We’re very excited to announce that as of April 18th, 2011 Viv Biz Club members will have access to free shipping with all of our suppliers. Our members have always received free shipping on orders with Office Depot, but now all orders for World Centric’s compostable food packaging will also receive free shipping!

This is a big win for our members and it’s something we’ve been working on for quite some time.
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I was down in Atlanta last weekend and I had the pleasure of getting together with Becky Striepe, editor of EatDrinkBetter.com and a fellow eco blogger.

Becky and I were chatting a bunch about the green blogosphere and our businesses, and she raised an interesting question / concern about compostables… one that I think a lot of the more liberal folks in the green space have.

She asked “I wonder sometimes whether compostables are a crutch for consumers who should really be using reusables?”

It’s an excellent question and given the fact that we (as Viv) are enabling businesses to purchase compostables at a discount, it’s one that we’ve definitely thought through.

Here are our thoughts:

1. For most consumers using compostables in their home, our answer is yes – compostables rarely make sense. Just as there’s no need to use disposable plastic cutlery or plastic cups in your home, there’s really no need to use compostables either. Most consumers will save money by using reusables as opposed to single use plastic items or compostables. Really the only argument for using disposables is that it’s more convenient, and even this argument is tenuous. Is it really that much more convenient to eat with a plastic fork then to pull a metal one out of the drawer and throw it in the dishwasher once you’re through? I think the vast majority of folks would say it’s no more convenient and for the few that say it is, that extra convenience should not outweigh the increased cost of having to purchase disposables.
2. For a few consumers using compostables for large events or social gatherings, our answer is maybe – compostables make sense sometimes. It honestly depends on how large your gathering is and what your appetite is for cost vs convenience. Example: say you’re having a big BBQ for 150 guests. Unfortunately, you only have enough plates & cutlery for 40 guests. Does it make sense to go out and buy another 110 ceramic plates just for the party? This definitely doesn’t make economic sense and it also doesn’t make environmental sense (the footprint of those 110 ceramic plates which are only getting 1 or 2 uses / yr is much larger than that of 110 disposables). You could try and borrow these items from friends, but that may be too inconvenient (you have to borrow from 3 different neighbors and send them home with dirty dishes?). You could also hire a catering service that could bring ceramic and metal tableware, but that may be too costly. In such a case, compostables are your best disposable option. On the other hand, if your BBQ only has 30 guests, you could just use your own items – no disposables needed. Sure it’s a little extra cleanup, but it’s also lower cost and a more enjoyable dining experience.
3. For most businesses, our answer is no – compostables are not a crutch and they make sense for to go food. Food service businesses that focus on take out move through very high volumes of food, and as such they use large amounts of food packaging & tableware. When you’re delivering food and beverage to potentially thousands of customers a day, two problems arise if you want to use reusables for your to go packaging: a) most importantly, reusables are more expensive and if you give someone their two enchiladas in a reusable container to take home… it’s very likely you’re not going to get that container back. This, I think, is fairly obvious and is the primary reason why most businesses can not use reusables for to go packaging, b) secondly, many to go focused businesses are small operations with limited space and limited employees. Even if customers were to return their reusable packaging (or say if they just ate their two enchiladas at a local park and then dropped the container back off before heading back to work) it may not be economically feasible for a taco truck to wash & store all these returned dishes. (PS – if it wasn’t clear, we always recommend food service businesses use reusables for folks that are dining in… it’s cheaper, better for the environment, and a better dining experience for the customer).

So that’s our take.

What do you think? Should people be using compostables in their homes, at large events, or for their businesses?

If you haven’t seen them yet, we’ve been busy the past few weeks creating a series of educational videos on topics related to compostable food packaging.

We’ve noticed over the past several months that a very serious knowledge gap exists amongst purchasers of compostable food packaging. Many buyers are unclear or confused about: 1) how to purchase compostables that are truly green, and 2) how and where to compost compostable packaging.

As a result, we decided to explore some of these issues through a few in-office Viv shorts. Hope you enjoy!

Viv Video: Biodegradable Packaging vs Compostable Packaging – DON’T get Greenwashed

Viv Video: 4 Tips To Ensure Your PLA Corn Cups Are Actually Composted

Viv Video: 4 Tips to Buying Truly Green Biodegradable Coffee Cups

Viv Video: Bagasse Products & Packaging – Why We’re Big Fans of Bagasse

(PS – I’m thinking a blue collared shirt for the next videos :-)… need to keep up this solid colored golf shirt motif)
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We’re part of a LinkedIn group called the Compost Network and recently had an interesting exchange with another member of the group.

Kathy W. said: “Any hope for composting movie theatre trash? I have a client that generates a lot of trash at their multiple locations. We’ve got them recycling the cardboard and larger plastics, but the bulk of their waste is from the snack bar. There is nothing clean about any of it: nacho cheese sauce on boxes, popcorn, cups with soda, etc.

Is there any hope to help them compost or otherwise recycle this mess? They do not, under their current staffing levels, have the time or manpower – or even storage space – for sorting. I welcome any suggestions!”

1. Tickets = Paper (Recyclable or Compostable)
2. Paper Towels in the Bathrooms = Paper (Compostable)
3. Food and Drink = Organic (Compostable)
4. Food and Drink Packaging from the Snack Bar = Plastic (! Not Compostable !)

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Kathleen Boylan from the Waste Reduction Store in Canada posed the above question in a recent blog post citing the lack of product stewardship in the compostables industry.

From Kathleen:
“It would seem that the compostable industry simply expects that by developing resins made from plants, then manufacturing these more expensive products and certifiying them as compostable, makes them inherently responsible and allows us to abdicate end of life responsibility while competing industries step up. We simply are not, defacto, product ’stewards’… we too need to step up and develop the infrastructures [such that] the waste from our profits ends up in composting systems.”

It’s a powerful point and one supported by many of the events currently taking place in the compostables space, including: (more…)