Happy Earth Day!

Apr 22, 2013 | Eco-Friendly Events

With the increase of interest in all things sustainable, I’d like to re-run an article I wrote a couple of years ago on compostable disposables. Things have actually improved slightly on this subject, so here is an update:

Compostable disposables are a great idea for an eco-friendly party, right?  Well, maybe.

Let me back up a minute.  What is a compostable disposable?  Well, plastic (like, for plates, cups, flatware, etc.) can be made from petroleum.  That kind is definitely not compostable and you have to throw it out.  Alternatively, plastic can be made from corn, and dishes and so on made from that kind of plastic are marketed as being compostable.

Technically, yes, it is possible to compost corn plastic.  But the best authorities I can find (Smithsonian Magazine, for instance), say that it can only be composted in very hot, commercial composting facilities.  Being curious about this claim, my husband and I tried some experiments, with the help of a friend who has a very good home composting pile.  We took some cups and lids from my husband’s coffee roasting business to our friend.  The cups were paper lined with a very thin layer of corn plastic.  The lids were somewhat thicker plastic, but thinner than a plastic water bottle, and far thinner than a plastic plate.

The cups were shredded (with the assistance of the friend’s gentle pit bull) and put in the pile.  The lids went in whole (since the dog wasn’t interested in them).  In a reasonable amount of time (a few months, I believe), the paper and thin layer of corn plastic disappeared into the pile.  So far, so good.  Nine months later, we were back at the friend’s house, and she handed us a lid that had been in the pile for the entire time.  It was intact, whole, undisturbed.  Even her warm, active compost pile had not been able to digest even that much corn plastic.  Apparently, it does take a hotter compost pile to compost them.

Here is the lid after sitting in a nice, warm, active compost pile for almost a year.

But where do you find a commercial composter that will take corn plastics?  You can search for them at Find a Composter.  There seem to be more commercial composting facilities now than there were three years ago when I first looked for them.  You might find, however, that many facilities do not take composting materials directly from households.  Fortunately, there are now composting services (such as Collective Resource) that can take your compostable materials and drop them off at a local commercial facility.

Are compostable disposables your best choice?  Maybe.  If you are throwing a party and want to keep it as eco-friendly as possible, you could use ceramic dishes.  Rent them from a nearby rental house to reduce transportation waste.  If you have to use disposables, also consider plain paper dishes.  Paper is a renewable resource, like corn, and is much more compostable.  And, as we discovered, paper cups lined with corn plastic are actually compostable, even in a home compost pile.  If you need disposable utensils, consider using corn plastic and hiring a composting service.  Actually, consider it, anyhow, so you know that the food waste will also be taken care of.

Composting food and utensils from a party is getting easier every year, but it still takes some extra thought.  It’s encouraging how much progress has been made in three years.