Enjoying the delicious Off The Eaten Path snacks? When you’re done munching on your veggie crisps, use the specially-marked commercially compostable snack bags to help plants grow! TerraCycle and Off The Eaten Path’s free composting program collects specially marked empty Off The Eaten Path snack bags to be turned into compost.
Select Off The Eaten Path snack bags are made of 85% plant-based material sourced from corn and sugarcane. Producing the raw materials for these bags results in approximately 60% less greenhouse gas emissions than producing traditional snack packaging. After you’re done enjoying your snacks, the bags can be commercially composted instead of being sent to landfills.
Here’s how it works:
Composting
Composting is the natural process by which organic waste (i.e., food scraps and garden rubbish) is broken down into nutrient-rich soil to be used as fertilizer. Composting requires three ingredients:
1. Water
2. Greens – nitrogen-rich items like food scraps, leaves, and fresh plant clippings
3. Browns – carbon-rich items such as twigs, dead leaves, wood chips, and paper
Fungi, aerobic bacteria, earthworms, and other organisms work together as part of the decomposition process to create rich, healthy soil. This process breaks down the organic materials much faster than would be possible in landfills.
Commercial Composting
The Off The Eaten Path Composting Program uses commercial composting. Commercial composting, or the industrial composting process, is similar to at-home composting but differs in scale and method. Innovative plant-based materials such as select Off The Eaten Path commercially compostable bags require more heat and moisture, so they are not suitable for home composting.
There are three main methods of commercial composting:
● Windrow Composting is a method in which waste is piled into long rows between 14 and 16 feet long. The piles are typically between 4 and 8 feet high and are regularly turned over to introduce oxygen to support the decomposition process.
● Static Pile Composting is the most similar of these methods to the process used in home composting. In it, organic material waste is layered loosely, with oxygen allowed to enter and react with the pile. Some commercial facilities use pipe systems to introduce oxygen for the purpose of aiding decomposition.
● In-Vessel Composting is done by storing organic materials in a large drum or silo, which is then hermetically sealed; as a result, this third form of composting relies on anaerobic reactions, meaning it is done without the frequent introduction of oxygen.
Off The Eaten Path and TerraCycle’s free composting program offers you the chance to give your used snack bags new purpose. Once collected, the commercial composting process will fully break the product down into compost that can be used for gardens and farms. Off The Eaten Path is passionate about finding new paths forward, and their commercially compostable bags are one step on their journey to help care about our planet.
Join the TerraCycle composting program here.
Learn more about Off The Eaten Path’s compostable bags here.