Compostable packaging is confusing - its quick adaption and rise in popularity introduced even more jargon into the complex waste lexicon, and it's a topic that requires great nuance.
Link to Anhui Tian jian
In today's article, we will break down some common misconceptions and questions about compostable packaging. Throughout all of this, it's important to acknowledge two things:
Compostable packaging will not compost anywhere
If you drop a compostable coffee cup in the dirt in the woods, will it break down? What about a landfill?
Compostable packaging requires specific conditions to break down, a balance of temperature, humidity, airflow and micro-organisms. Most compostable products on the market need to be sent to a commercial composting facility to break down correctly. This is one of the greatest misconceptions about compostable packaging for consumers.
Below is an image of a commercial composting facility, there are many different models. At the site below, the machine is going up and down the rows of compost and turning it to ensure it has sufficient air to break down the materials while mixing the compost to break down evenly. In a landfill, it will be smothered by other waste and not have the required environment to break down correctly.
How do you know if something can be composted?
Australian certifications separate packaging into two categories - commercial and home, each with its own strict technical requirements about the amount of time a product needs to break down, and what size it needs to break down to.
Below are the two certification logos that should be present on any certified compostable packaging. Read in more detail here. New Zealand doesn't have official certifications at the moment however, Australian standards are widely accepted.
All compostable packaging is the same
There is an extensive range of compostable packaging solutions that vary in materials, rigidity, texture and application, which add to the confusion for consumers to understand end-of-life solutions.
Compostable packaging is the same as biodegradable packaging
For consumers, the difference between biodegradable and compostable isn’t particularly useful. Biodegradable as a term is largely unregulated, and because it doesn’t require a certification, it can be used to mislead consumers on the sustainability of a product or material.
Compostable packaging is a subset of biodegradable packaging (meaning all compostable packaging is biodegradable, but not all biodegradable packaging is compostable).
The ultimate goal when looking at these terms is whether they have a reliable certification.
Composting infrastructure is widely available
As Australia works towards the goal of halving the amount of organic waste sent to landfill by as a part of the action plan composting capacity is increasing and is available in most major centres.
However, compostable packaging is often not included in the collection due to many reasons, to name a few:
Compostable packaging is recyclable
As we mentioned, compostable packaging can be made from numerous materials, many of which look like paper or card. We find the graphic below from the Ministry for the Environment in New Zealand helpful to understand. So even if it looks like plastic or cardboard only put it in the recycling bin if the container is labelled as being made of paper, #1,2 or 5 plastic (learn more about plastic codes here) or is labelled as recyclable with the Australian Recycling Label and remember for something to be recyclable it needs to be free of food remnants.
I’ve tried a few methods of composting in the past with little success so the idea of creating compost right in my kitchen using an electric composter was definitely appealing – but is it too good to be true? To say I had a few questions is an understatement! For starters:
After some initial research and experimentation, I think electric composters can be a valuable addition to a home, especially if you live in colder climates where composting can get tricky. You should be aware though that the product created by most of these appliances isn’t finished compost. You’ll need a plan for managing this new form of food waste to really take advantage of their value. I think there’s hope for them being a good tool for diverting food waste from our landfills and the goal of this series is to give us some answers to help make them work for us and the planet.
First, let’s look at some things we’ll need to know before purchasing an Electric Composter such as the FoodCycler, the Lomi, or any of the host of brands now available.
Compost is a mixture of decayed or decaying organic matter used to fertilize soil. Compost is usually made by gathering plant material, such as leaves, grass clippings, and vegetable peels, into a pile or bin and letting it decompose as a result of the action of aerobic bacteria, fungi, and other organisms.
While my parents and several of my siblings have had successful composting experiences, I’ve not been so lucky. I’ve tried:
None of the above have been very successful – to the point where Brian’s reluctant to try any kind of composting again. Granted, I probably made mistakes with each of these methods but if a consistent, delicate balance over time is required I’m probably not the person to make it work!
Still, I want to reduce the amount of waste we send to the landfill and find a way to use the nutrients we’re throwing away. There must be something I can do! Naturally the idea of a device that can create compost immediately and without the mess or smell appeals to me. Unfortunately, these appliances can be costly so I decided to do some more research before deciding to purchase one.
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While the size, shape and mechanics may differ between brands, most electric composters process food scraps in similar stages:
Cycle times can vary, not only by brand but by the type of scraps you’re processing. Most manufacturers post a 1-8 hour typical cycle time and energy usage of about 1 – 1.5KW per cycle. That’s about the equivalent of a small space heater running for an hour.
Even before examining the usefulness of the product created in this way, I can think of some easy advantages and disadvantages of using an electric composter:
The biggest downside to an electronic composter that I can see so far is that few of them appear to actually make compost. Going back to the definition of compost above, it doesn’t seem like there is any aspect of aerobic bacteria, fungi, or other organisms at play in the process. As far as I can see, all we’re making is dehydrated, ground up food.
Given the few, mostly convenience-based advantages and the environmental disadvantages of electric composters noted above, I still don’t think they’re completely useless. If you can find a way to use the product at home they could be a pretty big win for our gardens and the environment. While not confirmed (yet), I can see some possibilities that could make these appliances valuable additions to your home:
The idea of electric composting appears to hold enough promise to keep me engaged!
As we were moving into our new home, I saw a post from our Municipality that they were going to be running a pilot project in cooperation with FoodCycler by Vitamix. According to the publication I received “The purpose of the FoodCyclerTM Pilot Program is to measure the viability of on-site food waste processing technology as a method of waste diversion. By reducing food waste at home, you can support your municipality in their environmental goals, reduce your household’s carbon footprint and extend the life of your community’s local landfill.”
The infrastructure for waste disposal in our area is limited; our dumps are quite small and our household waste is trucked away after the weekly collection. This results in higher costs to the municipality (and property owners through taxes) and higher emissions as the trucks run. It makes sense that we should want to do all possible to reduce the overall costs of disposing of waste.
I understand there are a number of pilot programs going on across Canada. If you’re intrigued by the idea of electronic composters too, you can check with your municipality to see if they have similar programs in place.
What perfect timing for this Pilot Project! I quickly applied to be a participant in the pilot program and soon my application was accepted. I was able to purchase my FoodCycler and take advantage of the subsidized cost provided by the Municipality.
Soon I had my FoodCycler in hand and familiarized myself with the proper operation and care of the unit. Then I was ready for some experimentation of my own!
My plan was to keep the FoodCycler unit in our pantry. I soon discovered that it, plus the freezer and bar fridge we already have in there, would create a warmer environment that I’d like for a pantry. So, after pulling it out of the pantry and into the kitchen to run, and about 6 cycles to make sure I was using the electric composter properly, I moved it to the garage. I know it’s not a pretty set-up, but we plan to build a bench/storage unit and it will have a permanent home there.
It certainly does reduce our waste overall! You should know something about me, to help quantify the amount of kitchen waste we produce: I’ll often throw out a significant amount of plant based food as I go off our meal plan or get lazy with food prep regularly. OH! Also, I am not adding any animal product other than egg shells to my FoodCycler. We’ve gone from often using 1 to 1.5 90L garbage bags weekly to using 1 not quite full bag. That’s an immediate win!
You can clearly see the reduced volume of food waste in the pictures above. To put that into even more perspective, the picture below shows the sum of our plant based food waste for three months. Doing some quick garbage bag math, that saved about 4 more 90L bags from going to the landfill. Less waste and less plastic from those bags too!
In my research so far, it appears that this reduction in waste going to the landfill is a huge win as long as you don’t send the product to the landfill. While none of the articles gave solid evidence or measurements of what happens to this waste in a landfill (anaerobic decomposition) setting, their argument against it intuitively has merit: while the form of the waste has changed, it still requires the same decomposition process which will create methane emissions. I found the best explanation on the Lomi site:
That’s why we want to keep our food waste out of the landfill. But we still need to do something with it.
Generally … Nope! It does however make a product that should compost faster as the particles are much smaller than what you would normally put into a traditional composter. That’s a theory right now, stay tuned for the experiments!
They really need to come up with a better name for these appliances as I’m not sure any would make real compost.
Now that we know the product of the process is simply a dry, shredded or ground version of your food scraps, and not garden ready nutrients, it seems like we’ve not made any really real progress beyond reducing the volume of the waste. However, I can see that there is a potential for using the product of the electric composter in an easier way than the traditional compost methods I’ve tried in the past.
In many online resources I’ve checked, it is not recommended to add the product directly to active/established garden beds. Two things could result:
I even found one experiment that produced a smelly, moldy mess when it was added to the garden. Yuck!
So, what do you do with this stuff?! Off the top of my head, here’s what I think you could do with the product of an electric composter:
Until we have a compost area set up here at the new place, I’ll be experimenting with using some of our product to experiment using smaller scale composting methods. I’ll store the remainder in a cool dry place while we get set up here. That’s one benefit for sure – easy, odourless storage! Follow me to see my next posts as I experiment and explore these options, and any other composting ideas I discover along the way.
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The Cottage Wife
In addition to hiking, biking, reading and writing, I like to focus on making as light an impact on the land possible, while still living a modern life.
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