UPDATE: Dec. 11, 2024: EPA finalized additions to its recommendations in December 2024, including related to reusable, certified commercially compostable, and certified recyclable food service ware.
Dive Brief:
- The U.S. EPA wants to expand the scope of sustainability certifications it recommends for guiding federal purchasing of food service ware products.
- In a proposed update Tuesday, the agency outlined additional standards and ecolabels covering reusable, certified recyclable and certified compostable food service ware, including certain ones promulgated by Clean Production Action and the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. EPA said it would accept comments on the proposed updates for 30 days.
- In a newly published resource, EPA also ranked the best choices when selecting sustainable food service ware. It said the top option is reusables (those “used in a system that enables repeated collection, washing, and return”), followed by those that are certified compostable and then certified recyclable. EPA said recyclable was the last choice because food service ware products like utensils have low recycling rates due to food contamination or small size.
Dive Insight:
The agency had not evaluated additions to the official Recommendations of Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing in nearly 10 years, EPA reported.
EPA initiated the update process in November 2022, when it invited standards development organizations, ecolabel programs and conformity assessment bodies to apply for potential assessment, it said. EPA evaluates standards against a framework that considers the process for developing and managing the standard, along with its environmental effectiveness and other factors.
“With hundreds of ecolabels in the marketplace, EPA’s Recommendations cut through the clutter and give federal purchasers and other sustainability-conscious consumers confidence when making purchasing decisions,” said Jennie Romer, deputy assistant administrator for pollution prevention in EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, in a statement. “The ecolabels and standards that EPA includes in the Recommendations have demonstrated that they can truly help us achieve sustainability at scale.”
EPA’s existing recommendations cover compostable options for food service ware, having added the BPI standard in September 2015. The agency is now proposing the following labels for food service ware categories:
Reusable: GreenScreen Certified Standard for Reusable Food Packaging, Food Service Ware, & Cookware; Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard
Certified commercially compostable: GreenScreen Certified Standard for Single-Use Food Service Ware & Thermal Paper; Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard (Platinum Level in Product Circularity); BPI Commercial Compostability Certification Scheme
Certified recyclable: GreenScreen Certified Standard for Single-Use Food Service Ware & Thermal Paper; Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard (Platinum Level in Product Circularity)
The Biden administration also announced this year a goal to phase out federal procurement of single-use plastics — from food service packaging, operations and events by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035 — and replace those choices with reusable, compostable and “highly recyclable” products. The 2024 action built on a 2021 executive order pushing for net-zero procurement by 2050. EPA noted federal procurement accounted for more than $700 billion in spending in 2023.
The EPA update also comes as the Federal Trade Commission is considering an update to the Green Guides, or guidelines for environmental marketing claims for products that sellers may want to deem “recyclable,” “compostable” or the like.
