Vancouver, WA — Sustainability-focused fast food chain Burgerville is switching its cups and lids to compostable versions, finalizing its project to change all its packaging to greener options.

The company will be using Ecotainer cups and lids from International Paper. The cups are made with fiber sourced from forests certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. The cup's water-resistant barrier and the lids are made with NatureWorks' Ingeo material, which is derived from corn.

The cups and lids are accepted by Cedar Grove Composting, the company that collects compostable waste from Burgerville locations, and meets the ASTM commercial composting standard.

Burgerville's cups and lids are the final major packaging items that it has been working to change as part of its goal to divert 85 percent of its waste away from landfills. The company started composting and recycling in early 2007 and locations have been recycling plastic, glass, paper and tin, with some restaurants composting food waste, napkins, wrappers, utensils, fry bags and plates. The only non-recyclable or non-compostable packaging it now uses are plastic and foil condiment packets.

Burgerville, which uses vegetarian-fed and antibiotic-free beef, cage-free eggs, and local and seasonal ingredients - has 39 locations throughout Washington and Oregon; 37 of them have access to commercial recycling, and 21 of those also have access to commercial composting.

Once all of Burgerville's restaurants start using the compostable cup this year, the company will conduct a waste audit and work with government, industry and community leaders to bring commercial composting and recycling to cities in Oregon and Washington that don't have them.

_{Burgerville food and Ecotainer cup - Courtesy Burgerville}