Since the world has woken up to the single use plastic crisis out there, and more and more people are looking to lead a zero waste life, grocery stores and take out cafeterias are carrying more and more alternatives to the common plastic fork. Many of these new options are labeled by their manufacturer as compostable and biodegradable. But are they really?
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Are all utensils labeled compostable really compostable and biodegradable?
The simple answer is NO!
Compostable and many biodegradable plastics are made from naturally occurring polymers such as starch or cellulose. It is at this point confusion is created and compostable/biodegradable plastics misrepresented as "not plastic&#;.
Although a natural polymer is used (e.g. derived from a crop, like corn), the utensils are still man-made in a laboratory via a chemical reaction in the same way as synthetic polymers. As a result the &#;compostable or biodegradable&#; materials they are being marketed as are still, essentially, plastics. In other words: if it looks like and feels like plastic, it is plastic.
So here&#;s the kicker. There is a way to compost these types of utensils - but it&#;s not in your back yard heap at home. It&#;s using a commercial grade composting facility. At these facilities, matter is broken down into very small pieces, then heated at incredibly high temperatures to allow them to biodegrade. It&#;s a very specific process and one we do not have access to at home. In addition, according to a recent study and analysis by Biocycle, the total confirmed number of full-scale food waste composting facilities in the U.S. is only 185. So, statistically speaking, you probably do not live near one.
If products are &#;certified&#; compostable are they really compostable?
Yes and no.
Certified compostable products, in many cases, means they have passed a specific compost test (commonly known as the ASTM D &#; Compostable Product Test).
This test stipulates that to be compostable, matter must compost within a &#;reasonably short period of time&#;. That length - for industrial composting - is 84 days for fragmentation of the product (breaking it into tiny pieces), and 180 days for complete mineralization in a properly managed composting facility.
So, yes, certified compostable products technically do biodegrade, but most are designed only to be composed in commercial grade facilities, and it can take 6- 9 months to occur.
Indeed, if you look at these certified compostable items they often have this disclaimer in very small writing :
&#;Check locally as a commercial composting facility does not exist in many communities - Not suitable for backyard composting.&#;
Several third party tests have been made on those so called compostable products in backyard composts, and after 2 years, the majority of the utensils were still there.
What Happens to Most Compostable Utensils?
Composting is a very specific process which does not occur in landfills. It also does not occur in water. As we mentioned, there are currently only 185 full-scale food waste comparing facilities in the US, compared to 3,092 active landfill dumps.
So, unless when you throw out your &#;compostable&#; utensils they are separated from regular garbage and your specific city is one of the few 5% that has a commercial food waste composting system, your utensils will not compost. Unless, that is, they are simple grain-based utensils such as TwentyFifty ! )
Furthermore, unless it is a natural food based product that dissolves in water, if it ends up in our waterways, it probably will not break down at all.
(The spoon on the left is a current 'compostable' spoon on the market. The spoon - or what's left of it - on the right is TwentyFifty. Both have been in water for 60 days).
This is why if you really want compostable or biodegradable you want to go to twentyfiftyfork.com. Our forks and spoons are made only out of simple, wholesome ingredients: wheat flour, soy flour, corn flour, and water. Because of this, they break down in 30 days or less even in your backyard compost - and even biodegrade in water over time.
To solve our plastic pollution we don&#;t need a few people living a zero waste life perfectly. We need a whole lot of people doing it imperfectly. TwentyFifty is a simple, effective and easy way to start.
There&#;s a growing market for disposable eating utensils. They have names like taterware or spudware -- forks and knives can be made out of potato starch instead of plastic. You might buy the tableware believing its better for the environment. But, that depends on where you toss it out.
Judy Adams is shopping for cutlery at Whole Foods in Sacramento. She compares two packets of disposable forks. One is made out of recycled plastic. The other is made out of corn starch.
&#;Compostable versus recyclable? What does that mean? Where does it say?,&#; asks Adams.
She reads the label on the back of the compostable forks.
&#;Our cutlery converts to soil, so you can put it into a composting pile. In a commercial composting system,&#; Adams reads. &#; Oh! What does that mean? You have to have a commercial composting system? Oops.&#;
Adams is confused. She says she will likely toss the forks in the trash because she assumes they will break down in a landfill. But, that may not be the case.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Biodegradable Spoons.
The product is made by Worldcentric, which is headquartered in Petaluma, CA.
Marketing Director Annie Davis points out products in the company&#;s showroom like their new compostable Asian soup spoon. The company manufactures everything from compostable ice cream cups to straws at production facilities in Asia.
It&#;s a big business &#; worth about $30 million annually.
Davis stresses that all Worldcentric products are certified by the Biodegradable Product Institute (BPI).
She reads the BPI disclaimer on the back of the Worldcentric catalog: &#;Compostable in industrial facilities.&#;
&#;And then there is small language -- check locally as these do not exist in many communities," says Davis. "Not suitable for backyard composting.&#;
As Davis says, industrial facilities might not exist nearby.
The nearest facility that does accept bio-plastics is an hour away in Vacaville, CA.
There is a composting facility just down the road in Novato, Redwood Landfill and Recycling Center, but it only accept yardwaste, food scraps and paper products.
Alisha McCutheon runs the composting facility. She says a lot of her customers don&#;t know Redwood can&#;t accept bio-plastics. So, they&#;re in the mix.
&#;Thin things like bio-bags break down pretty readily," says McCutheon. &#;Things like spudware, potato cutlery, forks and knives make out of cornstarch -- they almost don&#;t break down at all.&#;
McCutheon points to a large pile of debris. It&#;s the leftovers -- even a nerf football -- that didn&#;t break down after five months of composting.
She picks up a compostable spoon and dusts it off. She says all the leftovers &#; including the spoon -- are now on the way to the trash.
And, that&#;s not good news for the environment.
Joe Greene, a mechanical engineering professor at Chico State University and an expert on bio-plastics says, &#;The problem is that these actually can harm the environment more than regular petroleum based plastics if you throw them in the landfill because they generate methane gas."
Methane is a toxic greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
Greene says it&#;s important that certified compostable food service items end up at facilities with the proper capacity to break them down.
&#;They will bio-degrade in a hot industrial compost," says Greene. &#;They won&#;t bio-degrade in your backyard necessarily.&#;
Greene tried tossing some compostable spoons into his backyard compost bin. But, he says the products only broke down about 30 percent after two years.
He says the spoons will eventually biodegrade, but that could take a very long time.
He gives the example of a bio-plastic bag he picked up in . The product said &#;biodegradable&#; on it, but he watched it for the last decade -- it&#;s still intact.
In other words, both compostable goods and composting facilities vary widely.
So, before you buy eco-friendlier plastic, Greene suggests you research the product, and determine where you&#;ll throw it away.
Resources: Research compostable food service items. Find a composting facility near you.
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If you want to learn more, please visit our website Biodegradable Forks and Knives Bulk Supply.