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When “compostables” are actually waste – Santa Cruz Sentinel

Umito November 24, 2024

Are our “compostable” bags, utensils and containers really returning to nature?

Hailed as a solution to the plastic problem, a growing number of new materials – marketed as biodegradable, sustainable, eco-friendly, decomposable or plant-based – promise to break down naturally in compost, easing our conscience of waste .

But the truth depends on where you live. In California, each community decides which materials it will accept into its curbside recycling program, based on the contract and the capabilities of its waste processor.

“It’s complicated and confusing,” said Mark Murray, executive director of the nonprofit. Californians against wastewhich advocates for waste prevention and recycling policies.

The Bay Area’s patchwork of local policies determines whether these materials will help fertilize a farm or be tossed into a landfill.

If you live in San Francisco, Berkeley Or Palo AltoFor example, certified “compostables” go in the green bin. If you live in St. Cruzthey go in your trash. In San Josethey also go into the trash, but are then removed and processed.

That’s because cities negotiate different contracts with the region’s dozen composting facilities. It is more expensive to process “compostables” than organic waste. And only a few facilities have the sophisticated equipment needed to do this work.

To add to the complexity, not all elements are created equal. An uncoated fiber takeout container or bamboo fork, for example, can often be treated like leftovers from last night’s dinner. “Compostable” plastic is much more restricted; some facilities only accept it if it meets strict criteriaso food scraps in green bags are often diverted to landfills. A “biodegradable” the item will simply deteriorate over time; it cannot be composted.

To help consumers, California law prohibits the sale of products labeled “compostable” or “home compostable” unless they have been certified by an accredited group such as Biodegradable Products Institute.

But that doesn’t mean all these certified items can just be thrown into your green bin. Even though certified fibers are compostable, most certified plastics are disposed of, according to Jeanine Sidran of Stop waste, a public agency that reduces waste in Alameda County.

“We all want a ‘compostable’ product to be the magic wand under which it is marketed,” said Melissa Valliant of Beyond plastics, an advocacy group urging the federal government to update and expand its guidance on these documents. “But unfortunately that’s not the case.”

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A plastic bag mixed with compost at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility, Thursday, November 14, 2024, in Vernalis, California. Plastic and other non-compostable items are removed from the compost at several sorting stages. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Develop

THE global compostable packaging marketmade from a combination of recycled and plant-based materials, has exploded from $95.73 billion last year to a projected $167.29 billion by 2030.

Compostable bags provide a neat way to fill the waste bucket in our kitchens or collect vegetables from the produce aisle of a grocery store. Takeout containers are popular in restaurants; utensils are trendy during picnics with friends. Companies like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are increasingly using “compostable” packaging.

One day, these products could potentially be better for the planet, but right now they face many challenges, experts say.

The major problem, they say, is that available equipment cannot meet demand.

“Compostables” require more heat to decompose than food scraps, yard waste and other organic materials, Murray said. And they take longer.

“No one wants to see particles in their compost,” he said.

Composting facilities are finicky. Their main customers are organic farms – and U.S. Department of Agriculture rules say so. farms cannot use compost derived from compostable bioplastic packaging, for example, due to concerns about chemical contamination and debris.

They only accept materials that they know will actually decompose. The most advanced installations, such as GreenWaste San Jose Material Recovery Facility And Recology’The East Livermore facility has sophisticated sorting. But many other facilities can’t distinguish between compostable and non-compostable packaging, so they just remove everything and send it to the landfill, Murray said.

A Recology employee removes non-compostable items from a conveyor belt at the company's green waste facility, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) — A Recology employee removes non-compostable items from a conveyor belt at Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North composting facility, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

America would “need a five- or even ten-fold increase” in infrastructure to handle all the compostable and food waste generated by residents, said Eric Hudiburgh of the US Composting Council.

Faced with such limitations, each community must develop policies based on the materials its composting facility will accept, according to Lance Klug of California Department of Recycling and Resource Recovery.

St. Cruzfor example, does not use compost treatment, so only food scraps are allowed in the green bin.

In OaklandFood vendors are prohibited from using “compostable” plastic food utensils and residents must put these items in the trash, according to recycling program specialist Etienne Lugo. Residents can line their compost buckets with paper bags or newspaper, or place their compost in cereal boxes, she said.

On the other hand, San Francisco And Berkeley will accept anything certified “BPI compostable”, including bags. Green wastewhich serves San Jose, Portola Valley, Palo Alto, Atherton, Los Altos Hills and Woodside, asks residents to put all “compostables” in the black trash; once collected, it is sorted and composted.

Because San Mateo County relies on several different waste management companies, there are slightly different rules for what they accept, said Karen Wang of San Mateo County Department of Sustainability. For example, South San Francisco Scavenger Co. does not accept biodegradable green bags. But other carriers do it.

Backyard compost piles rarely reach 100 to 140 degrees necessary to break down these products.

There is another alternative: throwing away fewer things.

“An intelligent person solves a problem; a wise person avoids it altogether,” said Robert Reed of Recology. Reed lines his kitchen compost with a paper towel and shops at his local farmers market with two five-gallon bins. No plastic required.

“What did your grandparents do? What did your parents do? They had a metal fork and knife and they were washing them,” he said.