Most compostable packaging still doomed to landfill

It's Friday night, you've ordered in from a localrestaurantand you're smiling contentedly, tossing emptied containers and cutlery marked "100% compostable" into your green bin.

Nice feeling, huh?

Let's throw some cold water on it.

In Ottawa and across the countrycompostableproducts are extremely likely to be screened out of municipalgreen bin collectionandtossedinlandfills, where they can't break downproperlyandproduce methane (a much more potent contributor to climate change than carbon dioxide).

"I would say the majority of compostable packaging products are screened out" and sent to landfill, said Nichole Hoover-Bienasz, a City of Ottawaprogram manager who works in long-term planning for Solid Waste Services.

So farthat's not a big slice of the waste pie, but it won't stay that wayforever.

A 2018-19 waste auditfound compostable productscomprised less than0.5per cent of Ottawa'swaste stream, but the city said trends arechangingand a freshaudit scheduled to beginthis winter should shed more light.

The sector isexpected togrow afterthe federal government announced in June that it's banningsome single-use plasticsover the next 18 months, and as moreconsumers and businesses areseeking sustainable options.

What happens to compostables in Ottawa green bins

Unless the products aremade entirely of unlined paper or cardboard, they generally won't break down fast enough in Ottawa'sindustrial-scale accelerated tunnel composting system run by Convertus(formerly Orgaworld).

Convertus regional operations manager Joel Rutty saidabout 10 per cent of everything that arrives at the facility ends up in landfill, including other contaminants like plastic bags, glass and more.

The system was created in 2010 to handle municipal food and yard waste, which breaksdown much faster than compostable products anywherebetween eight and 14 days.

Compostables can take weeks or even monthslonger, and in Canada there is no obligation for makers of these products to comply with any standard. Even if they did, mostwould still take too long to be processed successfully at municipal facilitiesincluding Convertus.

Michael Leopold, CEO of Convertus Group, said they have lots of room to grow in Ottawa and could "easily" house waste longer though the city notestaxpayers would bear the cost of any upgrade or expansion.

"It all depends on what the regulations are. If you're telling me they'resaying it has to stay in the facility for six months, that's a different challenge than 20 days," Leopoldsaid.

"I think any changes that they would make, they would do in consultation with industry, and I don't see any issues with us falling in line with whatever they want to do."

Enforced standards needed

It's a "sad reality"for businesses makingthe choice to use compostables, whichtake longer to find and cost more than traditional disposable containers and cutlery,said Stephanie Howarth, co-founder of the Mad Radish health food chain.

"You're looking at about 15 to 30 per centhigher costs on a per packaging basis. Over the course of a year, that's tens of thousands of dollars for a business the size of ours," Howarth said.

To successfully compost more waste, Howarth said localgovernments should make it easier for businesses to participate in municipal green bin programs. Higher levels of government needto set enforceable standards for compostables that people can understand, she added.

"The onus is on the government to set standards that we can follow, that they can enforce for all businesses, not just the ones that see it as their personal responsibility. It should be everyone's responsibility to get away from non-sustainable packaging," she said.

WATCH | Mad Radish owner says local government should do more to help:

Mad Radish owner says disposal of compostable containers is costly for her business

2 years ago

Duration 1:42

Stephanie Howarth says her Ottawa restaurants pay a premium to source and dispose of compostable containers and local government should do more to help.

What the province is doing

Makers of compostableswere recentlyrequired to start reporting on whatthey are selling inOntario, and how much they're selling.

The province wants to better understandwhat's circulating in the market and how it's certified asitworks with stakeholders on how to actually compost it.

Ontario is also amending its Food and Organic Waste Policy Statement toupdatedirection on compostable products. It formed a working group in 2019 "to set clear rules for compostable packaging and to ensure these materials are accepted by existing and emerging green bin programs," saida news release issued at the time.

But the draftamendments posted in 2020 don't set any rules.

They only say changes toprocessing technologiesacross the province areneeded over time;stakeholders "should support pilot projects and research" on the issue;and municipalities and owners/operators of processing systems "are encouraged to examine the feasibility of updating existing technologies."

Hoover-Bienasz said the city "still has some concerns" about the proposed amendments, which are still under consideration.

"From our perspective, we're not quite there yet in terms of addressing the municipal challenges," she said.

What the federal government is doing

Earlier this year, thegovernment sought feedback on establishing Canada-wide rulesto bolster therecycling and composting of plastics viaaccurate labelling.

The comment period closed in Octoberand areport on the feedback received will be posted in the coming months,according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Draft regulations areexpected to be made public around fall 2023 to solicit morefeedback.

Ottawa's organics processingup close

Want to take a closer look at how food and yard waste is processed in Ottawa? Here's how it happens.