“No one comes to us first,” said a source in the HRM solid waste department, who preferred not to be identified for this story. Disappointed that businesses don’t consider the HRM guidelines for what can and cannot be composted, he explains that many local restaurants and cafes are trying to focus on their efforts to provide recycleable take-out containers as a sign of their environmental sensitivity, while in fact it’s just a distraction from what they should really be doing.
“Recyclable containers are a fad,” he continues, explaining that any container made out of cornstarch or other plastic substitutes is still a polymer and can’t go in the green bin. “It would be better for every part of their organics be diverted, rather than worry about take-out
containers.”
This means that anywhere that trumpets compostable cups at best hasn’t done their homework, and at worst is intentionally greenwashing. Offering a discount for bringing your own mug is the best way for java joints to go.
And the message is, if you have a backyard compost pile—great. Not many of us do, but if you are one of the lucky few, put the biodegradable containers there, where they can break down over months. The system in place in the HRM requires that whatever goes into green bins break down in an aerobic way within 28 days. Almost all coffee cups and lunch take-out containers won’t do that, and cups promoted as “recycleable” must be marked with a #1 or #2 plastic number to be included in the blue bag, or they’re headed directly to the landfill.
Oh, and biodegradable plastic bags? They have no place in green bins. (Again, in a compost pile in your backyard, perfect, otherwise it’s just more plastic waste.)
The solid waste source says his department will send people to look at restaurant dumpsters to see the how much organic material is being thrown out. He stresses that to separate the regular garbage from the organics is actually a money-saver for restaurants, since organics cost less by weight to remove than garbage. What it comes down to is an organized kitchen, with an educated staff that knows what to do with leftovers, both the stuff that never makes it to the table and the stuff that doesn’t get eaten.
“Look in the kitchen buckets,” suggests the source, for a true measure of what restaurants are doing to limit waste. If all remaining food and organic matter is being composted, “they’re golden.”
This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2010.
I import and distribute certified compostable foodware. In Winnipeg the first thing we did was bring a compost facility on board (http://www.wastereductionstore.com). This is simply what a true green company should do if they are distributing compostable foodware.
In addition there is absolutely no reason why Halifax (and other) compost facilities cannot accept certified compostable foodware. San Francisco does. See: http://sunsetscavenger.com/residentialComp… .
In my opinion, after four years analyzing this industry there are a lot of poor reasons for not doing what San Francisco is doing. At the end of the day all this disposable waste is heading to the landfills. It does not need to be. If we can put people on the moon and invest in complicated recycling depots that have to ship ‘recyclables’ all over the earth to get them recycled, surely we can figure out how to implement systems to ensure coffee cups can be certified as compostable, educate people about certification and implement systems to have the products accepted at a LOCAL compost facility.
The only difference between San Francisco and other places is the will to change things.
Hey – Saw your post and I’m glad that you brought this issue to the table. There is a lot of controversy towards this topic. I work for a green purchasing co-operative (a collection of businesses & organizations that all buy eco-friendly products) and thought you might want to learn more about the bioplastics which we carry. Check out this post we have explaining the difference between biodegradable and compostable products and specifically how we verify these traits at our company: http://vivbizclub.com/blog/2010/03/13/comp….
I agree with the post above-it is necessary to be clear about what needs to be commercially composted vs. what can be naturally composted. On our website, we indicate the type of composting facility each product needs as well.
Hopefully this clarifies some of the doubts you had about compostable containers in the market today.
yeah or hrm could have a way to sift the unbrokendown stuff from the compost and do a second stage of compost? as usual everyone wants everything done fast cheap and easy, i personally have no respect for anyone who represents hrm in anyway who refuses to be named.
I work for a very eco-conscious coffee company and we have struggled with this issue for years. Our cups are compostable. I’ve done tests in the backyard, they break down pretty quickly (4-6 weeks). They also make great compostable planters for seedlings. Unfortunately There seem to be NO biodegradable cups that HRM or Valley Waste will accept as compostable material. To me the onus shouldn’t be on companies that are paying a lot of extra money to do the right thing, but on the waste management systems that won’t accept them. They should figure out a solution. Longer-term composting?