Toronto, ON - Hard as it may seem to believe, a recent debate has sparked across Canada about the noise levels of Frito Lay Canada’s SunChips compostable bag. Today the company launched an awareness campaign to address the recent discussions. Their response: ‘Our bag is loud, our bag is different, our bag is good for the environment, and our bag will remain on store shelves.

“The new SunChips compostable bag has caused quite a lot of noise for being noisy,” says Tony Matta, vice president of marketing, Frito Lay Canada. “We’ve had a record number of calls and emails to our office since we launched in February of this year and despite what you may have heard, SunChips is and always was keeping the bag here in Canada.  We believe that trading off a little noise in order to help shrink our footprint on the planet is worth it.” 

Come on Canada, hear the noise!
Frito Lay Canada wants Canadians to decide for themselves how they feel about the new SunChips compostable bag and are challenging people to go out and test the noise levels for themselves. Touch it, squeeze it and tell them what you really think. Is it really that unbearable when you consider the environmental benefits? A new Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sunchipscanada) has been set up to take consumer comments and feedback. If at the end of your test you still feel the bag is too loud for you, SunChips brand will send you a free pair of earplugs. Please visit our Facebook page for more information.

So why is the bag so noisy?
For those interested in the technical side, the compostable bag gets its characteristic noisiness from a plant-based material called polylactic acid (PLA), a material that is more than 90 per cent renewable and allows it to be compostable. There is a distinctly different sound than traditional chip bags because the plant-based materials are not as soft at room temperature. They will, however, completely break down in a hot, active compost pile in approximately 14 weeks.

“We are continually looking for ways to improve the bag in order to reduce noise while at the same time keeping the environmental benefits, and we expect to have news to share on that soon. In the short term we feel the current bag offers a big reduction in waste for a little amount of noise,”says Helmi Ansari, sustainability leader, Frito Lay Canada. “We always welcome the feedback of Canadians, but also want to encourage them to accept the greater purpose of the bag, noise and all.”

The SunChips 100% compostable chip bag will continue to appear on shelves in Canada in the 225g and 425g size bags. For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/sunchipscanada or www.sunchips.ca.