Fruit and vegetable price tags, compostable international standards are coming
The European Union (EU) plans to transition to certified compostable price tag products by 2028.
On October 1, the Compost Council of Canada hosted the first-ever global meeting between the fresh produce industry and composting organizations at its annual meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The goal is to establish a global compostable standard for price tags for produce to help accurately and efficiently identify fresh produce for traceability, inventory control and retail pricing.
Price tag stickers are primarily non-compostable, and a large portion of discarded labels accompany fresh produce waste from residential, commercial and institutional sources to organic recyclers. "These labels are difficult to remove, physically contaminate the organics recycling process, and adversely affect the quality and value of the finished compost," said Susan Antler, executive director of the Compost Council of Canada.
The fresh produce industry has recognized the need to develop and adopt certified compostable labels. However, due to the globally sourced nature of produce and potential regional differences in composting process requirements, industry stakeholders agreed to meet to develop and work towards the adoption of a single global composting standard that is compatible with composting standards around the world.
Representatives from the International Federation of Produce Standards, the International Composting Alliance, and the price tag industry attended the meeting, jointly organized by the Produce Marketing Association of Canada and the Composting Council of Canada, with support from the Government of Canada. An agreement was reached to develop a multi-stage framework to support the development and adoption of a global standard for compostable PLUs. The European Union (EU) plans to transition to certified compostable PLUs by 2028, providing additional impetus to accelerate this collective goal of global adoption.
