Rahul Shankar is an Application Scientist in the Biodegradables Application Research Group at Eastman Chemical Company, where he supports Eastman’s cellulose-based biodegradable and compostable product range for food service/food packaging called Eastman Aventa™. He primarily works on formulation design and characterization of fit-for-use and end-of-life properties. As a part of his efforts around end-of-life performance evaluation, Rahul is actively involved in executing in-field composting trials to evaluate breakdown of cellulosic products in real-world conditions. Rahul is a part of a proactive team at Eastman that works closely with testing labs, certification bodies, standards development organizations and composters to increase reliability and drive broader acceptance of compostable products among consumers and composters. He received his B.S in Polymer Engineering from University of Pune, India, M.S and Ph.D in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Session Code: 5C

Track: Future of Compostable Products

Session Name: Can We Move The Needle on Compost Manufacturer Acceptance of Compostable Packaging? Field Testing Data and What’s Next

Session Time: Thursday, February 8, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Presentation Title: Evaluation of Disintegration and Composting Progress Inside Mesh-Bags and Outside

Presentation Description: Insights from a study by Eastman, CMA and WeCare Denali of a windrow composting trial of cellulosic, PLA and paper-based products, including a negative control and evaluated through both mesh bag and bulk-dosing methods