Chinese food containers have been a popular packaging choice for many food businesses. There are a lot of reasons that are behind their popularity. Their eco-friendliness is among the top reasons in this regard. It is easy to compost them under some conditions. But many people still do not know whether they are compostable or not. That is why we are here to help you learn about this. We will show you some ways under which it is possible. We will also show you some ways under which it is not possible.
They are compostable in the following ways:
Chinese takeout packages are quite popular all over the globe. We all know that most of them are recyclable. They are biodegradable as well, which means they decompose under natural circumstances. But do you know that they are compostable as well? This is right, and we will bring you out of this curiosity. There are certain conditions mentioned below under which this is possible. So, let us have a look at them.
- Without any contamination
It is possible, up to some extent, that you can recycle the contaminated Chinese food containers. But are they compostable in this condition? It is certainly not possible. That is why you should take care of your packages and avoid contamination with the eatable items. You can easily send some boxes for this purpose as they are not contaminated. Like packaging for eggs, milk, juice, snacks, etc., is not contaminated with oil or other chemicals. That means you can turn them into fertilizers without any hurdle. So, this is an important condition for processing them for the special cause.
- Made up with sustainable materials
Well, it does not need any special introduction. Most of them are manufactured with sustainable materials, so people think all of them are good for this purpose. But that is not true. Some brands get them manufactured with the Martials that are not eco-friendly. That means you cannot turn them into fertilizers as they have toxic chemicals that can contaminate the soil. So, this is a vital condition that the materials these packages are made up of should be sustainable and easily decomposable. That n help you in this regard quite much.
- Sent to composting facilities
Not everyone can compost these packages with their small machines. There are specific facilities that can do this for you quite impressively. They know how to deal with and process different materials to get the job done efficiently. All you need to do is stock your packages, and when you think they are too much to handle, you can send them to these kinds of facilities. They will do it for you and turn them into fertilizers. Moreover, they will also remove harmful elements from them that are not good for the soil. So, it is more beneficial in this regard.
They are not compostable in the following ways:
Talking about this packaging compostable, it is quite important to say that it depends upon certain conditions. Some things can make it impossible to do this. Curious to know what these kinds of conditions are? It is easy for us to bring you out of this curiosity. Allow us to show you some exciting ways under which it is impossible.
- Coatings are harmful
Different brands use various coatings that can make it impossible to turn these boxes into fertilizers. Spot UV coating is a great example in this regard. Some brands use metal foil lamination, which is also the factor that blocks the process of composting. Some brands like to laminate them with glossy or matte vinyl laminations. We all know that plastic is not sustainable, so it blocks the process. So, avoid them if you want to turn them into fertilizers.
- Food contaminations
This is among the top ways these packages cannot be composted. Some types of food items contaminate the packaging so that the packages cannot be used for this purpose anymore. If the fat in food items is absorbed in these packages, it means they cannot be turned into fertilizer as the process cannot do it. Some meals contain chemicals that stop these packages from turning into fertilizers. That makes it a significant way that blocks this process.
- Use of heavy dye or ink
Different types of inks have various harmful elements. Most of them block the process of composting these packages if they are in huge amounts. That means heavy dyes of the use of many colors in the design can be a factor in blocking this process. Some inks are made of fruits or plants. We are not talking about those as it is easy to do this if these types of inks are there. But due to harmful chemicals in other dyes and inks, these boxes cannot be turned into fertilizers.
Chinese food containers are gaining popularity all over the globe. It is because they are cost-effective and highly eco-friendly. Many people are not aware of how these packages can be compostable. For this purpose, we have shown some conditions under which they can and cannot be composted.
