When put in landfills, biodegradable products are not necessarily more environmentally friendly according to a study published in “Environmental Science & Technology,” in May 2011.

The research found biodegradable products are releasing large amounts of methane as they quickly break down in landfills. The study was designed to provide guidance to manufacturers on environmental performance during landfill disposal that reflects U.S. landfill infrastructure, according to the study. Researchers used a landfill life-cycle model to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from biodegradable materials in landfills.

Both companies that Western purchases biodegradable products from recommend the cups be composted at commercial composting facilities with other organic materials. Even though the cups look plastic they are derived from corn-based material and not petroleum-based, so they cannot be recycled, said Claudia Capitini, sustainability maven for Eco-Products. The cups can only compost with other organic materials.

According to the Ecotainer website, the paperboard cup is compostable in a commercial composting facility. The material used can be recycled but only in certain facilities that accept poly-coated paperboard and packaging.  

A commercial scale facility is needed to stay at the appropriate conditions long enough, Capitini said. All the compostable products are delivered to Green Earth Technologies, a commercial composting facility in Lynden. At the facility temperatures remain more than 135 degrees Fahrenheit for composting to take place. The cups are composted with nitrogen and carbon-based products along with microbes to help consume products needed to compost, Harvey said.

After the materials decompose it became a soil-like material used for gardening. Depending on the environment where the compost facility is, decomposition could take anywhere from 45 days in western Washington to ten months in Michigan during the winter, she said.

The clear cups labeled as compostable are made by Eco-Products, which provides cups along with other disposable items throughout campus. The polylactic acid material performs similar to traditional petroleum-based plastics. The other labeled compostable cup is made by Ecotainer, a brand from International Paper. The Ecotainer cup uses a paperboard material covered with PLA.

“(For the corn-based cup) there are two methods of disposal, landfill or composting,” said Stephanie Harvey, manager at Green Earth Technologies, a commercial composting facility in Lynden. The company processes compost from Western.  

“Manufacturers must have an understanding of the national disposal infrastructure as opposed to performance in a specific landfill,” according to the study.
Every retail unit on campus in Residential Dining has a compost bin, Cocke said.

The company collects compost from Western Monday through Friday, said Rodd Pemble, manager at the company. During the regular school year he said he estimates between 1 to 1.5 tons of compost is collected each day.

Depending on the manufacturer of the product, as well as the environment, it could take between 45 to 90 days for a cup to completely decompose, she said. Composting typically takes a few weeks to months before it is ready to use, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website.

In a commercial composting facility conditions for the composting process are generally more efficient, Capitini said.  Composting is a naturally occurring process on Earth and is possible in your backyard, but it’s not recommended, she said.

"Most people are not experts (at composting) right away, it’s not efficient. Commercial composting is better and much more complete,” she said.

This facility also accepts paperboard cups to compost, Pemble said. But with heavier paper items it takes longer to process and sometimes has to go through the process twice. Some facilities are not able to accept paperboard materials because they have too much volume for materials to be processed twice, he said. "Composting occurs naturally, but we encourage everyone to use a commercial facility when using our products, Capitini said.

“We do not encourage (composting at home),” Pemble said. “It could take years. The rats would get to (the cups) before it decomposes.”