New cheese packaging decomposes in 300 days, not 1,000 years: 'The solution was in the cheese itself'

New cheese packaging decomposes in 300 days, not 1,000 years: 'The solution was in the cheese itself'

New cheese packaging decomposes in 300 days, not 1,000 years: 'The solution was in the cheese itself' A standard pack of cheese singles contains 24 slices, all individually wrapped in 24 pieces of plastic and packaged again in a larger sleeve.  According to a Simmons National Consumer Survey, 30.45 million people eat a pound or more of cheese singles per week — and that’s just in the United States.  All of that cheese packaging ends up in landfills and incinerators, adding to the global heap of plastic waste.  As an alternative to single-use plastic wrapping, Ogilvy Colombia and Nestlé Central America have created “Self-Packing Cheese.”  The new biodegradable film is designed to decompose within 300 days of disposal — in stark contrast to the estimated 1,000 years it takes for standard plastic to break down.  And it’s entirely made from cheese waste and whey.  Whey is the byproduct created when liquid separates from milk during the cheesemaking process.  In the industry, billions of l…