mangrove islands now choked with plastic. It's EVERYWHERE. Maybe there is hope. ** Edited by Coach McGuirk at 3/19/2023, 10:02:34 AM ** Edited by Coach McGuirk at 3/19/2023, 10:06:34 AM

Yeah, we had an eco building and our cafeteria decided to use biodegradable utensils and they looked kind like those in the picture. I, of course, decided to see how long it would take to biodegrade and left one out on the deck, it got brittle after about six weeks although I suppose more would have happened if it had been covered in a moist compost heap. They stopped using them, guessing cost more than anything, or no one threw them in the recycle bin like people are really paying attention anyway.

I always thought you were just supposed to throw stuff like that in the trash so that it would biodegrade in the landfill instead of sitting there for 1,000 years.

so yeah, there are recyclables eg metal cans, #2 and #5 plastics (in our area) cardboard, newsprint that you recycle. so yeah, I mispoke saying "recycle." But landfills are for trash, bad plastic, aluminum foil etc. etc. things don't biodegrade in a true landfill especially things that get buried w/o oxygen. and there is composting which is where I think you'd want to put those utensils?, eg, paper plates, food scraps etc. I do a little composting myself with food scraps, just dig a hole fill it up cover with dirt... I'm trying to think of anywhere that has three different containers, HoCo has a little green cans....to quote them: According to a Howard County study, almost 30% of what we send to the landfill could be composted and turned into a valuable product! Our Feed The Green Bin collection is an optional program that allows residents to

in the cafeteria, and they had biodegradable plates, cups, utensils, and straws. So if you bought a meal there, you could just dump the whole plate in the compost container when you were done. But that takes a lot of commitment at an organizational level to offer (and enforce) that level of separation of refuse.

thing. I think paper straws are marginal at best. These could be the best of both worlds.. IF they can be made to be affordable. Even if they cost a dime a piece, I would easily pay a dime if the option was offered. I HATE a paper straw. Not a big straw user, but I'd use more if they were not paper (seems most places have gone to paper). I like to drink water at a restaurant, and I drink a lot of water. Drinking water full of ice freezes my teeth but not so if I happen to use a straw. Show me a prospectus...I'm a potential buyer 😎 ** Edited by HOKIERIT at 3/19/2023, 10:39:16 AM ** Edited by HOKIERIT at 3/19/2023, 10:40:08 AM

straws a while ago. Some places have the cardboard straws (probably not cardboard, but similar). Some have straws made from avocado. The avocado straws are the closest to standard plastic straws I’ve seen. They don’t get soggy, don’t taste weird. I have no idea what the cost to produce them is, but if it isn’t astronomical, they will become the straw of choice moving forward IMO.

Plastic “silver” wear for over 10 years. Really cool way to get away from plastics. ** Edited by GreenvilleVT at 3/19/2023, 8:45:41 AM