To facilitate correct plastic waste sorting of bottles and containers commonly found in the residential waste stream for the purpose of recycling, the SPI Resin Identification Symbol System was created by the Society of Plastics Industry (SPI) in 1988. SPI "chasing arrows" recycling codes typically appear on the bottom of a plastic packaging article and are used to indicate the type of plastic from which the article is made. At the time SPI codes one through six were developed, the overwhelming majority of plastic packaging was made from one of six resins: Polyethylene Teraphthalate (PET or PETE), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and Polystyrene (PS). SPI developed the code 7-OTHER for articles made from plastics that did not fall within one of the six original resin categories.

As the plastic industry has evolved, many new plastics have been invented. The generic SPI code 7-OTHER applies to a number of these new plastics, including NatureWorks® biopolymer, as well as other bioplastics and natural plastics.

Good Natured Family Farms milk bottles are made from a polymer referred to as "PLA" or polylactic acid. This polymer is made in
Blair, NE by a company called NatureWorks LLC. NatureWorks® biopolymer is made from lactic acid, a naturally occurring compound found in food and the human body. Lactic acid is made from natural plant sugars (dextrose) by fermentation. The dextrose used to produce NatureWorks® biopolymer is processed at a Cargill wet mill facility from corn grown by farmers who live near Blair, Nebraska.

NatureWorks® biopolymer, when it leaves the factory gate, does not contain and has never contained, Bisphenol A (BPA). In addition, NatureWorks LLC does not use and has never used any amount of BPA during the manufacture of NatureWorks® biopolymer.

Polycarbonate (PC) is a newer petroleum based plastic, which also is labeled with the generic SPI code of 7-Other. We understand that polycarbonate may contain BPA. NatureWorks® biopolymer is a different material than polycarbonate. Many articles made from NatureWorks® biopolymer are also labeled by their manufacturers as PLA NatureWorks, Ingeo or compostable. These markings can be used to distinguish NatureWorks® biopolymer articles from those made of polycarbonate.

The SPI resin categories are intended to indicate resin content for the purpose of facilitating recycling and sorting efforts. They were
never intended to be, and are not, an indicator of product safety. It is absolutely incorrect to assume that because a container is marked 7-Other, the article is made of a particular material or includes a particular chemical such as BPA, because a number of different resins with very different properties and composition, fall within the catch-all category of 7-OTHER. The SPI code 7-OTHER should not be used to determine whether an article is safe or unsafe both because the code was not designed for that purpose and because the code cannot be used as a means to determine the particular type of plastic that was used to manufacture the article bearing the code.

Good Natured Family Farms recommends that where facilities exist, the Good Natured Family Farms bottle should be composted. As a second option the bottle should be recycled along with other household plastics and other recyclable waste. As a third option where neither composting nor recycling facilities exist, the Good Natured Family Farms bottle can be disposed of using traditional methods of waste disposal via incineration or landfill. In both of these contexts the Good Natured Family Farms bottle has significantly less environmental impact then standard PET plastic bottles as there are no harmful toxic byproducts released through incineration or that could ultimately leach into the environment when landfilled.

The Good Natured Family Farms milk bottle can be disposed of by any of these three methods:

Composting: The Good Natured Family Farms bottle is fully compostable and will break down into water, carbon dioxide and organic material in 47 - 90 days when composted in a municipal or industrial compost facility. These facilities have controlled environments that regulate the heat levels, micro-organisms and high moisture levels required to break down the PLA bottle. While it is possible for the Good Natured Family Farms bottle to break down in a domestic compost, given the numerous variables we do not recommend this as an option. At the present time it is important to remove both the label, cap and cap ring from the bottle before disposing in compost so as not to pollute the compost. It is Good Natured Family Farms's intent to ultimately have both the label and cap of our bottle compostable but we can not do so yet.

Biodegradable: Much like the term "Organic", it is important to understand there are a number of different conceptions about, and
consequently often misuses of the term biodegradable. Plastics and metals are "degradable" in the sense that they will in time, break
down due to the effects of sun, rain, abrasion etc. into smaller and eventually minute parts. Unlike the PET plastic water bottle which will take an estimated 1000 years to break down in landfills, leaving traces of toxic residue, the Good Natured Family Farms bottle made of PLA, will completely biodegrade leaving nothing but water, carbon and natural organic matter.
 

Recyclable: The Good Natured Family Farms bottle is made from PLA, a petrochemical free polymer, but it can still be disposed of in quantities up to 1% into the standard recycled plastic stream. Good Natured Family Farms promotes recycling as an important socially responsible activity along with composting.