Tag: compost

Are Compostable Bags Really Compostable? What You Need to Know This Int’l Compost Awareness Week

Green Matters: Are Compostable Bags Really Compostable? What You Need to Know This Int’l Compost Awareness Week. May 2 through May 8, 2021 marks International Compost Awareness Week — an annual week-long educational initiative to get more people composting their food scraps. Composting is a fantastic way to reduce your environmental impact and become closer to zero waste, but there can be a lot of confusion when beginning your composting journey.

We have endless guides to composting on Green Matters, including exactly what composting is, how to build an indoor compost bin, how to build an outdoor backyard compost bin, how to prepare compost for gardening, and more. But when first starting out, many wonder if compostable bags are actually compostable, or if that’s just a marketing term.

So in honor of International Compost Awareness Week’s goal of educating people on composting, read on for everything you need to know about the difference between compostable and biodegradable bags, plus a few of the best truly compostable bags on the market.

Study: Yale Climate Connections, April 3, 2020

This week’s articles include:

How produce stickers contribute to climate change.

CBC discusses how produce stickers contribute to climate change.

About three years ago, Susan Antler was at a composting facility in B.C. when a truck full of rotting avocados pulled up. It was “51 feet, 52 feet [approx. 14 metres] — like, [a] massive truckload,” said Antler, executive director of the Compost Council of Canada. “And the facility just wouldn’t accept it.” Why? Because each of those thousands of rotting avocados was “contaminated” by a little plastic PLU (or price look up) sticker. It carries a number, standardized around the globe, that identifies the type of produce and whether it’s conventionally or organically grown, to help cashiers enter the right price at the supermarket checkout.

But there are solutions, including other ways to affix the PLU to bulk fruits and veggies, such as:

Plastic To-Go Containers Are Bad, but Are the Alternatives Any Better?

Civileats discusses Plastic To-Go Containers Are Bad, but Are the Alternatives Any Better? Single-use plastic bans are showing up across the nation. But compostable plates and forks may not solve the plastic crisis.

On January 1, Berkeley, California rang in the New Year by putting a new rule in place requiring all cafés and restaurants to start charging 25 cents for disposable cups. The cups, in addition to lids, utensils, straws, and clamshells, must also now be certified compostable. This summer, eateries that offer on-site dining will also be required to serve customers using reusable plates, cups, and cutlery.

Berkeley’s ordinance—one of the strongest in the country—seeks to do away with single-use plastics. And it’s one of a slew of new laws that aim to do so. Towns, states, even entire countries, have been moving to ban everything from plastic checkout bags and plastic straws, to plastic food containers and take-away serviceware.

Many municipalities are also requiring restaurants and coffee shops to switch to plant-based compostables for takeout meals. They’re joining several other cities, including San Francisco and Seattle, which pioneered such requirements years ago. Even in areas where they aren’t the law, so-called bio-plastics are a booming business, and some food and beverage companies and restaurants have voluntarily made the switch as part of their sustainability plans.

Study: A Home Composting Guide for Local Government

This link describes how composting can help lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Tackling the problem of food waste is gaining attention to avoid garbage, conserve resources, create jobs, alleviate hunger, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) details how home composting is among the best opportunities to reduce food waste, especially in the near term and in areas lacking curbside collection or facilities to compost.

The 90-page report found that for every 10,000 households composting at home, between 1,400 and 5,000 tons per year could be diverted from curbside collection, with potential savings in avoided disposal costs alone ranging from $72,000 to $250,000.