Compostable plastic isn’t the green alternative you think it is
Judith Enck | San Francisco Chronicle | August 5, 2024
Contrary to popular belief, products made of “compostable” plastic won’t degrade in your home compost. Rather, they are products that can decompose in commercial composting facilities, which are rare in the U.S.
While getting takeout recently, I politely handed back the plastic utensils provided with my meal, saying, “I’ll let you keep these! I’m trying to avoid single-use plastic when I can.” The restaurant employee responded, “Oh, don’t worry! Ours are made of compostable plastic.”
She walked away before I could burst her bubble.
Restaurants, hotels and schools are increasingly using single-use plastic products labeled as “compostable,” “biodegradable” or “Earth-friendly” as an alternative to traditional plastic. This would be great news — if those products did what they claim to do. Unfortunately, many are just as problematic as the plastic they’re replacing.
It’s a hard pill to swallow since the people buying these alternatives are genuinely trying to do right by the planet and their customers — they’re even paying a higher price to do so. That’s why Beyond Plastics, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending plastic pollution, where I serve as president, decided to take a closer look at bioplastics — the products behind all this confusion.
Bioplastic is an umbrella term that includes plastics made from plants, biodegradable plastics and material made from both plants and biodegradable plastic. We studied bioplastics on the market and what standards they were required to meet to use the labels consumers associate with environmental protection.
Our findings, published in a report released July 11, revealed that companies can freely label products as “bioplastic,” “biodegradable” and “compostable” because there are no federal standards defining these terms or regulating products with these claims. This leads to confusion among consumers and gives companies myriad opportunities to mislead them intentionally.
Biodegradable plastics can break apart naturally in the environment, but without a specific timeline — it can take months or decades. Contrary to popular belief, products made of “compostable” plastic won’t degrade in your home compost. Rather, they are products that can decompose in commercial composting facilities with the help of microbes, high temperatures and other controlled conditions. San Francisco’s residential composting program accepts compostable plastic but this does not exist in most communities, and most existing composters don’t accept compostable packaging due to concerns about contamination in their final soil product.
This is why I feel like Rachel Dratch in the iconic “Saturday Night Live” Debbie Downer skit whenever I find myself in situations like the one at the restaurant. Are those “compostable” plastic utensils going to one of the rare U.S. commercial composting facilities? Unlikely. Like most compostable plastic in America, they’re probably thrown into the same trash can as the rest of the waste and traditional plastic products. They’ll end up in a landfill or incinerator and cause local pollution problems.
Like bioplastic products, bioplastic certification programs aren’t what they seem. Those in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand are run by trade associations or private organizations that represent the companies manufacturing the very products seeking certification.
The main U.S. certifier of compostable packaging — the Biodegradable Products Institute — is a perfect example of this. Its board includes representatives from some of the most powerful petrochemical companies in the country, including BASF, Eastman Chemical Co., TotalEnergies Corbion and Danimer Scientific. These companies are responsible for much of the plastic Americans use today.
At the very least, I wish I could tell you bioplastics are safer than traditional plastics. Alas, they’re typically made using the same processes as traditional plastics, which means they can also contain harmful chemical additives. Recent research shows some bioplastics may be even more toxic than their conventional counterparts.
But here’s the good news: We already know the solution to the plastic pollution crisis, and it’s pretty simple. Companies need to stop producing so much plastic and offer reusable and refillable packaging — and policymakers need to pass policies requiring them to do so. It’s the only way we’re going to protect our oceans, waterways, communities and our bodies.
In the meantime, individuals and businesses can still make good choices. They can avoid single-use plastic whenever possible and prioritize reusable and refillable products. The next best option is a recycled paper or cardboard alternative.
Bioplastics should be considered only when all of those options are exhausted — and you’ll need to be a sleuth about it. Call the supplier and make sure that it’s not derived from fossil fuels, it’s free of polylactic acid because these products can be made with toxic chemicals, it’s certified by an independent group like GreenScreen, Cradle to Cradle or BioPreferred and is not made using polyfluoroalkyl substances (known as “forever chemicals”).
If a product checks all these boxes and is made of biodegradable or compostable plastic, you’ll need a separate collection bin for it. You’ll also need to make sure your area has one of those rare commercial composting facilities where the material can be sent.
Should it be this complicated? No. The Federal Trade Commission needs to finalize changes to its Green Guides, the agency’s guidance that addresses the accuracy of environmental claims made by companies so that consumers can trust the bioplastic products being sold to them.
Even better: U.S. leaders need to finally catch up with the rest of the world in passing federal regulation of single-use plastic so consumers can avoid this persistent pollutant as much as possible.
Judith Enck is a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator, president of Beyond Plastics and a professor at Bennington College in Vermont.
