I recently watched an episode of Food Unwrapped, the Channel 4 show which investigates the food industry and its global impacts. In this particular episode, there was a segment on food packaging and the waste produced from our take-away society; and we all know by now that plastic pollution is a global crisis with food and drink packaging being one of the main culprits. In the last few years there has been a rise in sustainable and plant-based packaging options, but are they really the solution to all of our plastic problems?
Compostable packaging has become more and more popular; made from plants, this material is waterproof and transparent making it perfect for coffee cups, take away containers and disposable cutlery. Once thrown away it will decompose within 12 weeks and doesn't need extensive cleaning before you chuck it, sounds pretty ideal! However, the word ‘compostable’ can be a little misleading… if you were to throw one of these coffee cups on your garden compost heap, you would be waiting a lifetime for it to decompose. Equally if it is just thrown in the bin and ends up in a landfill it will not compost at all, just like a plastic cup.
Instead, industrial scale incineration and bio-degradation is required to compost this plant-based plastic using heat, moisture and microbial activity to break down the plastic. This means for compostable plastics to be properly disposed of they need to be thrown in with food waste, rather than standard recycling. In fact, plant-based plastic is actually seen as a contaminant to regular recyclable plastic, and where possible to identify (often the only difference is a tiny number on the bottom of the cup) it will be removed from the recycling facility and sent to landfill - where it won't be able to decompose. According to Food Unwrapped, at present less than half of the UK's waste management facilities have the technology to properly deal with compostable plastics.
But even if your local council can handle it, unless there are green waste bins on the streets, then you will need to take this packaging home with you to dispose of correctly. This is fine for takeaways and deliveries, but for quick lunches on the go or a coffee on the train it is a little more problematic.
So what are compostable companies doing to solve this problem?
Companies such as Vegware have created community composting sites where designated cafes or restaurants will collect compostables from customers, even if purchased from other places. Some cafes even offer a loyalty card-style reward system for returning empty containers. Furthermore, Vegware can organise collection of their own products back and manage their disposal to ensure they end up in the right place. There have also been trials in the technology of hot bins which allow commercial composting at home, helping to provide a hassle-free solution to compostable disposal.
Compostable plastic cannot be completely faulted, as long as the facilities are available and they are disposed of correctly, then they are a fantastic solution. Not to mention that creating a product from plant-based materials instead of petroleum oil has countless environmental benefits that should be celebrated. And when fully composted and returned to the soil, your coffee cup can help to maintain healthy soil ecosystems, which can even help to prevent flooding. As a society we are becoming more aware of the need for plastic-free solutions, but until we close the loop on their disposal and re-purposing we still have a long way to go.
What can you do?
If you do use compostable products, do not put them in your recycling. They need to be disposed of and collected with your green/food waste.
Check if your local council has the facilities to industrially compost this material, at present less than half of the UK’s waste management facilities can dispose correctly of compostable plastic. Enter your postcode here to find what your local council can collect: https://www.gov.uk/recycling-collections
If your curbside collection does not include food waste collection then look out for community composting centers where compostable plastic companies will collect their products to be correctly disposed of. Vegware community composting: https://www.vegware.com/composting-collective/info_86.html
Use reusable options instead where possible, if caught in a pinch then a compostable is still better than regular plastic, but nothing will beat the reusable cup! Or, try and make time to eat-in and sit down rather than have everything to go!
For more information see the below links: - Vegware Composting FAQs
https://www.vegware.com/compostingfaq/info_85.html - Article on how to recycle biodegradable cups
https://resource.co/article/how-recycle-biodegradable-coffee-cups-13020 - HotBin Composting
https://www.hotbincomposting.com/biodegradable-food-packaging.html - Food Unwrapped Episode, Channel 4