John Williams, a packaging expert at the National Non-Food Crops Centre, an independent advisory board on plant-based renewable materials, told letsrecycle.com that he was working with the Association for Organics Recycling (AFOR), Waste & Resources Action Programme and the Green Alliance, an environmental advisory group, to design the logo. 
The logo is expected be ready, and in-use, by early 2009 and Sainsbury's and The Co-op have already agreed to use it, as part of a trial, on their own-brand products. The aim is to identify clearly what can be home composted, and also to educate the public.
Jeremy Jacobs, acting chief executive of AFOR, explained that, in addition to the new logo, the organisations were working on a new standard for home compostable packaging. He explained that home compostable packaging needed to be “easier to compost” because home compost bins work at lower temperatures to centralised facilities.
Diversion
AFOR's director of business, Melvyn Chimes, who is working with the other stakeholders on the new logo, explained: “What we will end up with is two logos, one for commercial composting and one for home composting. It is important because it will divert waste away from the normal waste streams.”
Composters have welcomed the planned trial. Peter Mills, commercial director of New Earth Solutions, a composting company based in Dorset, said: “What the logo will allow composters to do is engage with local authorities about what is acceptable. The standard will help authorities specify what they can accept and the logo will help to educate the public.”
He said he believed the public had a “great desire” to recycle and this initiative was a “good thing”.
Stephen Wise, head of organic waste development at Shanks, agreed that it would “encourage people to recycle more”. He added that he was not concerned about this type of packaging ending up at centralised treatment facilities, despite concerns that it could contaminate compost and be confused with non-compostable plastic in the past (see letsrecycle.com story).
He said: “I think it is OK. I do not think that it will pose a problem, but the input license for plants will have to allow for this type of waste and any litter it causes must be dealt with.”
The new symbol will primarily show what can go in the home compost bin, but this will mean it will also be suitable for some municipal food waste collections.
The, yet to be designed, logo will feature the Seedling symbol which is already used to show what can go to centralised facilities, with an image which represents the home. The Seedling logo, which is owned by European Bioplastics, shows which materials meet the BS EN 13432 standard for compostable packaging.
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