The Tough Truth About Composting: It's Harder and Less Effective Than You Think

As we celebrate National Composting Day, it’s important to delve into the complexities of composting and understand why it might not be as straightforward as it appears. While the idea of transforming organic waste into nutrient-rich compost is appealing, the reality of sending your trash to an industrial composter presents several challenges. Today, we’ll explore why composting can be tougher than expected and introduce a more realistic and sustainable solution: BioNatur Plastics.

The Challenges of Professional Composting

Contamination Issues: One of the primary hurdles with community composting is contamination. Many people aren’t aware of what can and cannot be composted, leading to the inclusion of non-compostable items. These contaminants can disrupt the composting process, resulting in the rejection of large portions of waste.

Strict Composting Standards: Professional composting facilities often have stringent guidelines to ensure the quality of the compost produced. If your compost bin contains too many contaminants, the entire batch can be rejected. This means that a significant amount of your waste may never even make it to the composting stage.

Recycling: Another major issue with compostable plastics is that they also contaminate the recycling stream. Most people do not realize that compostable plastics are not recyclable, and they toss the items in the “blue bin” for collection. When recycling facilities are often not able to sort these plastics out, it leads to rejection of entire loads or worse, the destruction and disposal of entire batches of plastic that have started the melt and recycling process.

Logistical Challenges: Even if you manage to sort your compostable waste correctly, the logistics of getting it to a professional composting facility can be daunting. Not all areas have easy access to such facilities, and the transportation of compostable waste adds another layer of complexity and environmental impact.

The reality is that very few people send their kitchen trash to an industrial composter. Most of us rely on municipal waste collection services that transport our garbage to landfills where the conditions are not possible for compostable materials to break down. This means that those "compostable" trash bags you've been using are likely to persist in landfills just like regular plastic bags, contributing to the long-lasting problem of plastic waste.

A More Realistic Solution: BioNatur Plastics

Given these challenges, a more practical approach to sustainability lies in adopting BioNatur Plastics. Here’s why:

1. 100% Recyclable: BioNatur Plastics are completely recyclable with no special sorting or handling, ensuring that they can be reprocessed and recycled inyour neighborhood recycling program.

2. Landfill Biodegradable: Unlike traditional plastics, BioNatur Plastics biodegrade in a landfill environment within 8-12 years. Moreover, our biodegradable plastics degrade without creating harmful microplastics, addressing one of the major environmental concerns associated with plastic waste.

3. Practical Waste Management: Considering that 95% of plastic trash is likely to end up in a landfill, using landfill biodegradable plastics like those from BioNatur is a more realistic solution. It ensures that even if waste management systems fail to recycle or waste efficiently, the environmental impact is still minimized because of the integrity of our product. 

On this National Composting Day, it’s crucial to recognize the limitations and challenges associated with both community and commercial composting. While composting is a valuable practice, the complexities involved often hinder its effectiveness. By embracing BioNatur Plastics, you can contribute to a more sustainable future with materials that are 100% recyclable and landfill biodegradable, ensuring a significant positive impact on our environment.

Let’s make a commitment to practical and realistic solutions that work towards a greener planet. Join us at BioNatur Plastics in making sustainable choices that truly make a difference.

Learn more about the difference between compostable and biodegradable here.