This past Thursday at a restaurant in the Montrose I received a compostable “to-go” cup for my ice tea. This wasn’t the first time I’ve received one from a restaurant, but after a brief debate with my wife, it was the first time that I’d decided to introduce one into my compost pile at home. Paper goods are no strangers to the home compost, but a seemingly plastic cup was new. The logo on the side stating that this was “made from corn” was no reassurance either that it would be a useful addition. To me these cups are designed to breakdown quickly in a landfill and not to be used in the garden as soil. However the lingering question as to their usefulness inspired me to do a little research into the cups themselves. It seemed periodic documentation of the stages of decomposition that these cups are in would be appropriate as well.

From the manufacturer’s website, Eco-Products, their GREENSTRIPE brand cups must meets the specifications of ASTM D6400, ASTM D6868, and Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) in order to call it a compostable product, and not just bio-degradable which given enough time, think a millennia, any material can be labeled. The general standards to achieve compostability validations are: 1) 90% or greater degradation must occur within 45-120 days, and 2) no toxic residue remains in the final compost.

It seems that while there is no evidence that these cups will provide a benefit to the garden compost, there is at least evidence that it will not do any harm either.

—So into the compost bin you go, decompostable cup.