Compostable bags
Jenny Thornhill
The topic of packaging is not the most exhilarating one in our work here on the farm but it is an essential part of it. It is also one of the things that causes most frustration and head scratching. In the dairy, we are slowly but surely moving towards getting our yoghurts and cream out of plastic and into returnable glass containers like our milk. It is still a way off as it involves a complete overhaul of dairy production facilities but we feel we know the steps needed to get there.
The harder one to get right ( but easier to implement) is around the use of plastic bags for the perishable produce from the garden. We’ve experimented with more greens either loose or bunched but the freshness and appearance deteriorates very quickly and then we have food waste, never mind all the hard work that the garden team dedicate to producing fantastic fresh produce being wasted.
We need the bags to protect and preserve the produce. We previously tried some compostable bags for a while but they didn’t keep the produce fresh for long, became smelly and slimy and although compostable they required a hotter compost than a home compost heap to break down.
But we don’t give up as innovation constantly develops new ideas and materials. So we have been looking again (Kitty is our key researcher) and these are our options as we see them at the moment:
Our present bags are cheap and do the job brilliantly, but don’t compost. We can stock up and store them as they don’t have a use by date, therefore they are cost effective as we can buy in bulk.
Then there is the option of biodegradable bags. They are much more expensive, and it’s very important to note that despite the name, they are NOT compostable. Biodegradable bags are still made from polythene plastics like our current bags, however they are modified with an additive to make them breakdown in the presence of oxygen. There is some controversy over these bags as they do not perform quite as well as expected and still take several years to breakdown into plastic molecules small enough for bacteria and fungi to eat. They are, however, certainly better than unmodified plastic which could take thousands of years to decompose (if they even do), causing untold problems in the meantime.
Another option that has come about fairly recently is a bag made from a mixture of plant cellulose and bio-based polymers and these bags will compost on a home compost heap. There are now even some bags that will dissolve if you pour boiling water on them (if you’ve bought socks from Finisterre, then you know!) though this second variety can’t currently be used for fresh food.
The home compostable bags that meet the requirements we need for keeping fresh produce are made by one company, TIPA, who are based in Israel. They are used in the UK by Riverford Organics, Waitrose Duchy Organic, Natoora, Stella McCartney and many others. These large companies benefit from having great buying clout; they are able to buy large quantities of bags as they use so many and therefore have the advantage of lower shipping costs and favourable prices. But as with any bag that is designed to decompose, you cannot stockpile, and as a small producer who doesn’t use anywhere near the number of bags as these much bigger companies, the pricing so far is verging on prohibitive.
The real test is this – the cost is 10 times the cost of our present bag. So instead of spending £100 we would spend £1000. We intend to find a way of trialling these home-compostable bags, however this means we would have to add 15p to 20p to the current price so we could afford them. Our trial would be to offer salad bags in both our existing bag and the new bag, with the salad packed in the new bag costing 15p to 20p more.
In the past we have tried to encourage customers to reuse the plastic bags we pack our salads and greens in instead of taking a new paper bag, but this has never really taken off with the exception of a few. Why is this? Do we feel guilty being seen bringing in plastic bags, even to reuse them? I’ve never quite understood it. I have considered removing the paper bags completely as I think they are picked up without thinking, and that perhaps people even assume we want them to be used. Should I try it? What do you think? I don’t like guilt tripping anyone but maybe we need to make a point. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
