Is This Compostable??

Not only does it take energy and resources to create the boxes, containers and plastic wraps that cover our food, packaging also contributes to climate change when it breaks down in landfills. Composting diverts this food-related waste from the landfills, and turns it into a new product that can be used to nourish crops, thereby closing the food cycle and preventing greenhouse gas emissions.

Seattle residents are able to put their food waste (vegetable and meat scraps, dairy products, pizza boxes, etc.) out on the curb for collection for Cedar Grove to compost, and last July restaurants were required to provide compostable to-go containers. Coffee shops now pour iced lattes into clear containers made of corn, not plastic.

However, not all compostable products are created equal. With the introduction of so many more compostable packaging options, it’s difficult to accurately distinguish compostable packaging from its durable couterpart because they look so similar. Furthermore, not only do products have to be composted correctly in the right kind of facility but they have to be composted in the first place to make a positive difference. Often compostable products just get tossed in the trash, further stuffing landfills. (Which is the argument Environmental Impact Director Jim Hanna gave when Starbucks didn’t get on board with compostable cups when Tully’s did.)

This article takes a look at the complexities that have arisen now that there are so many new compostables on the market.

Compostable is the new organic.

It’s a word increasingly showing up on food and beverage packaging.

Disposable cups, take-out containers, throw-away cutlery and potato chip bags emblazoned with the word are trickling into restaurants, grocery stores and coffee shops.

It means the material in question will biodegrade or break down into compost, a valuable, mulchlike material that gardeners use to improve soil and stop weed growth.

More…

Related posts:

1. Wasting Food is a Waste of Energy
2. The Bounty of Biosolids: The Responsible Choice
3. Washington Becomes Fifth State to Ban BPA in Baby Bottles

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