01 Nov 2023 — Celebration Packaging’s EnviroWare range of white bagasse takeaway clamshells, dinnerware and chip trays have been TÜV Home Compostable certified and are SGS certified as PFAS-free. 

The company says it decided to wait to make the announcement until all in-market trials had been completed. “I am delighted to say that, as far as we are aware, none of our customers have noticed any difference in performance with the new PFAS-free white bagasse products,” says Celebration Packaging’s managing director, Nick Burton. 

“This new PFAS-free white bagasse fiber packaging looks the same as the old range and can be used in a microwave to reheat food with no reduction in performance, but we are sure that operators and consumers will now be delighted to know that it is PFAS-free.” 

“Since the start of 2023, all our white bagasse clamshells, dinnerware and chip trays have been made with a different food-safe, grease and water-resistant chemical that is free from PFAS, and this has allowed us to obtain TÜV Home Compostable certification for these products,” he explains.

The PFAS issue
Burton asserts that foodservice operators should check if the packaging they are using is PFAS-free. 

“As a consultative business, we recommend that they talk to us if they have any concerns about the environmental impact of the packaging they use. We have been providing sustainable packaging solutions for many years, and in the face of bans and taxes, we can help customers move away from single-use plastics and reduce their carbon footprint.”

Celebration Packaging’s new range eliminates PFAS from foodservice trays.The man-made “forever chemicals” are a group of synthetic chemicals used in a wide variety of common applications, from fast food packaging and non-stick cookware to firefighting foams and stain-repellent chemicals for clothing and carpets. 

PFAS do not naturally degrade, and although they are safe to be used in food packaging and cookware, the toxic chemicals can eventually contaminate groundwater following their release into the environment.

“We became aware of the PFAS issue some time ago and began to look for viable non-PFAS packaging in early 2022. Since then, we have been working hard to ensure that we can deliver PFA-free packaging solutions for the takeaway, delivery and QSR sectors,” says Burton.

SUP legislation response 
To ensure that the bagasse fiber clamshells, chip trays and dinnerware are PFAS-free, Celebration Packaging arranged for SGS, an internationally renowned testing, inspection and certification company, to test them. “The SGS test report shows that no PFAS and similar chemicals such as PFCA / PFOS / PFOA / PFHxS were detected,” highlights Burton.

“We believe these PFAS-free white bagasse products are the best alternative to foodservice packaging made from expanded polystyrene,” he says. “They are the perfect replacement for expanded polystyrene plates, trays and clamshells now that the SUP legislation has come into effect.”

“Bagasse is a great material because it is natural and renewable, using waste fibers from agriculture that would otherwise be burned. The manufacture of bagasse fiber packaging also has a lower carbon footprint than its oil-based comparable products, but to make bagasse water and grease-resistant, PFAS were traditionally added. Our in-market trials show that this is no longer necessary,” asserts Burton.

Meanwhile, the plastic industry has warned that the current proposal to restrict PFAS in the European Economic Area does not differentiate between the different substances that need to be regulated individually. In September, the European Chemicals Agency received more than 5,600 comments from organizations, companies and individuals on the proposal to restrict PFAS.

Plastics Europe Germany asserted that fluoropolymers, which play an essential role in industrial processes, energy, heat and mobility transition and digitalization, and according to OECD criteria, are not considered products of low concern and are therefore harmless. 

We spoke to Alexander Kronimus, managing director for Climate & Circularity at Plastics Europe Germany, about the derogation of fluoropolymers from the ban.

By Natalie Schwertheim

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