Proper Crisps Unveils Compostable Packaging

New Zealand-based chips brand Proper Crisps has unveiled two flavors featuring compostable packaging, writes Stuff. The new packaging is part of the company’s move towards zero waste and was made in New Zealand, by packaging company Convex. It is made from a blend of GMO-free corn sugars and wood pulp. The packaging of their other products is currently recyclable via the Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme.

When it is composted at home, the bag breaks down over six to twelve months, depending on composting conditions and the seasons, notes the report.

Convex Innovative Packaging’s managing director, Owen Embling, explained that normal chip bags were difficult, if not impossible to recycle. A normal chip bag is made from polyester and polypropylene, both of which are materials made from oil that will likely stay around for 500 years.

Embling went on to say Proper Crisps’ new packaging will allow customers to put in their home compost. The rate of composting will depend on the size of product going in there. If the customer breaks it up into smaller pieces using scissors, it will break up reasonably quickly.

Proper Crisps’ compostable packaging will likely break down in a landfill at the same rate as traditional organic material, which is very slowly. So it’s important for consumers to use their own composting facilities.

The introduction of home compostable packaging was a first New Zealand in the chip industry, and the first product of its kind, in the snack aisle in supermarkets across the country.