Met with KoAnn, from Sustainable Life Media for lunch, at local deli. I asked lady at the checkout counter, “Do you have compostable spoons?”. I was met with same blank stare I have encountered before in similar situations. Mainstream America does not know about compostable plastics, and even less so, sustainability. Not that the lady was not open to learning. She seemed fascinated when I explained compostable plastics, and why it mattered. She would ask, she said.
Back home, in preparation for this post, I did some more research on the topic. Googled, compostable plastics, Fake Plastic Fish. And found post from my friend Beth Terry, ‘Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should‘. Of course, I can always count on Beth to set me straight. No easy way out here. The way to go, really, is good old fashioned metal spoons. Only energy required is from dish washing. Most likely the lesser of all evils.
Next time, I go to the deli, I will ask the lady about metal spoons instead.
La Marguerite 
Hi Marguerite. Yep, it would be great if the deli provided durable utensils. But we can also encourage people to bring their own. I use To-GoWare’s bamboo utensil set that I carry with me everywhere. Since it’s mine, and I’m the only one using it, it doesn’t have to be sterilized every time I use it (I’m fine wiping off my own spoon and using it again) so maybe that saves even more energy.
BTW, would you mind linking to the original post on my blog instead of the Alt Globe version?
http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/2008/08/just-because-we-can-doesnt-mean-we.html
Thanks! Can’t wait to meet up in person.
Beth
Yes, me too.
Link changed!
Hi guys, we also used ToGoWare for our year trip around the USA. There was only one waitress at a truckstop in Nebraska that gave us any trouble. She told us it was against the law of the store! (?) We ordered only things which could be eaten with our hands…she was not impressed.
I think it’s worth explaining why compostable plastics are not a viable large-scale solution.
For one, they’re largely made from corn which we understand is an incredibly soil-depleting crop, (Do we really want anything else competing with food for good land?) Not to mention the pesticides and chemical fertilizers which are undoubtedly used (not many folks will be looking for “organic” compostable tableware).
Also, if these items are thrown into a garbage bin, then their being compostable won’t matter a hoot because they won’t degrade in the landfill. Not much does. No air in there. People will have to carry the spoon or whatever around with them until they find a compost bin, (highly unlikely) or take it home to their own. Most people eat at the kinds of places that use disposable tableware for the EXTREME CONVENIENCE, so it doesn’t seem likely that they will take the extra steps to make sure that the compostable item finds its way back too compost… 😦
Compostable tableware at least speaks to the problem of disposable petroleum byproducts…We found that bringing our own silverware, bandannas for napkins, and containers for leftovers, turned out to be our only way to avoid making trash while eating at faster food establishments. That, and asking straight up for no paper of any kind and no straws. And no toothpicks! LOL
Here is a link to our YERTblog…http://www.yert.com/blog.php Just type in ToGoWare…
Plus, it’s fun to have everything you need in your backpack!
Good point by Julie about compostable plastic not really being compostable lying around in landfills. This is a disctinction that many consumers (even green-minded ones) are often not aware about. The plastics are compostable and biodegradable only when subjected to the conditions in a commercially run composting facility. Dumped into a landfill, they probably lie around just like petro-based plastics. (I am not sure if there are differences in their life under landfill conditions but suffice it is to say that they probably do not degrade in 6 months in a landfill.)
* Compstable Plastic: a plastic that undergoes degradation by biological processes during composting to yield CO2, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate consistent with other compostable materials and leaves no visible, distinguishable or toxic residue (ASTM D 6400-99)
http://www.astm.org/Standards/D6400.htm
I keep a plate and set of regular silverware and a cloth napkin in my backpack. If I’m out sans backpack I take the plastic utensils home, wash them and take them to the botanical garden where I volunteer and add it to their supply of plastic utensils. We take the paper napkins,
plates and bags home for composting.
Maybe businesses can be convinced to convert to paper plates which are at least compostable.