In recent years we have seen a surge of supposedly eco-friendly alternatives to plastic packaging as we try to combat the global crisis that is climate change. However, research shows that alternative compostable containers may not be as eco-friendly as advertised.
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.”
Plastic To-Go Containers Are Bad, but Are the Alternatives Any Better? -Civil eats
The featured image shows an unlined cardboard to-go container with a see-through plastic window. If the plastic is removed Midtown Composting can compost it, but some composters won’t want it.
Plastic Alternatives
Compostable containers require a lot of energy to produce, and in some cases have a greater carbon footprint than their plastic counterparts from the beginning of the production process through decomposition because many of them are made with corn, a very resource-intensive crop to grow, and because they often do not breakdown naturally. Many plastic alternatives are labeled as “Biodegradeable” however biodegradable products do not have a time limit for how fast they have to breakdown. Even plastic is technically considered biodegradable, but virtually all of the plastic ever manufactured is still on earth. One of the biggest differences between compostable and biodegradable packaging is essentially how long it takes to breakdown. Additionally, compostable products are meant to return nutrients to the Earth while Biodegradeable products are just meant to completely breakdown without further harming the Earth. Compostable products are meant to break down with other organic matter while Biodegradeable products are meant to break down in a landfill.
The Problem with Compostable Packaging
Most compostable packaging is made from corn. Around 40% of US corn production goes to making biofuels. Corn is an extremely intensive crop to grow, requiring more soil and more water to produce than other crops. Often times pesticides sprayed on the crop end up in water runoff to the ocean. From 1995 to 2019 there’s been more than $100 Billion in corn subsidies. Hemp, however, can be grown on land that is not suitable for corn and is able to survive in land that is not habitable for other crops.
Compostable containers still take an extremely long time to break down and often times don’t fully break down with regular compost. One of the biggest differences between compostable packaging and organic matter is that compostable packaging does not break down in your backyard compost bin the same way organic matter does. This means compostable packaging often has to be taken to industrial composting facilities, where the energy output to get these compostable containers to break down is much greater than that of regular organic matter. However, many of these industrial composting facilities have stopped taking compostable packaging because of the added energy to get it to break down. There is a large increase in cost and resources when you add compostable packaging into regular compost.
‘Compostable” packaging and service-ware items have been on the rise for the past decade and they are increasingly ending up in our facilities. These materials compromise our composting programs and limit many of the environmental benefits of successful composting.”
A Message from Composters Serving Oregon: 1 2 3 4 5 -Oregon.gov
Additionally, this compost is often not able to be sold to organic farmers, the biggest reason being that many of these containers contain PFAS. This is in violation of the USDA Organic standards. PFAS are a “forever chemical” known to cause cancer, however, the BPI (Biodegradeable products institute has announced as of January 1st, 2020 their products will no longer contain PFAS.
Right now, we’re not really seeing a decrease in consumption. How much we consume is just as important as what we consume, and the best way to be sustainable is to consume less.
‘It’s nice to be able to make people feel good about throwing something away, but we’re really not changing their behavior or patterns,” said Jack Hoeck, vice president of environmental services at Rexius, a Eugene-based recycling plant that no longer accepts compostable products. “From a climate change perspective, it would be better to reduce the amount we’re generating.’”
Plastic To-Go Containers Are Bad, but Are the Alternatives Any Better? -Civil Eats
Ideally, you stop eating out and when you do you bring your own containers, but if that’s not an option the best thing to do is check and see if your container can be accepted at your nearest composting facility. If you’re not already composting click here so compost in the Detroit area, and click here to see where you can compost in your area.
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