Waste Zero

We live in a world filled with complicated plastics, which include plastics #1-7, bioplastics, degradable plastics, and compostable plastics.

When people ask me recycling questions about San Francisco’s programs, I sometimes get funny interpretations. “That is combustable, right?”, “Yes”, I say, “it’s compostable”, meaning, it is acceptable in San Francisco’s green compost collection bin.

Plastic manufacturers are trying to green plastic packaging and capitalize on greenwashing.  Consumers are still trying to grasp recycling basics and when you add biodegradable and compostable plastics to the mix, it just adds to the confusion.  I often field questions from our customers who inquire about different products and their recyclability. “Can I compost my wheat-based kitty litter?”, “How about my biodegradable diapers, if there is no poo?”, “My fork says biodegradable, can I put it in the green bin?”

The answer to all of these questions is “no”, they are not acceptable in the green compost bin.

New “green” products and plastics are the cause of much misinformation and confusion.  The sales pitches, acronyms and poor labeling are so overwhelming that consumers say “I just throw everything in the recycling bin.”  This is not what recycling companies want to hear. 

The following are some examples of terms and phrases used in the “green/bio” plastics industry.

• Biocompostable
• New generation of plastics
• Made from corn
• Taterware, Spudware or Greenware
• Renewable raw materials
• “Feels and look like plastics for the most part” 
• ASTM D6400
• Polylactic Acid (PLA)

Regardless of what the manufactures claim, let’s learn how to properly sort plastics into the correct recycling, compost or trash bins.

Compostable Plastics or items certified as ASTM D6400 compliant are “capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost site…” (I spared you the longer version from the American Society for Testing & Materials or ASTM).  Their definition of compostable ASTM D6400 compliant plastics goes on to say, for a plastic to be called “compostable”, they need to meet three criteria. They must:

• Biodegrade
• Disintegrate, and 
• Have no eco-toxicity

In short there must be no toxic residue left after the material is composted, it should look like dirt.

Biodegradable plastics that do not meet ASTM D6400 standards usually contain some plant based/“bio” plastics or additives mixed with real plastics and are not compostable or recyclable in San Francisco’s recycling programs.  Yes biodegradable or bioplastics may be greener or contain less petroleum based plastics, but once you mix plant and petroleum plastic resins you can not separate them, recycle or compost them, they go to landfill (San Francisco’s black trash bin).  Biodegradable plastics are designed to break down into smaller pieces of plastic outside of a landfill; they never “go away”.  We already have enough smaller pieces of plastics in our oceans. Do we really need more?

I advocate for zero waste everyday and hope that everyone can begin to think in the same way.  When determining what type of plastic to purchase (recyclable, compostable or non-recyclable) or any type of disposables for that matter, remember the basics (reduce, reuse, and then recycle). Ask yourself:

• Do you really need the disposable product? What alternatives exist?
• Can the product be replaced with something durable or reusable?
• What is the end use or recycling options for plastics?

In San Francisco and most communities that have a three bin system, sort your plastics as follows:

• Biodegradable plastics = landfill or trash
• Compostable = compost
• Recyclable (non-compostable or non-biodegradable) = recycling

WASTE ZERO everyday.