Compostable packager expands into the U.S.

Evanesce, an innovator in compostable plant-based food service and retail packaging, including for private brand and white label customers, embarked on a $17 million investment late last year, developing its first facility in the United States in Columbia, S.C.

The company, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, produces sustainable, certified-compostable trays, cups and bowls, and leverages a patented Evanesce Molded Starch Technology that uses upcycled plant-based by products that are 100% compostable and decompose in 90 days or less. 

On Jan. 12, Store Brands is hosting a free webinar on how retailers can better understand composting for its private label portfolios as well as how to communicate the issue to its shoppers. The panel will feature leaders at the Compost Manufacturing Alliance and Biodegradable Products Institute.

The new 15,000-square-foot plant from Evanesce increases the company’s manufacturing capacity and supports future growth of new products, the company said.

The facility at 103 Logistics Drive in Early Branch, S.C., currently leans on state-of-the-art machinery to produce millions of Polylactic Acid (PLA) certified compostable straws every day.

Adding to the investment that aims to create nearly 80 new jobs, the company held a job fair at the plant on Jan. 6 with a plan to hire 45 workers including production operators and maintenance technicians.

The positions range in salary from $15/hr to $22/hr and include a full slate of benefits. “These are the kind of high paying jobs that economists and policymakers have said the green economy can usher in and support middle-class families,”  according to David Chaplin, plant manager.

The patented Evanesce Molded Starch Technology is a complete replacement for Styrofoam in packaging and will be commercially available in 2022, per the company.