Our compost is only as good as the materials it is made from.
Help keep our product great by properly sorting your waste.
Yes, please!
All foods
Meat
Bones
Shellfish
Eggs and eggshells
Vegetables
Beans
Grains
Bread, flour, pasta and cereals.
Coffee grounds and filters
Tea and tea bags
Food soiled paper products
Compostable plastics and packaging.
Tree debris
No, Thank You!
Non-compostables
Glass
Metal
Clean, recyclable paper
Plastics
Plastic foams
Juice boxes and pouches
Milk cartons
Rubber bands
Twist ties
Produce stickers
Animal feces
Cat litter
Medical waste
Hazardous waste (cleaning supplies and other chemicals)
Electronic waste
A Guide to Compostable Bags and Serviceware
We know you want to do the right thing, and we know that it can be confusing. With all the different products out there, how do you know if you are buying the right ones? Take a moment to read our guidelines. If you still have questions, do not hesitate to send us an email.
If you are ever unsure, your safest choice is to use a certified compostable product. You can browse the Biodegradable Products Institute catalog to confirm whether your product is “certified compostable”.
Paper Products
Sustainable Materials Management, Inc. accepts food soiled paper products. These paper products do not have to be certified compostable, but must adhere to the following guidelines:
Yes:
Food soiled paper or cardboard (pizza boxes, paper clam shell boxes, etc.)
“Certified Compostable” products.
Bagasse, wheat straw, bamboo, etc.
Parchment Paper
No:
Glossy paper (magazines)
Wax coated paper
Plastic lined or coated paper
Wood Products
Sustainable Materials Management, Inc. accepts all food-safe wood products. If they are safe for food, they are safe for us.
Plastic
Sustainable Materials Management only accepts certified compostable plastics. These certified compostable plastics must be easily distinguishable from their non-compostable counterparts. For example: a compostable clear plastic cup must have some marking (a green line) that makes it easily distinguishable from a regular plastic cup.
Plastics: Compostable vs. Biodegradable
What’s the difference? Why does it matter? It matters because the material we accept affects the quality of the compost we produce. We will not risk the quality and safety of our compost product with untested products. Check out this article for more information.
Compostable:
Made from strictly plant based materials
Breaks down in a similar time as paper products
Breaks down into compost
Meets U.S. Standards ASTM-6400 and European Norm 13432.
Biodegradable:
Does not need to be made from strictly plant based material—may still contain petroleum based plastics.
Does not have a limit on how long it takes to break down.
Typically has additives that cause the plastic to break down into smaller pieces, known as “micro plastics”.
Does not meet ASTM-6400 or European Norm 13432 standards,
“Plant-based” and “Bioplastics”
We get a lot of questions about plant-based or bioplastics and whether they are compostable or not. As with many composting related questions, the answer is “it depends”. Some plant-based plastics are compostable, and some are not even considered biodegradable.
Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. rather than fossil fuels like petroleum or methane. At a molecular level the final product is nearly identical to the conventional fossil fuel plastics. This means that they act and function almost identically to conventional plastics and will take thousands of years to degrade and breakdown into micro-plastics.
So one could summarize the answer as, all compostable plastics are bioplastics, but not all bioplastics are compostable. Please make sure you are only putting BPI certified compostable in the organics recycling, and if you are ever unsure, give us a shout and we’ll be happy to answer any of your questions.