Consumers Demand: Frito-Lay Ditches 'Compostable' SunChips Bags Amid Noise Complaints

NEW YORK (AP) — Frito-Lay hopes to quiet complaints about its noisy SunChips bags by switching out the biodegradable bags for the old packaging on most flavors.

The company is switching back to original packaging, which is made of a type of plastic, for five of the six varieties of the chips. It will keep the biodegradable and recyclable bags for its sixth variety, its original plain flavor. That's its second best-selling, after Harvest Cheddar.

The snack maker said the switch started in the middle of September and should be complete by middle to late October.

The bags were launched in April 2009 with a big marketing effort to play up their compostability because they're made from plants and not plastic.

But that which makes them compostable also makes them loud. The bags have a different molecular structure from the original packaging, so people complained about the noise. Groups on Facebook abound with names such as "I wanted SunChips but my roommate was sleeping..." and and "Nothing is louder than a SunChips bag."

Spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez said the company received complaints about the noise from the bags, although it also received thanks from customers who liked being able to recycle them.

So the decision was made to remove the bulk of the biodegradable line.

"We need to listen to our consumers," she said. "We clearly heard their feedback."

Frito-Lay, a unit of PepsiCo Inc., based in Purchase, N.Y., is developing its next generation of biodegradable bags and will use what it learned with the SunChips effort, she said.

UPDATE:

The move doesn't have universal appeal. On the "green" blog ecorazzi, Micheal d'Estries posted the following message:

Sorry environment — we may not give much of a s***t about there being only 12 truly quiet places left in the United States, but when it comes to noisy chip bags, we draw the line.

The link is to a Planetgreen.com story detailing a scientist's theory that "the quiet places in the world are vanishing."