As of October 2019, GreenCycle of Indiana has rolled out new guidelines for the materials they will accept for composting from food service establishments and events.
GreenCycle is our compost facility partner for nearly all of our events in central Indiana. If you are planning to compost at an event in Indianapolis or the surrounding area—whether with my team or on your own—I encourage you to read GreenCycle’s compost guidelines.
The guidelines answer specific questions relevant to caterers and event planners, such as:
- What foods can I compost?
- How can I tell if the “eco-friendly” serviceware I have in stock is compostable?
- Where can I find compostable products that I know will be accepted?
- What should I do if I’m not sure something is compostable?
The biggest change in the new guidelines is that GreenCycle no longer accepts compostable plastics, even if they are certified compostable.
Why this change? Two reasons: First, there is unfortunately a lot of greenwashing in the disposable serviceware sector, making it difficult for food vendors to identify and purchase truly compostable plastics. This can happen even when purchasers have the best of intentions — I’ve had multiple clients who have done their best to buy compostable products, but have been misled by confusing descriptions and marketing language.
Second, I and other compost collection companies in the area have found that end users have a hard time determining which plastics should go in a recycling bin vs. a compost bin. Both of these issues result in significant contamination of GreenCycle’s compost piles—as well as the recycling that is collected alongside compost. Therefore, until the composting community finds reliable solutions for these issues, GreenCycle is choosing not to accept compostable plastics.
We’re fortunate in Indianapolis to have a compost facility that is willing and able to support the events industry. We look forward to helping our clients navigate the composting process and turn their organic event waste into a valuable component of healthy soil.