Compostable use in the U.S. is rising dramatically, with the number of certified products climbing 80 percent in less than four years.
[To] properly break down, compostable products typically need to undergo high temperatures and moisture. Such conditions require placement in special industrial facilities. While a growing number of programs offer compostable disposal sites, a lack of proper labeling and public unawareness is resulting in many people simply throwing away their compostables in the trash, where they end up in landfills and fail to decompose.
“The vast majority of consumers don’t have an understanding of how composting works,” Anne Elsea, a spokeswoman for non-profit GreenBlue, told The Wall Street Journal.
The confusion is causing major compost programs to scale back or stop operations entirely.
Compostables can also cause major problems for recycling centers. Unaware that they cannot be recycled, many people inadvertently place compostable products in recycling bins, where they either get filtered into a landfill or contaminate recycling facilities.
