biodegradable

A biodegradable product is one that's broken down safely and relatively quickly by microbial activity into CO2, Water and Biomass – that's bacteria, moulds and fungi: good stuff!

The length of time it takes for biodegradable products to break down can vary a lot. So claiming a product is biodegradable does not guarantee how quickly it will be reduced to these three constituents.

compostable

Composting is key! This is a biodegradable material which breaks down under composting conditions within a given time scale. It is almost synonymous with ‘biodegradable’ except it is limited to solid materials and does not apply to liquids.

sustainable

Sustainable sourcing exists to reduce the long-term impact of catering disposables on the environment.  Our sustainable ranges are made from board which is sourced from managed and regularly re-planted forests.  Such control helps to stop the depletion of natural resources and minimise ecological damage.

degradable

This term applies to materials that commonly contain additives to accelerate the breakdown process. The materials are usually petro-chemical based and may still take several years to disintegrate.

recyclable

A recyclable product or material is usually separated from the conventional waste and routed to specialist separation units who sort and clean the relevant material. They then send it to commercial companies able to use the material.

Common materials handled in this way are: glass, metal cans, paper and cardboard. Plastics are difficult to recycle because of the many different polymers used to make them; these cannot be mixed in recycling streams.