PepsiCo opens Greenhouse Learning Center to increase US compostability certifications

12 Apr 2023 --- PespiCo divisions Frito-Lay and Quaker are launching a new compostable packaging center within its R&D headquarters in New York, US. The “Greenhouse Learning Center” will be used to field test, measure and analyze compostable packaging technologies to speed up the rate of innovation.

The company says it hopes the center will triple the speed at which packaging companies can gain compostability certifications and that the project represents “a key milestone” in achieving its PepsiCo Positive (pep+) goal to make 100% of its packaging recyclable, compostable, biodegradable or reusable by 2025. 

Denise Lefebvre, senior vice president of R&D for PepsiCo, says: “We’re actively changing our own compostable snack packaging technologies. By sharing these technologies, we’re inviting the industry to make these changes as well. We are prioritizing, investing in, and expediting projects to build a more circular, inclusive economy.”

PepsiCo says its R&D packaging team will use the Greenhouse Learning Center to test the biodegradation properties of compostable packages in different environments to accelerate learning and validate lab results through simultaneous, real-time experiments as packaging formulations are improved and iterate packaging solutions quicker.

PepsiCo is aiming to triple the rate compostable certifications in ths US.Innova Market Insights pegged “Renewable Rebellion” as a top trend for 2023, noting that F&B product launches featuring either a biodegradable or compostable claim have almost tripled since 2018, with categories such as tea, coffee and confectionery accounting for nearly half of these launches.

Prototyping compostables
PepsiCo says the Greenhouse Learning Center is the “first of its kind” across the company globally and could enable packaging products to move from testing to certification-ready at least two to three times faster in an effort to drive the business and the entire industry forward. 

The center is located next to an existing prototyping lab where compostable packaging is born. It also aims to actively change industry standards by educating partners and stakeholders on the benefits of transitioning to compostable packaging, demonstrate circularity with biodegradable materials and provide training to co-ops and visitors, says the company. 

Frito-Lay and Quaker released the world’s first 100% commercially compostable chip bags in 2010. “We must work together to inspire positive change for the planet and people, and Frito-Lay and Quaker are proud to be leading the way,” says David Allen, chief sustainability officer Frito-Lay and Quaker.  

In 2021, PepsiCo launched compostable packaging for its Off The Eaten Path line of vegetable snacks. The company then introduced other options made from 85% renewable plant materials that produce approximately 60% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than traditional snack bags, it claims. 

Moving forward, PepsiCo says it will focus on home-compostable and biodegradable packaging, for which research conducted at the new center will play a key role.

Certification challenges 
While Innova Market Insights found that products featuring biodegradable or compostable claims have almost tripled since 2018, a UK study last year revealed that a majority of plastic packaging products marked as home compostable were ineffective or misleading. 

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Sustainability, concluded that most home compostable plastics don’t work, with 60% failing to disintegrate after six months. 

Legislation around product marketing is now tightening around environmental sustainability claims as greenwashing continues to be a growing concern for governments and consumers. 

For example, the EU recently introduced its Green Claims Code legislation, targeting companies using vague, impartial, or misleading advertising. Financial penalties for similar offenses are also being introduced in South Korea. 

By Louis Gore-Langton