As reported in a post last summer, Frito-Lay is set to unveil a 100% compostable bag for their Sunchips product on April 22nd for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It appears, however, that the bag is already in use (picture at right) and being sold at stores, specifically the Super Target at 4301 East Virginia Ave. in Denver, CO. The video/commercial below shows time-lapse disintegration of the bag.

The bags take up a prominent position at the end of the aisle where several varieties of Sunchips are all being sold in the compostable bags. As coincidence would have it, I saw a TV commercial introducing the bag this afternoon, one of several that have been playing over the last several weeks. The TV spot still said the bag was coming out on Earth Day but Frito-Lay (part of the Pepsico family) may already be starting to build an awareness and marketing push. This could also be part of some pilot testing before the full-scale roll out in April. As the commercial shows, the bag should completely break down over 14 weeks. We’ll let you know what the worms think of it.

- Justin Manger