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Whole Foods moves to mineralized coating for deli boxes

The Rocky Mountain Region of grocer Whole Foods Market plans to introduce its 100% recycled paperboard deli boxes with a coating made from 40% calcium carbonate.

Pw 43481 Whole Foods Smart

Whole Foods Market’s Rocky Mountain Region is preparing to launch two sizes of paperboard deli containers with a new coating that replaces 100% polyethylene with one that combines PE and calcium carbonate, for a reduction in the use of plastics. Jim McConnell, store supplies and services specialist for the region, says that the use of Smart Planet Technologies’ clear EarthCoating™ is an “in-the-meantime solution” that will reduce Whole Foods’ use of PE while suppliers, including Smart Planet, work on developing a coating that can be certified compostable.

“What I really want is a compostable coating that can be third party-certified as such and third party-certified as non-GMO,” McConnell says. “It would be a real game changer in the industry.”

The Rocky Mountain Region, which includes five states (Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico, and Utah) and 28 stores, offers consumers two types of containers for use with its salad bar and hot food selections: a compostable wood fiber-based clamshell, and two sizes of the Bio-Plus Earth recycled paperboard containers from Fold-Pak. The 100% recycled-content Bio-Plus Earth® containers currently use a PE coating to provide leak-resistance and a grease barrier.

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