TRASH TALK
Compostable in theory, but likely not in practice
February 27, 2010
Ellen Moorhouse
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
There are few easy solutions in the world of waste. Intentions may be good, but results are elusive.
Take giant chip maker Frito Lay Canada's recent announcement that it will soon start selling its SunChips brand in compostable bags in Canada and the United States.
That represents a lot of packages – 130 million, according to Helmi Ansari, Frito Lay Canada's sustainability leader. They will consume the world's entire production of film made from the polylactic acid polymer, now derived from cornstarch and potentially other plant matter.
Compostable sounds great, benign, good for the Earth. And kudos to Frito Lay for taking a stab at a disposal alternative for multi-layered plastic film bags, which pose a huge challenge for landfill diversion.
Chances are, though, SunChips bags won't break down in our municipal composting systems. They also represent new materials in a complex waste stream that already confuses residents and causes headaches for waste processors.
For Frito Lay, the bags took four years to develop and are part of a corporate strategy to reduce environmental impacts. The company sought the good composting seal of approval from the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) in the United States and promises to comply with criteria that Quebec's standards bureau and the Composting Council of Canada are developing.
Trouble is, these bags have to be tough, keeping moisture and air at bay for a shelf life of nine to 10 weeks. They take a long time to compost fully – 14 weeks, according to the company – although they start to break into pieces at about the eight-week mark, says Ansari. And that's in an industrial-scale aerobic composting operation, in which organic material decomposes in the presence of oxygen (as in your backyard composter).
So these bags won't even get a chance to break down in Toronto's anaerobic digester, which processes a third of the city's green bin waste. They will be skimmed off at the beginning along with other plastics and diaper film from the stew of organics.
The SunChips bag will probably end up as trash, as well, in many super-efficient aerobic operations, like Hamilton's Central Composting Facility. This award-winning, state-of-the-art system transforms organic waste into compost in only 21 days – a mere three weeks compared to the bag's required 14 weeks.
Pat Parker, director of support services in Hamilton's operations and waste management division, hasn't yet seen the bag and is cautious about her comments, but the composting time suggests to her a heavier gauge. "It probably isn't compostable in our facility, even though it may be labelled as a compostable product."
She's also concerned by the communication challenge: "How do you tell people that one chip bag is compostable and the other is not?"
She points to similar issues with so-called biodegradable bags, now offered by some retailers, that are not acceptable in either green bin or blue bin programs and make plastics recyclers blanch, given the potential contamination of their feedstock.
Ansari admits the giant chip maker, a division of PepsiCo, is feeling its way. The company is meeting with municipalities to provide bag samples and will conduct tests in Canadian labs and composting facilities. (Canada is way ahead of the U.S. in municipal composting.) The company also intends to list municipalities, where the bag can be composted, on its website.
"Part of the responsibility of being a leader is to take that first step and stick your neck out there and so, you know what?" Ansari says. "It ain't perfect, but we're making an honest effort trying to do the right thing. We may stumble here. But we're going to get a lot of people to hear about composting."
He says the bag is only a first step, and the company will continue to innovate with compostable materials.
The SunChips bag is clearly marked compostable in big letters at the top, although given its potentially limited compost ability in our region, the label may be more effective as a buying incentive for a certain demographic, than a workable tool for garbage separation.
No question, though, SunChips packaging, launched by a corporate giant with marketing clout, will raise composting's visibility.
Susan Antler, of the Composting Council of Canada, welcomes the initiative. For someone who has laboured in the cash-strapped compost trenches for two decades, having Frito Lay join the organization is a godsend.
"The reality is these products are coming into the marketplace, and I personally feel good we have got a big player committed," says Antler.
"They're going to help us get through this in terms of discussing what's right, what's wrong, what should be done. "
Trash Talk appears Saturdays in New in Homes & Condos. Please send questions and comments to e_moorhoue@sympatico.ca.
Toronto Star