Program on the Environment

Compostable products are a rapidly growing field with promise to reduce single-use plastic waste and contribute to a sustainable circular economy. Many companies are investing in creating products and packaging to meet this goal. However, while progress has been made towards expanding and implementing compostable products, there is a lack of attention to compostable product infrastructure. The federal guidelines that regulate compostable product degradation do not align with the processes and technology used by industrial composters. Through my research, I aim to examine the results of this mismatch and provide recommendations for how regulations can be amended to best align with industry standards. This was done through a literature review and a quantitative analysis of the feedstock conditions of 116 composter field tests provided by the Compost Manufacturing Alliance, an independent compostable product certifier. Through this, it was possible to identify key areas for policy improvement and intervention and to suggest numerical ranges for those policies to target. This research finds that while compostable products are a promising alternative to single-use plastics, Washington State lacks the infrastructure for proper implementation. Before compostable products are pushed as a sustainable packaging option, there needs to be labeling that ensures products can be clearly identified as compostable for both consumers and composters by color and key descriptors, in addition to recommendations for composters that split composter conditions by residence time, pH, and Moisture content and consider different composter technology. This will ensure that compostable products are properly tested and developed, identified and sorted by consumers, and degraded by industrial composters.