International Paper’s foodservice business launched a fully compostable hot cup lid today as part of the company’s ecotainer product line.

Made with Ingeo biopolymer from NatureWorks LLC, a fully renewable, plant-based material, the ecotainer hot cup lid can be composted with ecotainer hot cups and food waste at most commercial composting facilities.

The lid also meets the strict performance guidelines required to ensure safe serving of hot beverages, the result of several years of development to identify the right combination of materials and processes. The lid is in the final stages of testing for the ASTM D6400 and EN13432 standards for compostability.

By using ecotainer hot cup lids along with other ecotainer products, customers can lower their consumption of petroleum-based packaging and further reduce the amount of materials going into landfills through commercial composting.

The lid is also the first of its kind to be manufactured entirely in the U.S., which is one of the reasons the lid has a smaller environmental footprint versus similar products.