Compostable Cups? Georgia Pacific Makes Misleading Claims
Georgia-Pacific claims their “PerfecTouch” line of plastic cups are compostable (see second bullet point in this online listing). While there is a bit of a qualification in that listing, our whistle-blower on this story says the cup is also described in print catalogs with no qualification regarding its compostability whatsoever.
The cup is made of polyethylene, a material that is not compostable. To claim a product is compostable, it must pass the ASTM D6400 and D6868 test, and be certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute. The PerfcTouch cup made by Georgia-Pacific does not meet any of these qualifications.
Our reader/watchdog summed it up best: ”GP (Georigia-Pacific) is falsely advertising this product and completely misleading consumers which cause bad soil quality, consumer confusion, and is plain-and-simple green washing”.
If you have a tip for us, please let us know.
April 22, 2010
Don’t you just hate that when companies claim something that is not otherwise? And to get caught? Is there a law against making claims that are not true?
July 26, 2010
amaizing,thanks for the information. I was looking for some inspiring articles.
January 27, 2011
Hey, Erin! Here in Sweden, we actually have a law saying that we cannot claim stuff that we can’t backup. So watch out…
/Oskar.
August 19, 2011
I don’t get it, you telling me that those cups are not recyclable? I work att a coffe place were I live and we use that kind of polyethylene cups. You have a suggestion for what cups to use insted?
August 20, 2011
The cups are not compostable. That doesn’t mean the material can’t be recycled. As explained in the post, making the claim that a material is “compostable” requires adherence to strict scientific guidelines. More information about this is available here: http://thegreenwashingblog.com/2011/08/09/biodegradable-vs-compostable-dont-be-greenwashed/
September 30, 2011
Hello Erin
Thanks for a nice blog
compostable material its important.