Most “compostable” plastic won’t break down easily in a backyard compost bin. And the process can take so long at an industrial composting facility that many facilities that take food waste refuse the ...

Regulatory questions cloud the segment’s future, as do concerns about feedstocks, material capabilities and compostability ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. In college, I drove a little electric truck around campus and picked ...

These buzzwords are increasingly appearing on utensils, to-go cups and food containers and other kinds of disposable packaging. While you might think the dizzying array of products could be a simple ...

In a UK-wide study, researchers found that 60% of home-compostable plastics do not fully disintegrate in home compost bins, and inevitably end up in our soil. The study also found that citizens are ...

If you buy a smoothie in Portland, Oregon, the drink might come in a compostable plastic cup, a choice a thoughtful owner might make to make their operations more sustainable. You might think, at a ...

At the urging of the plastics industry, the USDA is considering allowing materials such as bioplastic cups, coffee pods and compostable plastic bags into the organic compost waste stream. Farmers and ...

If you've ever been turning over your compost heap and found months-old "compostable" plastic items that were still mostly intact – well, you're not alone. New research states that 60% of such ...

The dismal results of the UK's Big Compost Experiment reveal that most so-called compostable plastics do not break down in backyard compost bins. Composting is a bit like alchemy. You put food scraps ...

This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network. In the United States, one of the best-selling dog waste bags on Amazon is compostable. So far, so green.