Recently a study came out in regards to Portland, Oregon’s two compost facilities which accept PLA/Starch based plastic. Certain “trade organizations” have came out publicly stating that there is less than 4% (it’s 5% actually)of Compostable Plastic in the “overs”(The stuff that doesn’t breakdown in compost facilities) and a large majority is plastic(PE, PP, PVC, PET), as we know it it takes hundreds of years for plastic to break down, which is to be anticipated it would not compost. What isn’t anticipated is that 10%(In comparison to the plastic articles, not cardboard/wood or cellulose) is PLA/Starch the product which is being lobbied to break down in compost facilities across the nation.
The report which was sponsored by the trade organization, is obviously bias, can’t say definitely how many bags, cups and forks that are being placed into these “compostable” bins. BioSphere Plastic is located within the Portland Metro area and frequents the Rose Garden for events and can say for certain that the majority of compostable plastic items are thrown into the landfill, not into the compost bin. In the report there are items like the “bangers” thrown into the compost bin(Not Compostable), plastic items, trash, cigarette butts and the like, even the waitresses in the Lexus Club throw items into the landfill rather than the compost bin.
So what of the items that are said to be compostable and aren’t really composting in the time required by the ASTM D6400? They are sold as compostable PLA/Starch items and they don’t have the right environment to decompose. So Portlandians are forced to purchase more expensive bags/cups that don’t break down in the time frame required to compost. So they go to the landfill as with all the “overs” in a compost facility.
Where are we left off? Well with no education around what bags actually compost or what corn cups compost it leaves us wondering in Portland, do we just throw it into the trash?
For the full report view (here)
