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February 20, 2019

Demand soars for compostable ‘bioplastics'

  • But it's complicated. If bioplastics accidentally get buried in a landfill, it could take 100 years for them to decompose.
    • By KATHERINE ROTH
    Associated Press

    Looking for an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastics — especially single-use items like bags, straws and picnic tableware — many supermarkets and vendors are offering an array of compostable alternatives made from plant fibers or starches.

    “The market for compostable products is growing at an incredible pace,” says Olga Kachook, sustainability manager for Petaluma, California-based World Centric, which makes ones geared mostly toward food services in stadiums, school cafeterias, hotels, restaurants and convention centers. Those facilities work with industrial composting facilities, which can cut their waste exponentially.


     
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