Sunrays grapes get their own home-compostable bags
Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Jac. Vandenberg Inc. is introducing to the market its Sunrays-branded bio bags for table grapes, which are certified home-compostable.
In 2021, the fresh produce importer and distributor’s citrus bio bags won a 2021 Eco-Excellence Award in the snack category, according to a news release. The sustainable grapes packaging builds on that success.
The biodegradable bags were developed and produced by Israeli-based Tipa. The packaging breaks down within months under compost conditions, just like any organic matter. The bags are made from 20% bio-based plastic and 80% fully compostable fossil-based polymers. With an active and healthy compost heap, these bags will disintegrate within six months.
Learn more: About table grapes as a commodity.
“We’ve been exploring sustainable alternatives for grape bags for some time now,” Jac Vandenberg Brand Manager John Paap said in the release.
The bio bags look and feel like traditional plastic but will “biodegrade in compost just like the fruit inside it,” he said. “We are confident that these bags will help retailers achieve their targets set around zero waste, plastic reduction and overall sustainability.”
The U.S. and European Union revealed at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference a partnership to cut greenhouse gas methane emissions by 2030. Although there’s more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, methane is more than 80 times more potent, according to the release.
That’s where composting comes in. Composting a natural recycling process in which organisms eat organic matter and expel it as compost, or rich soil.
Our home trash cans are major sources of methane emissions, Paap said. The average household trash contains about 35% organic waste, which could be composted. But this trash goes to a landfill, where it degrades without oxygen, generating methane instead.
Check out these companies involved in composting.
“By composting, we can make a significant impact on global warming and create nutrient rich compost soils at the same time,” Paap said.
In thes grape bags, there are no micro-plastics, or plastics of any kind, left behind once the package has biodegraded in compost.
Later in 2022, Vandenberg will launch a page on www.sunraysfruits.com explaining the hows and whys of composting to educate and help consumers. The web page will be available through a QR code on the bags and by visiting the website directly.
Available in limited supply this winter, these bio bags are part of the company’s Snack with Impact mission.
