Corn plastic, otherwise known as polylactic acid (PLA), is rapidly replacing traditional petroleum based plastics for food containers, utensils, disposable cups and more, but how do you dispose of it? It is common to find a recycle symbol printed or molded into the container, and many also promote that the item is compostable or biodegradable. So what is the most …
Composting with Local Cafe Coffee Grounds
If you have a composting pile or bin for your home garden, then you should head down to your local cafe and pick up these compost boosters. Coffee shops throw away tons of used coffee grounds each year, grounds which are better suited for your garden. Many cafes offer these grounds to their customers if you just ask. Some Starbucks …
The Cups I See Everywhere
Beverage cups at Mariner’s baseball games, parfait cups at the University of Washington, and cold or hot coffee cups, everywhere I turn the Cedar Grove Composting label seems to be there as well. Now it’s become a fun game to point out every label I see. Cedar Grove is a leading organic recycling company in the Pacific Northwest which started …
Sun Chips Compostable Bag
I just happened to see an amazing thing last night on television, a (seemingly) plastic snack-chip bag biodegrade in a time lapse in 12 weeks. Impossible! Or is it? NatureWorks has developed a compostable bag for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Division, the makers of SunChips. As with many claims of length of time to biodegrade, it is usually very dependent on the …
Verterra Sustainable Disposable Dinnerware Plates
I know it sounds like a complete oxymoron, but these picnic plates are both disposable and truly sustainable. Best when composted (as things don’t biodegrade in a landfill) to be truly sustainable cradle to cradle compliant, these sturdy plates are as much at home on your fancy dining room table as they are in the backyard. They feel as if …