Regional Guidance On Compostable Products
Justin Gast
Program Educator,
Washington County Solid Waste and Recycling
www.WashingtonCountyRecycles.org
34th Annual Sustainable Oregon Conference and Trade Show
Background on Regional Programs
• Each of the five jurisdictions that make up the Portland Metro area, as well as Clark
County and the City of Vancouver, are, in some form, either expanding or
developing collection programs to capture pre- and post-consumer food scraps from
residential or commercial generators.
• Nearly a year ago, the six-year-old contract Cedar Grove Composting had with Metro
(to process material generated by the City of Portland’s commercial Portland Composts!
program) had sunset, and a majority of the material generated within the region was
now being taken to two facilities:
I.
Nature’s Needs in North Plains, Oregon.
II. Pacific Region Compost (PRC) in Monmouth, Oregon. PRC was the
state’s first compost facility permitted to take Type 3 feedstock.
Background on Regional Issue
• The switch in processors allowed a newly-formed regional organics workgroup the
opportunity to reassess its use of Cedar Grove’s list of “Commercially accepted
foodservice ware products,” as, according to composters, compostable plastic
foodservice ware material that Cedar Grove was able to process, unfortunately,
cannot be consistently broken down at both PRC and Nature’s Needs.
• The presence of these materials can affect the quality and marketability of the
compost being produced at both NN and PRC. And, according to one composting
official I talked to:
“Unfortunately, too many people [governments] don’t think
about what's best for the composters when they create their
programs.”
• In all, the Portland Metro area needs a system in place that ensures compost facilities
receive a clean material stream that includes compostable foodservice ware that will
compost.
Who is Involved and Why
• Over the course of its existence, the group has consisted of a representative(s) from
each of the following jurisdictions and organizations:
I.
DEQ, Metro, cities of Beaverton, Corvallis, Eugene, Gresham, Hillsboro,
Portland, Troutdale and Vancouver, and Clackamas, Clark, Marion and
Washington counties.
II. Representatives from PRC, Recology, Grimm’s Fuel, Dirt Hugger,
Rexius, Lane Forest Products and Clackamas Compost Products.
• The goal of the workgroup:
Create a list of commercially acceptable foodservice ware items
that would contribute to the material stream and help create a
high-quality, marketable end-product.
Upfront Challenges
• The biggest challenge with this effort involves existing customers of the
commercial Portland Composts! Program and getting them to possibly alter their
purchasing practices regarding compostable foodservice ware.
• For almost seven years, over 700 businesses have been operating under the
guidance of the Cedar Grove list. Thus, with the change in composting facilities, how
does Portland progress this effort without negatively affecting the operations of
businesses used to the old way?
• Other potential challenges going into this effort included:
I. Creating a list that composters would back.
II. Relaying this message to regional foodservice product distributors,
redistributors and smaller service contracts, such as Aramark, Bon
Appetite and Guckenheimer.
III. Communicating this message to haulers and the public.
Results Thus Far
• After numerous discussions, the workgroup came to an initial decision to create a
commercial list that only acknowledges fiber and plant-based foodservice ware products
certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute.
Container Liners
Containers and Service Ware
Other Items
NO
NO
NO
▪ Regular, non-compostable plastic
garbage bags and liners.
▪ “Compostable,” “biodegradable” or
“bioplastic” based plastic foodservice
ware products are NOT allowed,
including those certified by BPI.
▪ Restroom-generated napkins and
towels.
YES
YES
YES
▪ Newspaper
▪ Paper bags
▪ BPI-certified compostable plastic
bags
▪ BPI-certified, fiber and plant-based
foodservice ware products ONLY,
including:
▪ Bowls; lids; plates; trays; hot and cold
containers (including take-out); hot, cold
and portion cups; hot drink accessories;
deli and bakery products (e.g., sheets);
▪ Abovementioned BPI-certified products
containing a thin internal lining of
compostable material for moistureresistance (e.g., Polylactic Acid, a.k.a.
PLA, used on cups and hot and cold
containers, including take out).
▪ 100% wooden utensils.
▪ Kitchen- or break room-generated
paper napkins and towels.
▪ Tea bags
▪ Coffee filters
▪ Pizza boxes
▪ Waxed cardboard
▪ Wooden crates
Results Thus Far
• Information about the workgroup’s undertakings became known and word spread
through the local business/hauling community…
And, let’s just say not everyone was happy with our initial
recommendation, most notably long-time participants of the
commercial Portland Composts! program.
• The workgroup took this feedback into consideration and modified its initial
approach.
Where does this effort go from here?
• Continue to work with stakeholders (e.g., local governments, BPI, R3, processors,
etc.) to develop clear standards that can be communicated to haulers and businesses.
• Develop a transition timeline to phase out the use of service ware products that are
not composting under current processes. Plus, provide ongoing outreach to the local
commercial sector regarding updated program approach.
Questions, thoughts, comments or gripes?
Thank You!
Justin Gast
Program Educator, Recycle at Work
Washington County, Solid Waste and Recycling
155 N. 1st Ave. Mail Stop 5
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Office: (503) 846-4930
justin_gast@co.washington.or.us
www.WashingtonCountyRecycles.org