SANTA BARBARA, — That next Big Mac you get might be wrapped in sustainability. EarthShell Corporation, makers of environmentally preferable disposable food packaging, announced yesterday that McDonald’s Corp. has approved its EarthShell sandwich container for use in 300 of the fast food giant’s restaurants.

The expansion follows a review of EarthShell’s performance in shipping, distribution and customer satisfaction, in which McDonald’s and its customers put more than four million of the packages to the test.

If this next stage bears fruit, EarthShell’s packaging could wrap still more burgers, at least in California. McDonald’s employees will use in-store communication materials to evaluate EarthShell before the wraps come off in other McDonald’s stores.

Simon K. Hodson, EarthShell’s chief executive officer, said his team was optimistic.

“We are extremely pleased to have progressed to this point with McDonald's Corporation. They have the highest standards in the industry and, even though it has taken longer than anticipated, we are pleased with our first commercial product and its performance in the McDonald's system.”

According to Hodson, further expansion will follow McDonald's “normal pattern” and progress in line with the fast food giant’s needs, rather than through a fixed contractual commitment.

Hodson said the EarthShell container for the Big Mac sandwich has been designed with the environment and the bottom line in mind. It was developed over many years using a life cycle inventory and consultation with leading environmental experts to reduce the environmental burdens of rigid sandwich packaging through the careful selection of raw materials, processes, and suppliers.

The containers are made from potato starch, natural limestone, and 100% post-consumer recycled fiber (which does not require the cutting of trees), biodegradable polymer and wax coatings, and water. This new packaging was designed to reduce risk to wildlife, compared to polystyrene foam sandwich containers. EarthShell biodegrades when exposed to moisture in nature; physically dissolves in water when crushed or broken; and can be composted in a commercial facility or in a backyard.

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