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Overcoming Consumer Confusion Around Compostable Packaging Disposal

A large portion of U.S. consumers have trouble identifying which bin to throw their compostable packaging in. What does it take to address this challenge?

Compostable packaging
A joint study between the Composting Consortium and the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) offers ‘first-of-its-kind,’ publicly available data on U.S. consumer perceptions of compostable packaging.

Over the last decade, the volume of compostable materials in the market has been steadily increasing, and the market for compostable packaging is poised to grow 17% annually between 2020 and 2027. That’s according to Closed Loop Partners’ Composting Consortium, which adds that despite this anticipated growth, there remains limited publicly available data on U.S. consumer perception of compostable packaging design and labeling.

Notes the consortium, “As the compostable packaging industry continues to innovate rapidly, we must find ways to simplify and standardize approaches to the design and marketing of these new materials. A recent study conducted by the Composting Consortium and the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) offers what it says is first-of-its-kind, publicly available data on U.S. consumer perceptions of compostable packaging.


   Watch this related video, “Compostable Packaging: Innovation and Growth Driven by Brands and Consumer Demand”

The insights in the report are based on the results of a pilot co-led with BPI to test how different approaches in design and labeling affect how consumers and end-users identify and perceive compostable product packaging. The goal was to identify those design and labeling techniques that best improve the diversion of food-contact compostable packaging to the correct material stream.

The report, “Unpacking Labeling and Design: U.S. Consumer Perception of Compostable Packaging,” yielded five key insights:

1. Look-alike packaging made of non-compostable materials can mislead consumers.

Look-alike products and packaging are non-compostable plastic materials that are virtually indistinguishable from their compostable counterparts. Green coloring and tinting, leaf icons, and labels such as “made from plants” are often used on both recyclable and compostable packaging. This causes significant confusion among consumers, which can lead to improper disposal of packaging at end of life given “made from plants” does not always mean packaging  is compostable. In fact, the study found that up to 50% of respondents said they would mistakenly place packaging labeled with “made from plants” in the composting bin.”

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