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Compost is Coming to Marin
Bioplastics are in!
Compostable plastics, called bioplastics, are created from the plant material resins of corn or potatoes instead of the petroleum used in traditional plastics. Some of the more common bioplastic products in use today are utensils, cups, deli dishes, water bottles and bags. Bioplastics eventually biodegrade, unlike oil-based plastics that slowly break down and remain in the environment as plastic particles indefinitely, causing serious problems for our oceans, its inhabitants and the food chain.
If you’ve ever tried to compost a potato “spud-ware” fork or other bioplastic product in your home composter, you see that it will take a long time for that resin material to become usable compost for the garden. A commercial composting system that reaches 131 degrees F. will turn most bioplastics certified by BPI into rich soil for the garden in a few months.
A New Commercial Composting Project is in the Works.
Marin Sanitary Service, the refuse and recycling collection service for the town of Fairfax and about two-thirds of Marin County is developing a new commercial food waste collection and composting program and will be up and running once a location is found. In the meantime, compostable bioplastics need to go into the garbage since they cannot be mixed with recycling of petroleum-based plastics.
When you buy a product in plastic, you will see a familiar triangular arrow on the bottom with a number from 1-6 that identifies the type of resin from which plastic is made. Number 7 or “other” is a catchall for anything that is not 1-6, including bioplastics. Unfortunately this leads people to believe it can be placed in the recycle bin. This causes problems for the recyclers! We hope a new number will be designated for compostables, maybe 0. For the time being if the container has a Good Earth label on it it should go in the garbage not the recycle stream. When composting starts they will go in the compost stream .
Reuse is the Real Solution
Good Earth is committed to using bioplastics as often as we can for all of our packaged products and utensils because we believe they are the best alternative to oil-based plastic while we work on eliminating single-use containers— the real solution. Bioplastics can help us in the quest towards zero waste in Marin. It’s best for the earth if you bring your own reusable plate, cup, utensils, produce bags, check-out bags, etc. when you visit the Good Earth.
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STORE HOURS |
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9-9 PM |
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9-9 PM |
| Wed |
9-9 PM |
| Thu |
9-9 PM |
| Fri |
9-9 PM |
| Sat |
9-9 PM |
| Sun |
9-9 PM |
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