Compostable packaging producer TIPA welcomes the Cultivating Organic Matter through the Promotion of Sustainable Techniques (COMPOST) Act, introduced in the House of Representatives. The new Federal Bill will require the designation of composting as a conservation practice and activity. It will also legislate for grant and loan guarantees for composting facilities and collection programs.

Its aim is to slash greenhouse gas emissions resulting from food being sent to landfill by instead sending it to composting facilities where it will become a nutrient rich soil. As food rots in landfill it produces methane, a greenhouse gas approximately 80 times more powerful at warming the planet than carbon dioxide.[i]  This potent methane emission begins well before landfills are capped and represents a significant contribution to global warming.

The executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme says, “Cutting methane is the strongest lever we have to slow climate change over the next 25 years and complements necessary efforts to reduce carbon dioxide”.[ii] The EPA WARM study, gave an equivalent credit of 1 ton of Co2 for each ton of food scraps taken out of landfill.[iii]   

The new funding will increase infrastructure to support both local community composting and large-scale industrial operations.  This will provide the public with expanded access to composting, reducing emissions by diverting food waste from landfill and expanding regenerative agriculture.

TIPA’s certified compostable packaging makes it easier to capture food scraps by allowing consumers to throw out their food scraps with the packaging it came in. It further reduces food waste by providing high-barrier protection which has been found to extend the shelf-life of fresh produce by up to 2x.

When properly composted, TIPA’s high-performance films provide the functionality of plastic but leave no waste behind. TIPA is encouraging support for this legislation and asks interested parties to participate in local advocacy within their personal and professional networks. 

For more information, visit www.tipa-corp.com.