/cellophane/polylactic acid. The cellophane layer is Futamura’s Natureflex cellophane, a clear cast film made in Futamura’s plant in the UK of renewable wood pulp from managed plantations. According to Jake Hebert, Senior Manager of Sales and Marketing at Futamura...
