Goodbye, Mr. SunChips compostable bag

Posted on Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 6:12 p.m.

Goodbye, Mr. SunChips compostable bag

By Jim and Janice Leach

Janice Leach | Contributor

Last week, Frito-Lay announced rather quietly that the company is discontinuing the use of itsÂ compostable packaging on all but one of its SunChips flavors. Frito-Lay had launched the biodegradable bag about a year and a half ago, with a lot of fanfare and promotion. The fully-compostable material in the bag was said to break down in about 14 weeks.

I first assumed that the reason Frito-Lay would stop using the bags might have something to do with a failure to decompose in a timely manner. It turns out, however, that consumers complained about the noise. The unusual material of the bags makes them very rigid and pretty loud. In addition, SunChips sales have declined by 11 percent in the last 52 weeks. Our household’s increased interest in SunChips wasn’t enough to counter that trend.

SunChips Bag, June 2010

Janice Leach | Contributor

As gardeners, we’re big fan of composting so I watched for the compostable bags to appear in the grocery store. After we took care of the chips inside, we put the bag in our compost bin around March 24. In late June after about 12 weeks, the compostable bag had definitely changed, but it was still there.Â In October, which would be close to 26 weeks, I moved the bag from that compost bin to the compost tumbler, which tends to be hotter and break materials down more quickly. I’ll continue to monitor the decomposition process.

Although I’m not giving up on the SunChips compostable bag yet, I’ve had better luck with other compost experiments. I’ve successfully composted an old straw hat, an old hemp shower curtain, and an old denim shirt (without the buttons, of course). I have a very worn out leather wallet of Jim’s that will be part of my next wave of compost experiments.

SunChips Bag, October 2010

Janice Leach | Contributor

I’m disappointed that consumers didn’t embrace the SunChip compostable bag more enthusiastically. A little noise with a compostable bag seems a small sacrifice when compared to a quieter plastic bag that will linger in a landfill for generations. Much of what we buy — both the products and the packaging — moves through our lives with little reflection from us, but those items or packages don’t disappear when they are no longer in our homes. The noise served as a little reminder of the convenience we take for granted.

Janice and Jim Leach garden a backyard plot in downtown Ann Arbor and tend the website 20 Minute Garden.

Comments

Jim and Janice Leach

Wed, Oct 20, 2010 : 7:59 p.m.

@Richard Kenneth Carter: I did just a little research, but I found mention of another municipality that won't take the SunChips compostable bags in their collections. In Cheyenne, WY the facilities management is worried about light weight plastics blowing away. I'm not sure what the reason is here in Ann Arbor, although there does seem to be a more conservative approach (if I dare say so!) to what the city allows in the compost carts versus what we successfully compost in our home compost bins. @Monica, the Garden Faerie: I'm glad you liked the photos! It's challenging to remember to document the garden (and compost!) but I'm always pleased later on that I took the time to photograph. Frito-Lay has stated that they will continue to use the compostable bag on their original flavor and go back to the other bags for their other 5 flavors of SunChips. They also claim that they will continue to do research on better (and quieter, I bet!) compostable packaging. @skenney1384. It does seem that the majority of consumers were not interested in purchasing chips in the noisy compostable bags; Frito-Lay's decision to pull the bags was obviously motivated by a significant drop in sales. Given the wide distribution of reporting on this news item, however, I would hesitate to say that Ann Arbor is the only community that cares about the topic.

skenney1384

Wed, Oct 20, 2010 : 3:42 p.m.

Outside of the Ann Arbor Dome a very large majority of people care more about the noise, product, price than environment.

Monica Milla

Wed, Oct 20, 2010 : 8:51 a.m.

I'm so glad you showed photos of the decomposition process. I meant to do this, and never got around to it. Even though I have the bags from a friend and have a compost pile. I agree they are loud, but who cares? It's sad to me that people care more about noise than the environment, but what can you do? It's not like Frito-Lay cares either -- the compostable bag was only marketing in the first place, not a sincere effort to reduce waste, or they'd keep the bags.

Richard

Mon, Oct 18, 2010 : 8:51 a.m.

I had recently asked the City of Ann Arbor if I could put the compostable Sun Chip bags in my City compost bin, and they said no. I was disappointed -- they didn't explain if they thought the compostable process didn't really work, or what.

Jim and Janice Leach

Mon, Oct 18, 2010 : 8:29 a.m.

@Blerg: I'll continue to observe the SunChips bag's decomposition process. I'm not yet convinced that composting the bags is practical-- which was the point after all! @skenney1384: I'm disappointed that the compostable bag has turned out to be more of a marketing ploy than a real change of practice for Frito-Lay. It's pretty sad that consumers aren't willing to consider a change in packing to be something they can tolerate or support. @John Q: I'm with you about the noise not being a big deal. Also, a person can eat chips out of a bowl, rather than directly from the bag. It's quieter and classier to boot!

John Q

Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 9:06 p.m.

I never understood the complainers. What's the problem? Don't want someone to know that you're sneaking the chips?

skenney1384

Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 9:01 p.m.

Thank God. It was so annoying I stopped buying the product. Common sense business won out over an annoying marketing niche.

Blerg

Sat, Oct 16, 2010 : 8:44 p.m.

I have been so curious to see how long it took a Sun Chips bag to fully break down; thanks for sharing pictures of it through the weeks in the compost. I'm with you that it's disappointing that Frito Lay has discontinued this packaging. Although admittedly the loudest bag of chips I've ever bought, I thought it was a small and worthwhile sacrifice.