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At this year\u2019s Global Pouch Forum, Rodrigo Castaneda of TIPA Compostable Packaging and Jared Damman of WildKind Packaging presented a Converter\u2019s Perspective<\/strong> on \u201cConvenience and On-the-Go\u2014Why Compostable Packaging is the Solution.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly following their presentation, I sat down with Castaneda and Damman to get some additional insights on the advantages of compostable packaging.<\/p>\n Given the wide range of compostable packaging applications, I was curious as to why they chose \u201cconvenience and on-the-go\u201d as the focus of their presentation.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the harder-to-manage materials in the flexible packaging space. Regardless of how we tackle them, smaller formats are harder to sort in a MRF [Materials Recovery Facility],\u201d said Castaneda, who is VP & General Manager-North America at TIPA. \u201cMost of these materials that we\u2019re talking about are in direct food contact. Food contact in a package then creates contamination\u2014that contamination can hinder the recyclability of those materials.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the advantage of compostable packaging: Instead of being processed at a MRF, it can go where the food waste goes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you take a chip bag and you go for a hike and you have a snack at the top of the mountain \u2026 somehow, it might fall out of the bag,\u201d said Damman, who is VP of Packaging at WildKind. \u201cIf it\u2019s a traditional plastic, that\u2019s going to stay there until somebody picks it up. It\u2019s not an ideal composting situation either. However, there is a better chance that once it does get buried \u2026 it might break down on its own.\u201d<\/p>\n Castaneda clarified that he and Damman are not promoting littering. Still, certain situations highlight the advantages of compostability.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if you have the right waste bin to place that package or whatever is left over, some people are consuming these at the beach. Some people are consuming these in open spaces,\u201d Castaneda said. \u201cDo they have to really worry about where that\u2019s going to end up? It\u2019s less of a burden.\u201d<\/p>\n Check out the entire interview above<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n