On November 2, 2021, US-based civil society organizations Center for Environmental Health and Clean Production Action announced a new certification scheme for safer single-use food service ware. According to the press release, the certification “sets a new safety standard for everyday items like disposable plates and bowls that do not contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) plus thousands of other chemicals of concern.” To earn the certification, product manufacturers must inventory all intentionally added materials and additives in their product present above 1ppm, any impurities above 100ppm, and compare their inventory to the certification’s restricted substances list. There are silver, gold, and platinum levels of certification based on a 1-4 chemical safety scoring system but certified service ware is not allowed to contain any substance on the restricted list including PFAS, bisphenols, ortho-phthalates, and benzophenones.
All certified service ware must be recyclable or certified compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute. Products made with post-industrial recycled plastic are allowed “if the materials are well-defined, fully characterized (i.e., inventory and disclosure requirements… are met), and meet all other certification requirements.” Products from post-consumer recycled plastic “are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.” Currently, there is no certification process for service ware made of recycled paper because “fully characterizing recycled content to meet the certification requirements… is difficult.”
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Center for Environmental Health (November 2, 2021). “Press release – GreenScreen certified™ for food service ware.”
Shari Franjevic, et al. (November 2, 2021). “Standard for Food Service Ware v1.0.” GreenScreen Chemicals (pdf)
