Packaging company awarded Biodegradable Products Institute certification

The Biodegradable Products Institute has awarded food packaging company Sabert Corp. certification for products using the company’s Pulp Plus and Pulp Ultra formulations, which meet ATSM standards for compostable products in North America.

The third-party certification means that Sabert’s molded pulp products, manufactured at its Greenville, Texas facility, can be properly composted in industrial facilities and will disintegrate into a nutrient-rich soil amendment at the required rate, according to a news release. The packaging is certified compostable and can be diverted from landfills through commercial composting channels.

Founded in 1983, Sabert is headquartered in Sayreville, New Jersey, and operates North American facilities in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia. The company also has manufacturing facilities in Nivelles, Belgium; Kimbolton, England; Lodz, Poland; and Zhongshan, China.

“Earning BPI certification for our state-of-the-art Texas facility is a major accomplishment that reinforces Sabert’s commitment to advancing packaging sustainability through proprietary innovation,” Sabert CEO Paul McCann said in the release. “This prestigious certification is extremely important to our customers who want environmentally responsible food packaging solutions.”

The 350,000-square-foot Greenville facility, which opened in 2022, utilizes Sabert’s proprietary pulp formulation chemistry and processing techniques to manufacture molded fiber packaging items that are 100% free from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the cessation of the sale of materials containing PFAS on Feb. 28.

“Through continuous innovation and our relentless focus on eliminating PFAS from pulp manufacturing, we have solidified our position as a leading supplier of certified compostable molded fiber packaging in North America,” McCann said. “One of our key strengths in the pulp market is that because we work with multiple substrates, we can design and manufacture our own lids, ensuring superior lid fit and design.”

Sabert’s Texas plant also features lab and engineering capabilities for developmental research in material science and production.

“The foodservice packaging industry is quite complex, which is why Sabert’s ability to be a one-stop solutions provider of multiple sustainable substrates across a wide portfolio of products is so valuable,” said Rebecca Locker, Sabert director of sustainability. “Our definition of a sustainable product — composed of at least 25% recycled or bio-content and recyclable or compostable — sets a high bar to have an immediate impact on climate and circularity.”