Earlier this year Frito-Lay introduced the 100% compostable SunChips bag. The bags are made from polylactic acid (PLA). When the bag debuted, Frito-Lay claimed that it would break down entirely within 14 weeks at a composting facility.
And then the flaming began.
Green packaging is a laudable trend; but breaking down what composts, how it composts, and how not to dispose of that waste is tricky. For one thing, many Americans do not compost. San Francisco is the only large city that requires its citizens to separate those pesky food scraps. Many cities just do the next best thing, which is collecting green waste. Los Angeles, where I live, converts yard waste into mulch, which is free and works all right in our garden, but it is not the same as composting. If you toss your bioplastic cups in the green bin, that will render the yard waste useless. But don't throw that bioplastic in the blue bin because all those plastics together make for impossible recycling. And if you deal with that bioplastic cup or bag by burial (the lazy man's composting method), you are not accomplishing much except for covering that cup or bag in dirt. Composting requires heat, which is possible through using a handmade or manufactured compost bin that allows for the process to occur.
In short, Frito-Lay brought an incredible bag to market, but the market wasn't ready for it. Instead of being uber-eco-friendly, it causes problems for both the waste management and recycling industries. If you've had the pleasure of handling one of these compostable SunChips bags then you're likely to agree with the following plea:
"Dear Frito-Lay, please keep the compostable chip bags alive. Sure, they mess with the flow of our nations' waste management, but at least our SunChips aren't packed in petroleum. But even if the non-petroleum packaging wasn't a factor, I'd still love the bags for their extreme 'crinkleness'."
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