Compostable produce sticker standard the topic of global meeting
Fresh produce industry leaders to meet with compost organizations to set international standard for compostable produce stickers on October 1st, 2024
Price Look Up (PLU) stickers were created to accurately identify fresh produce for traceability, inventory control, and pricing, but they are predominantly non-compostable. Currently, a significant portion of discarded PLU stickers accompany fresh produce waste that is being sent for organics recycling. These stickers end up contaminating the organics recycling process, adversely impacting the finished compost's quality and value.
A worldwide initiative between two industries
Recognizing this impact, the fresh produce industry has identified the need to develop and adopt certified compostable PLUs. This topic will be centre stage in a first-ever, worldwide meeting between the fresh produce industry and compost organizations in Niagara Falls, Canada, on October 1st, with the objective of establishing a global compostable standard for PLUs.
"Moving to a certified compostable format for PLUs is a priority for organics recycling facilities," says Susan Antler, executive director of the Compost Council of Canada. "The current plasticized format cannot be easily removed during the organics recycling process and can result in the collected organics being sent to landfill, contributing to climate change and diminishing an important resource to build soil health. Recognizing the global sourcing network for produce, the members of the International Compost Alliance are keen to work out the solution to help the produce industry transition to compostable PLU stickers."
Compatibility with compostability standards around the world
Because of the nature of global sourcing of produce year-round, and the potential regional variability of composting processing requirements, there is benefit for both the composting and fresh produce industry to develop a single global standard for compostability that is compatible with compost standards around the world.
Attendance includes representatives from the fresh produce industry, including members of the International Federation of Produce Standards (IFPS), the International Compost Alliance (ICA), and the PLU label industry. The meeting is being jointly organized by the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) and the Compost Council of Canada, with the support of the Government of Canada.
The outcome of this global meeting will be published in October 2024, with further engagement with the fresh produce industry and organics recycling industry planned for Fall 2024 into early 2025.
