SANFORD, NC - Consumers love a good play on words and, as we have seen by Nike’s successful “Just do it” campaign, a call to action. Encompassing all of this is a name I think will soon be well-known in the produce industry and beyond: PlantSwitch.

“What we are looking for is where we can remove plastic easily and efficiently. We are offering a full-blown solution to replacing plastic throughout the supply and waste chain with a technology that is biodegradable in all natural environments,” Dillon Baxter, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, recently shared with me.

The most recent and notable showcase of the company’s capabilities is in a partnership with Taylor Farms for the launch of the latter’s line of six new Chopped Salad Bowls.

“Taylor must be commended for continuing to be a leader in innovation and taking this first step with us,” Dillon emphasized, calling the arrangement kismet. “In working with Taylor, a forward-thinking and value-added leader, we were able to find a partnership that shows what we can do through a platform others will listen to and follow the lead of. It should be celebrated that Taylor Farms is willing to take a step that is not just good for their business but for the industry as a whole.”

Taylor Farms' new Chopped Salad Bowls include forks made from PlantSwitch’s CompostZero resin, a bio-based alternative to conventional plastic that is certified compostable in both home and industrial compost. Made using cellulose from upcycled agricultural waste streams, Dillon explained that because of this critical factor, the sky is the limit for what PlantSwitch can do.

“Because it is our resin that is the solution, we are ready and welcome any opportunity to apply ourselves to entire use and packaging for food,” he reflects.

Even at retail, the team’s reply to what PlantSwitch can or can’t do is “give us an opportunity to whiteboard with your department heads.” Clearly poised for bigger things to come, the solution-forward, upcycled offering is certified home compostable, meaning it doesn’t have to go to a dedicated facility. It can simply return to the earth in consumers’ backyard.

With all the convenience and ease of science fiction brought to life, could this be the solution consumers, retail, foodservice, and producers have all been searching for?

I, for one, am eager to see where this road could lead. As the company itself states, it’s not plastic—it’s PlantSwitch.