Do our “compostable” bags, utensils and containers really return to nature?
Hailed as a solution to the plastic problem, a growing number of new materials — marketed as biodegradable, sustainable, earth-friendly, decomposable or plant-based — promise to break down naturally in compost, easing our conscience about waste.
But the truth depends on where you live. In California, each community decides on the materials it will accept in its curbside collection program, based on the contract and capabilities of its waste processor.
It’s complicated and confusing, said Mark Murray, executive director of the nonprofit Californians Against Waste, which 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 dumped into a landfill.
If you live in San Francisco, Berkeley or Palo Alto, for example, certified compostables go in the green bin. If you live in Santa Cruz, they go in your trash bin. In San Jose, they also go in the trash bin, but theyre later pulled out and processed.
That’s because cities negotiate different contracts with the regions dozen or so compost facilities. It’s more expensive to process compostables, especially plastics, than organic waste. And only a few facilities have the sophisticated equipment necessary to do the job.
To add to the complexity, not all items are created equal. An uncoated fiber to-go container or bamboo fork, for instance, can often be treated like the leftovers from last night’s dinner. Compostable plastic is much more restricted; some facilities accept it only if it meets strict criteria, so green-bagged food scraps are often diverted to landfills. A biodegradable item will simply decay over time; it cant be composted.
To help consumers, California law prohibits the sale of products labeled compostable or home compostable unless theyve been certified by an accredited group like the Biodegradable Products Institute.
But that doesnt mean all such certified items can just be tossed in your green bin. While certified fiberware will compost, most certified plastic is screened out, according to Jeanine Sidran of StopWaste, a public agency that reduces waste in Alameda County.
“We all want a compostable to be the magic wand that it’s marketed as,” said Melissa Valliant of Beyond Plastics, an advocacy group urging the federal government to update and expand its guidance on these materials. “But, unfortunately, it’s not.”
A plastic bag mixed with compost at the Recology Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. Plastic and other non compostable items are removed from the compost at multiple sorting stages. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
A worker uses heavy equipment to move compost material at the Recology Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Recology employee Robert Reed sifts through a mound of compost at the company’s Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Recology employees work to move compost material at the company’s Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Food items decompose in a mound of compost at the Recology Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
A Recology employee pulls non compostable items from a conveyor belt at the company’s Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Steam rises from rows of compost at the Recology Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
A small piece of plastic mixed with compost at the Recology Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. Plastic and other non compostable items are removed from the compost at multiple sorting stages. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
A Recology employee sorts through non compostable items at the company’s Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Show Caption1 of 9A plastic bag mixed with compost at the Recology Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. Plastic and other non compostable items are removed from the compost at multiple sorting stages. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
ExpandThe global market for compostable packaging, made from a combination of recycled and plant-based materials, has exploded, increasing from $95.73 billion last year to a projected $167.29 billion by 2030.
Compostable bags offer a tidy way to line the waste pail in our kitchens or collect vegetables in the produce aisle of a grocery. To-go containers are popular at restaurants; utensils are trendy at picnics with friends. Companies like Trader Joes and Whole Foods increasingly use compostable packaging.
Someday these products might have the potential to be better for the planet — but right now, they face many challenges, say experts.
The major problem, they say, is that available equipment cant keep up with demand.
Compostables demand more heat to break down than food scraps, yard waste and other organic materials, said Murray. And they take longer.
Nobody wants to see flecks of stuff in their compost, he said.
Composting facilities are finicky. Their major customers are organic farms — and U.S. Department of Agriculture rules say these farms cant use compost derived from compostable bioplastic packaging, for instance, due to concerns about chemical contamination and debris.
They only accept materials that they know will truly break down. The most advanced facilities, like the GreenWaste San Jose Material Recovery Facility and Recologys facility east of Livermore, have sophisticated sorting. But many other facilities cant distinguish between compostable and noncompostable packaging, so simply remove everything, sending it to landfill, Murray said.
A Recology employee pulls non compostable items from a conveyor belt at the company’s Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
America would need a five, maybe 10 time, increase in infrastructure to handle all the compostables and food waste residents generate, said Eric Hudiburgh of the U.S. Composting Council.
Faced with such limits, each community must make policies based on the materials its composting facility will accept, according to Lance Klug of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
Santa Cruz, for instance, doesn’t utilize industrial compost processing, so only food scraps are allowed in the green bin.
In Oakland, food vendors are prohibited from using “compostable” plastic foodware and residents must put such items in the trash, according to Recycling Program Specialist Etienne Lugo. Residents can line their compost pails with paper bags or newspaper, or place compost in cereal boxes, she said.
In contrast, San Francisco and Berkeley will accept anything certified as BPI-compostable, including bags. GreenWaste, which serves San Jose, Portola Valley, Palo Alto, Atherton, Los Altos Hills and Woodside, instructs residents to put all compostables in the black trash bin; once picked up, it gets sorted and composted.
Because San Mateo County relies on several different waste companies, there are slightly different rules for what they accept, said Karen Wang of San Mateo Countys Sustainability Department. For example, South San Francisco Scavenger Co. does not accept biodegradable green bags. But other haulers do.
Backyard compost piles rarely reach the 100 140 degrees needed to break down these products.
Theres another alternative: Throw away less stuff.
“A clever 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 carrying two five-gallon tubs.
What did your grandparents do? What did your parents do? They had a metal fork and a metal knife and they washed them, he said.
Recology employee Robert Reed climbs across a mound of compost at the company’s Green Waste facility on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Vernalis, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)