I’ve posted here about Wheatware, a company that makes biodegradable plastic alternative products, including disposable flatware, but Verterra’s got the disposable plate, bowl and platter thing down!

I brought some samples of Verterra’s thoroughly sustainable and thoughtfully produced plates and bowls to my office to give them a rough test drive. I’m a salad girl and I love to use a lot of dressing and mix up all kinds of mushy stuff with my green mess, so this seemed to be a perfect way to see how these products held up.

These simple, but amazing plates are like a sustainable fantasy product - ethically sourced, fair-trade made, 100% compostable, non-toxic, bleach-free, non-leaching, made from 100% renewable plant materials, microwavable AND dishwasher safe, reusable and made by wonderful green pixies . . . okay, that last one was me getting carried away.  But wait! There’s more!

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The speakers ranged from keynote speaker Jaimie Lerner, former mayor of Curitiba Brazil co-founder of the IPPUC, Parris Glendending (Former Governor of Maryland and President of Smart Growth Leadership Institute and Janet Larsen, Director of Research for the Earth Policy Institute and advocate for Lestor Brown’s Plan B. Larsen mentioned how Plan A refers to as “business as usual” and most of us can see that that plan isn’t working. Plan B doesn’t just refer to the U.S. Countries like Algeria who depend on their oil revenue can see the oil-less future and continue to create solar and thermal alternatives to power their future. Imagine an oil country funding alt energy sources.

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Ike’s Quarter Cafe has been in business for seven years as of this month, and in that time has had plenty of opportunities to try out the various green options available. And, lucky you, we’re going to tell you the best of breed that they’ve found!

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On that sunny Saturday morning there were lots of smiling faces and a palpable mood of low-key excitement as kids and adults talked with the city workers and volunteers who answered questions, collected payments, and handed out the green gear. The scene had a feeling of civic pride and neighborly good will that reminded me of what you might see in a typical polling station on election day—sans any secretiveness about ballots or partisan rivalry. We were all there to take an active role in making our community a more sustainable one, and it was a pleasure to bask in the collective spirit.

So, why is it that two months later we have a sturdy black composter sitting unassembled under our back steps? The answer is that, like lots of eco-minded urbanites who share space with their neighbors, I wasn’t trying to do this alone. When you live in a city, turning green thoughts into green actions requires coordination and cooperation. Neighborly goodwill alone doesn’t often get big changes made.

Rethinking the Garbage Game

The basic concept of home composting makes intuitive sense to most people: take part of your household garbage and create something useful from it—namely an organic soil fertilizer that conditions the soil by restoring depleted nutrients without synthetic fertilizers. But what if you’re not an avid gardener with a burning passion for quality humus? I’m certainly not, so for I long time I considered composting beyond my abilities, the luxury pursuit of true tillers of the soil.

About a year ago, I seriously began mulling over the idea of jumping on the composting train, but I was conflicted. No, I wasn’t worried about creating a stink by trying to ferment my garbage in the backyard. Actually, I had learned in researching composting that keeping oil, meat, and dairy products out of the compost would keep the pile smelling sweet (or at least inoffensive). Instead, I was a bit daunted by the decision of buying a compost bin. You can find a world of choices in compost bins on the market today, and they range in price from as little as $40 to over $400. The high-priced bins seemed awfully costly for essentially a large chunk of plastic, but I was afraid that by cheaping out, I might doom my experiment with substandard equipment.

The decision was complicated by the fact that it was a communal one. The new bin was going to be used by the five other families in our condo building who all wanted to give composting a try. Even with everyone’s agreement on the basic concept, though, choosing a model, picking a day, and putting someone in charge of the whole project usually lost out to panicked conversations about tuckpointing bids or how to get the roof through another winter.

Mayor Daley Makes It Easier

My dilemma was solved when I heard about a new program sponsored by Chicago’s Department of the Environment. The offer to city residents was simple: get a brand new compost bin for the rock bottom price of $30. I figured that even if the bins weren’t top of the line, I wasn’t risking much. I could even swing the price myself and therefore feel confident in making an executive decision. Problem solved!

Driving home with my new composter in the back seat, my son drumming on the lid we had to wedge next to his car seat, I did think the problem was solved. I had a great new bin, made of recycled plastic, called the Earth Machine: no cheaping out after all. In fact, the model retails for $80 or $90.

Now, two months later, the composter is a casualty of simple neighborly inertia. Our resident landscaper hasn’t had the time to move the flagstones that currently occupy the agreed-upon site so that the new composter can be put into action. So our Earth Machine sits, waiting behind other gardening projects to be put into service.

Reasons to Recapture the Momentum

So, I write this for myself, and for all of you who need to be reenergized: composting is important. And, if you find yourself in my situation, or one very much like it, here are some important things to remember, and to share with those neighbors who might need some reminding or convincing:

• You probably already recycle items like paper and beverage containers. Good for you. But what about the wet stuff? According to the Chicago Recycling Association, food waste constitutes 10% of an average household’s trash, and landscape waste constitutes another 20%. Compare these totals with a material like glass, which comprises just 5.5% of a home’s waste stream on average, and it becomes clear that composting has a role to play for anyone serious about striving for a zero-impact lifestyle.
• Need more? Consider your local landfill. Assuming that a modern industrial society like ours is required to collect its refuse somewhere for the sake of public health and sanitation, such sites are a limited resource. Every pound of organic matter you toss in the waste stream instead of composting contributes to the depletion of this resource. When the landfills currently in use fill up, other ones will have to be opened—and chances are these new sites won’t be situated as advantageously as the previous one. For example, the Illinois EPA estimates that there are only five years of landfill capacity left in northeastern Illinios. After that, waste from Chicago will have to be trucked further and further to facilities outside the region. The increased energy use and truck pollution will likely take a hefty toll.
• The case for composting has an even more direct link to global climate change. By reducing the amount of raw garbage entering landfills, composting also helps reduce the amount of methane and other gases produced there. As the Chicago Recycling Association reports, landfills have been identified by the U.S. EPA as the country’s largest single human source of methane emissions, and are responsible for one third of all such pollution. Methane is of particular concern in the fight against global warming because it is 21 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

As I write this, I find myself realizing that the inertia that has made our road to composting such a long one will dissipate. Our condo will soon have that bin assembled and ready to start turning our table scraps into flower food. And if we’re lucky, we’ll have something to show for our efforts before the snow flies.

When taking your picnic to the park or the beach try to reduce the amount of waste you leave there.

For the table, bring a cloth tablecloth instead of a paper or plastic one. It will be more durable and you can throw it in the washer when you get home.

Bring reusable utensils, plates and cups (they'll make your neighboring picnickers envious).

Instead of buying prepackaged food, make your own fare and pack it in reusable containers rather than foil or plastic wrap.

Or use recycled paper plates and napkins, and biodegradable and compostable cutlery and cups. (Treecycle has a variety of options).

You don't need a pricey picnic basket to tote your lunch; however, they are very cute! Take your things in a backpack or canvas bag that you already have around the house.

Be sure to take out what you bring in. Take leftover food (and compostable ware) home for your compost pile. If your picnic area doesn't have recycling bins available be sure to take out any bottles or cans to recycle at home.

Amy says: When I go picnicking we take an old futon cover to spread out on the ground. It's double sided for an added layer of cushion and moisture protection if the grass is damp.