After my last post about Bioplastics NOT being composted in Marin, I was asked by a friend "What about at Whole Foods, they compost the compostable forks and cups, right?"

I fact checked this with Marin Sanitary, and in person at Whole Foods (truly the nicest people at Whole Foods) - and no, they do not compost bioplastics. The ONLY material composted from Whole Foods is the pre-consumer food waste (from all of the food prep). The bioplastics (as well as any food waste thrown "away") go to landfill.

I have yet to find a company (and I've been researching) in Marin that is able to compost the bioplastics, or that is contracted with a facility that can haul it away to be composted elsewhere.

ALL Bioplastics or Compostable Plastics in Marin County are landfilled, oceanfilled or creekfilled.

For the life of me, I can't see why we even allow it here. At least with plastics (and you KNOW how I feel about plastics), they can IN THEORY be recycled. I know most of us put our plastic in our recycling bins, but the reality about how much of it is truly recycled (downcycled if we're being technical) is another story - and not a happy one sorry to say.

I feel bioplastics should be taken out of circulation in Marin, since we cannot and will not include them in our composting system (because we want our compost to be usable for food crops, not just landscaping, as is the compost that is produced in bioplastic-friendly San Francisco). What's the point of introducing a material that can neither be composted or recycled? Bioplastics are actually INCREASING our solid waste, as well as contributing additional plastics to our creeks and the bay.

So dang it all, I started a petition.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/433/280/881/remove-compostable-plastics-from-circulation-in-marin-county/

It's for residents of Marin County, but could be a starting point for the curious among us to look into what is happening with the "Compostable" Plastics in YOUR community. And please, do tell.