General – Page 207 – Crazy About Compost

Compostable Plastic Cup?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdlwmL3Dw6k Found this video today. Leads to the question...how many people interested in composting will be able to do the right thing here? I still stand firm that the average backyard composting efforts will not be able to degrade bioplastics, as they need extremely high temperatures for days on end in order to work. I can see a lot of people fresh to the idea of composting becoming discouraged rather quickly if they start with materials like this. In short, don't be upset if your Sun Chips bag is in your compost 6 months from now...or longer.

“Can I Compost This?” Series #4: Tea Bags?

Lately I've been having a lot of fun with contacting companies that I like (and don't like) and asking them how compostable their product is. The results have usually been pretty entertaining. I don't drink a lot of tea, but when I do, it's ginger Yogi Tea. They definitely carry a good rep, and they didn't disappoint here. I sent them an email asking about their tea bags... What are they made of? Are they compostable? It appears that tea bags normally are, but as of late have been moving over to nylon bags due to higher strength...not compostable. In fact, I wonder if I really want to be dipping nylon in near-boiling water. While heating and burning aren't the same thing, burning nylon is definitely toxic. Not trying to…

“Can I Compost This?” Series #3: Potatoes

Can I compost potatoes? Yep. I wouldn't advise throwing a whole potato in the compost heap...unless you'd like to grow potatoes in the compost. Is it such a big deal, anyway? However, to get the most effective pile going, the potato should be chopped up into little pieces anyway, as with anything else you are putting in there. A well-managed compost pile should have no problem taking care of potatoes, skin and all. Woohoo!