Tee Cee's Tip

Dear Tee Cee, In reading about what’s no longer accepted in compost I don’t understand how I am supposed to compost if I can’t use bags? Why can’t I use compostable bags? — C.

Dear C., Thanks for staying up to date on the new guidelines around compost, now limited to food scraps and plant and yard trimmings only.

Here’s the deal on compostable bags, and a few tips to help with the transition all the communities along the Front Range are making to create cleaner compost discards in our compost carts.

First, you may use a compostable bag for a kitchen-top compost container, but the bags need to be small. A1 Organics, the compost manufacturer servicing all municipalities along the Front Range, no longer allows the larger compostable bags, but they will accept 3-gallon or smaller, Cma-certified (Composter Manufacturing Alliance) bags.

Bpi-certified (Biodegradable Product Institute) bags are no longer the sole standard. The difference is that CMA products are tested at compost manufacturing facilities, not just in lab conditions. CMA certification is not always identified on the box of bags or on the bags themselves, so A1 Organics is keeping a list of acceptable bags on their website at a1organics.com/acceptables/. The acceptable bag brands listed so far include Biobag, Ecosafe, Natur-bag and Biosak, but more are expected to be added to the list, so keep checking.

Large compostable bags are no longer accepted for a few reasons. Larger bags often conceal noncompostable contamination — such as plastic gloves, diapers and glass — and compost haulers and inspectors at A1 Organics checking incoming loads for contamination will miss these contaminants if they are bagged. Contaminants can still end up in 3-gallon bags, but their size and the fact that they are typically used for food scraps only makes contamination in these small bags far less common.

The second challenge with bags in general is that several companies use greenwashing terms like “plant-based” or “biodegradable” to sell their products, even though these products may still contain petrochemical plastics.

But you can save money by going bagfree. Food scraps and yard trimmings can be placed loose in your curbside compost bin — bags aren’t necessary. If your countertop food scrap bin or curbside compost cart gets a little messy, give them a quick rinse (no soap needed) and empty it directly onto a tree. Protect our waterways by not dumping wash water with food and soap residue into the street — storm drains in our community lead directly to local creeks. You can also try adding dry leaves to the bottom of your cart to soak up any moisture.

These changes are confusing and sometimes challenging, but they will take us toward creating a much cleaner, more marketable finished compost product that we can all use. — Tee Cee

Questions? Clarifications? Visit Ecocycle’s Clean Compost Campaign webpage at ecocycle.org, call 303444-6634, or email recycle@ecocycle.org.