The price look-up (PLU) sticker is about to become the poster child for one small step towards a healthier planet. Since 1990, the ubiquitous plastic label has allowed bulk fresh produce to be accurately identified and priced without delay at the retail counter. But Europe is proposing a move to industrially compostable PLUs with implementation likely by 2028. 

That’s why the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) coordinated an international meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario on October 1, 2024 to gather consensus on certified compostable produce stickers. The big news is that attendees agreed with enthusiastic endorsement from the Compost Council of Canada. 

“Since its incorporation in 2006, the International Federation of Produce Standards (IFPS) has led the produce industry in global standardization efforts around traceability, data management, and produce identification,” says Jane Proctor, IFPS chair. “Sustainability is recognized as the next big challenge and opportunity for the industry and we were therefore happy to co-host this important event.” 

Cost of packing line equipment

A PLU sticker has three components: a sticker substrate, inks and an adhesive. Rod Baeini, general manager and vice-president sales for Accu-Label, says his Windsor-based company introduced a paper label 23 years ago. With a cost-competitive product, in his view the hurdle is not the label itself but the investment in equipment to make it work. Until growers are legislated to use it, they have no incentive to migrate. 

Interestingly, Accu-Label, uses water-based inks and hot-melt adhesive to make its labels stick. The company has customized its formulations for different fruits.

“Take peaches, for example,” says Baeini. “Because of their skin type, we have to use a stronger adhesive than apples. We use a formulation for tender fruit that won’t peel off the skin.”

Lack of global harmonization 

Sinclair International, a global supplier of compostable fresh produce labels, has recently signed a deal with New Zealand’s Zespri kiwifruit to provide an industrial compostable label that works in an automated, high-speed application. In real terms, that means speeds of applying 150 to 720 labels per minute.

“We’re now into our fourth iteration of compostable labels,” says Wil Murray senior director of operations for Sinclair, based out of California. The newest label is certified for industrial composting in 12 weeks and for home composting which could take up to a year. Not only does the company supply PLU labels but promotional labels up to three inches by two inches in size suitable for watermelons or squash. 

“From my perspective, the driver to collaborate on a global standard is the difficulty in navigating different regulations and standards in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and North America,” says Murray. “The cost and operational complexity are expensive for produce packers and distributors to manage.” 

Lack of synchronicity with composting infrastructure 

Here in Canada, the CPMA’s Daniel Duguay, sustainability specialist, has published guidance to the produce sector during this transitional period of moving towards more sustainable packaging.   

“A significant portion of discarded PLU stickers accompany produce waste streams such as peelings, fruit cores and expired product – all of which are high-value input to Canada’s industrial organics recycling industry,” says Duguay. “PLU stickers which accompany produce residuals can unfortunately contaminate the composting processes, adversely impacting the compost quality and value.”

CPMA has been working closely with the Compost Council of Canada to mitigate these adverse impacts. The advice is to migrate to certified industrially compostable PLU stickers. Standards are met if PLUs: 

• -  comply with defined industrial compost quality standards,

• -  are tested by an accredited laboratory, and

• -  are certified by a recognized certification body.

Certification provides assurances that the industrially compostable PLU stickers:

• - Decompose at a rate that is required by industrial composting systems,

• -  Result in trace elements that are in accordance with defined compost quality standards, and

• -  Result in biomass which meets the expectations of the agriculture sector, such as having no adverse impacts on plant growth and meet eco-toxicity requirements.

“Moving to a certified compostable format for PLUs is a priority for organics recycling facilities,” said Susan Antler, executive director, Compost Council of Canada and member of the International Compost Alliance (ICA). “The current non-compostable format is not compatible with producing quality compost nor can the stickers be easily removed during the organics recycling process and can result in the collected organics being sent to landfill or incineration, contributing to climate change and diminishing an important resource to build soil health.”

An evolving Canadian context

Daniel Duguay says there is a unique opportunity to consider the European standard as a global PLU standard.  Preferably, if consensus can be reached, adoption of the standard would be industry-led and not government-regulated. The current risk is that compostable PLU requirements diverge from country to country. Australia and New Zealand already have their own standard. He makes another key point: “This is about compostability not material composition. The risk of non-compostable stickers irrespective of composition must be mitigated.” 

The objective is to adopt a global standard for PLUs and stickers applied directly to produce only and to keep the conversation about compostable packaging on a different track. 

Next steps include broader engagement with regional and global fresh produce industry counterparts, including the EU and other key markets where PLU requirements are rapidly evolving. Europe is expected to sign off on its PLU sticker regulations by end of 2024. That’s when the clock starts ticking on the transition by 2028.

The question remains:  will the rest of the world sign on? If there’s a global standard, then by rights, label costs should come down due to economies of scale.

PLUs have a small footprint, but are visible to consumers. The move to compostable labels would be a good news story for the produce sector which is eager to act on sustainable initiatives. Secondly and just as importantly, don’t underestimate the value of playback to a federal government which wants to burnish its environment credentials.