Ice Cream Cups and Bowls The Definitive Guide to Buying Compostable Ice Cream Containers

We’ve had a variety of dessert businesses join our Eco Buying Group recently – frozen yogurt shops, ice cream parlors, gelato makers, etc.

Sustainability has become very important to many of these businesses – from sourcing organic milk & dairy, to using energy efficient lighting & appliances, to minimizing the waste from their stores & operations.

In particular, many of these businesses have come to us looking for compostable ice cream cups and ice cream bowls, and as a result, we’ve started to gain a fair amount of insight into the supply needs of dessert business owners. And with that, we decided to put together:

The Definitive Guide to Purchasing Compostable Ice Cream Containers

We’re going to focus here on purchasing compostables, but we will say first, we highly recommend using re-usables for any customers that are having their ice cream or frozen yogurt in-store.

Here’s what you need to be looking for when it comes to compostables:

1. Price – This is the most important factor for most organizations when it comes to purchasing compostable cups and bowls. Again, we believe we have some of the best pricing available for small businesses, but we do encourage you to look around as pricing does vary widely.
2. Cups vs. Bowls – There is some division across ice cream, gelato, and frozen yogurt owners over whether to use compostable cups or bowls for their products. We’ve found that most owners do prefer to use bowls, as they provide easier access to a spoon, but unfortunately, compostable bowls can be difficult to find in a size smaller than 6 oz as the products and the compostable industry are still nascent.
3. Sizes & Types of Bowls & Cups – We’ve found that owners are looking for 3 main sizes of ice cream cups and bowls:
• The small | 4 oz, 5 oz, or 6 oz – Bowls are typically not available in 4 oz and 5 oz sizes. As such many ice cream owners move forward with a clear corn or PLA cup for this size. Most owners prefer cups that fan out toward the top which provides better access to the spoon (e.g.,our 5 oz cup does this). Ocassionaly bagasse or wheat straw bowls are available in a 6oz size (for instance, World Centric stocks a 6oz bowl), but we haven’t heard of PLA-lined (PLA is a 100% compostable plastic polymer made from corn) paper bowls in any of these sizes.
• The medium | 7 oz and 8 oz – 8oz paper PLA-lined bowls are typically available. 7 oz corn cups are also available, but most owners prefer a squat 7 oz cup which can be more difficult to find.
• The large | 9 oz, 10 oz, and 12oz – Many owners will choose the 9 oz clear corn squat cup for larger servings (typically good for 2 scoops). The squat cup also provides easier access to a spoon and to the scooping up of toppings. 10 oz and 12 oz paper PLA-lined bowls can also be found with the 12 oz generally being easier to find.
4. Design / Labeling – If purchaisng compostables, most owners & managers prefer to have a cup or bowl that is clearly labled as being compostable. Most corn cups & PLA-lined paper bowls are clearly labeled with the words “100% compostable” and a green stripe. Bagasse bowls typcially do not contain compostable labeling. This labeling is important to ensure that cups and bowls are placed in a composting bin by customers and are properly sorted at recycling and composting facilities.
5. Compostability – Per our previous buying guides on compostable corn cups & compostable coffee cups make sure that the cups you purchase are 100% compostable and are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI).

Do you own or work for an ice cream, frozen yogurt, or gelato shop? Do you have a preference about your compostable ice cream cups or bowls? Write in a comment and tell us what you think.