Whole Foods Market’s Rocky Mountain Region launched two sizes of paperboard deli containers with a new coating that replaces 100% polyethylene with one that combines PE and calcium carbonate. The containers for use with its salad bar and hot food selections consist of a compostable wood fibre-based clamshell, and two sizes of the Bio-Plus Earth recycled paperboard containers from Fold-Pak. The Bio-Plus Earth containers with Smart Planet’s EC-40 coating contain up to 60% less polymer content by weight than 100% low-density PE coatings while providing superior barrier properties to moisture, oil, grease, and fatty acids.Once implemented, the new containers will have replaced 1.5 million units/year. Although for Whole Foods the introduction of these new containers represent a reduction in the use of plastics, the company claims that the use of Smart Planet Technologies’ clear EarthCoating is an “in-the-meantime solution”, while its suppliers, including Smart Planet, work on developing a coating that can be certified compostable, Whole Foods ultimate goal.
