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composting corn-based cups

kdellokdello member
in Eco-Friendly Family

I usually bring my own cup to the coffee shop. When I forget, they have these cups that look like normal clear plastic cups but have a little green stripe that says they're compostable and made of corn plastic. Neat!

Anywho, dear composters, do I have to break or shred or cut these up somehow before composting? Can I just chuck it in my pile and hope for the best?


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Re: composting corn-based cups

  • SWBs WifeySWBs Wifey
    I haven't seen them, but I cut up larger pieces of anything (cardboard or the compostable sunchips bags) into pieces about the size of my palm.
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  • schoolsoutbrideschoolsoutbride
    I just threw them in because I never have scissors handy.  They get really brittle in the compost and break apart a bit on their own anyway.
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  • tommigirletommigirle
    i would shred, those need a lot of heat to break down which a normal home composting setup might not provide. when i get stuff like that i put it in my green container for city-based compost pickup. sometimes i don't make it to the farmers market and the spinach i buy comes in a container like that. also some of the frozen veggies i've been buying come in compostable wrap. all if it goes into our green bin.
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  • kdellokdello member

    I wish we had city-compost! We don't even have recycling and we just got curbside garbage pickup this past year. Ugh.

    I finally found the cup company's website online and it says they can't be composted at home and have to go to a commercial composting facility- what a crock. I'm going to cut it up and see what happens :)

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  • aspadeaspade member
    imagekdello:

    I wish we had city-compost! We don't even have recycling and we just got curbside garbage pickup this past year. Ugh.

    I finally found the cup company's website online and it says they can't be composted at home and have to go to a commercial composting facility- what a crock. I'm going to cut it up and see what happens :)

    We also have city compost, and recently there was an article in the LA Times about what can and can't go into it (and the recycling).  It was eye-opening.  It basically said that just cause companies are doing these things--often for popularity--they're not recyclable OR compostable.  They apparently take WAY too long to actually decompose, even with the heat.  So the sorters throw them away!  I'd rather have recyclable containers.

    But I guess it doesn't hurt to try it at home.  Just beware that the container could actually be made of a mixed compound and have chemicals you may not want in your home compost mix. 

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  • jennterrelljennterrell

    we bought a bunch of those for DS's first birthday party. we just threw them in our home compost heap --not in a tumbler or anything, basically just a heap contained in a frame of pallets. We turn it a few times a year, and although the cups have broken apart somewhat, you can still find huge pieces of them, a year and a half later.

    so while they may be a better alternative to styrofoam, I wonder if paper or another option might breakdown better.

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