Recent years have been tough for the paper industry in Northern New England, with many mills closing.
Monadnock Paper Mills is an exception and has secured TÜV OK Home Compost certification for its Compostable Card – a paper-based board engineered as a direct substitute for plastic in applications that demand durability and moisture resistance.
The product is made from 100% post-consumer recycled fibre (PCRF) and uses FDA food-contact-compliant materials. It’s designed to handle the kind of environments that typically push brands back towards plastic: moisture, temperature variation, and handling stress. The certification confirms it will break down safely in a home composting environment when properly disposed of.
Target applications include bakery bag closures, gift and loyalty cards, and durable point-of-sale signage – categories where plastic has historically been difficult to displace precisely because performance requirements are non-trivial.
“Industry estimates suggest that billions of plastic bakery bag closure clips are produced annually in the United States. Even modest reductions in that volume could prevent millions of pounds of plastic from entering the waste stream, We’re demonstrating that paper-based alternatives can meet performance expectations while helping brands meaningfully reduce plastic use.”
Molly Rosenthal, Director of Strategic Business Development, Monadnock Paper Mills
The TÜV certification adds to a growing stack of credentials for the New Hampshire-based mill. Monadnock holds an EcoVadis Platinum rating for the second consecutive year, a Mastercard Circularity, Environmental & Climate (CEC) certification for gift card products, and ISO 14001 Environmental Management System certification. All products are manufactured using 100% renewable electricity and are produced carbon-neutral.
For brands under pressure to reduce plastic use without compromising pack performance, this kind of independently certified, fibre-based solution represents a practical choice for a number of applications.
