The State of Composting in the United States

This did not include the thousands of on-site community gardens, K-12, college and university, correctional facilities, resorts, or hospital composting programs across the country. Read the full report →

Here are key takeaways from the publication:

Facilities
First, some good news! There’s been a small but noticeable increase in full-scale composting facilities that accept food waste in the United States over the last five years. Total facilities have grown from 185 to 200, representing an 8% rise. The majority of facilities are small and independently operated, demonstrating the continued momentum in the community composting movement.

Almost half of this infrastructure is concentrated within the following states: California (35), New York (14), Colorado (13), Pennsylvania (10), Washington (9), Texas (9), and North Carolina (9). This means there are still several “composting deserts,” where no full-scale composting operations are present. Those deserts include Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Food Waste
And then some bad news. Today’s composting infrastructure only processes up to 4% of the 66 million tons of total food waste generated annually in the U.S., according to the EPA. Here are a few reasons why:

• More and more food waste is being processed at anaerobic digestion facilities, but this study did not capture this data.
• There continues to be some reluctance by yard trimmings composting operations to accept food waste due to concerns about perceived odors from organics and contamination from conventional plastics.
• Facilities in a lower permitting tier are limited in the annual tons of food waste they can accept.

Compostable Packaging 
But of the facilities that do accept food waste, 71% also accept compostable packaging—up from 58% in 2018. This same trend holds true for certified compostable food-contact bio-resins. 62% of participating facilities now accept bio-resins, up from 48% in 2018. That means that more and more composters are realizing the value of compostable packaging to help create a clean stream, reduce waste to landfill, and divert more food waste to compost piles. The survey attributed this growth in acceptance to growing trust in third-party certifications, such as the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA), or TÜV Austria and its international OK Compost label. In fact, a majority of composters (45) required BPI certification for any incoming compostables.

Here’s a deeper dive into what kinds of packaging composters are accepting today:

• Food-soiled paper and pizza boxes – 83% (117)
• Certified compostable bio-resin liner bags – 66% (93)
• Certified compostable bio-resin foodservice packaging – 87%
• Bio-resin coated paper products – 44%
• Molded fiber containers – 70%

Why Some Composters Hesitate to Accept Food-Contact Packaging
So what’s still causing hesitancy? Mainly contamination from lookalike plastics. 78% of participants cited this as their top concern. And in a market overrun with greenwashing that confuses consumers (biodegradable…oxo-biodegradable…natural…?), it’s easy to understand why.

Thankfully, states are taking action to address the problem by implementing “Truth in Labeling” laws. This kind of legislation streamlines and standardizes labeling for compostable packaging to help consumers more easily identify it, and bans confusing and misleading environmental marketing claims. Explore Truth in Labeling legislation by state through our US Legislative Map →

What You Can Do 
Composting is growing to meet today’s demand, but it could always grow faster. Here are just a few ways all of us can help accelerate composting infrastructure—whether that be in front of your city council, at work, or simply starting at home!

• ​Public Policy​: Reach out to your representatives in Congress and share your support for smart legislation like the COMPOST Act, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act, and other regenerative agriculture policies in the upcoming Farm Bill. ​Is your city considering a single-use plastic ban? Raise your voice to help ensure there is funding and infrastructure planning in place to manage the higher volume of compostable packaging.
• Opportunities in the Private Sector​: Advocate for composting services at your office as a sustainability service and benefit for employees. If you manage investments, direct funds towards the development of commercial-scale composting infrastructure. Or if you work in foodservice, you can be on the front lines of change! Encourage your company to switch to 100% compostable packaging to reduce its dependence on petroleum-based single-use plastics and help keep contamination out of the compost bin. Start by talking with fellow team members and customers about the benefits of compostable packaging.
• Ideas at Home​: We do not need to wait for large facilities to be funded, permitted, and then built if everyone starts composting at home. Start and manage a composting pile in your backyard or at your apartment complex, community garden, place of worship, child’s school, or other gathering places in your community. Or sign up for a local community composting service in your city. Find a compost drop-off site →

Lastly, got a movie night on the books? Watch and share Kiss the Ground’s full-length films to learn about soil health and regenerative agriculture solutions. Or if you only have a few minutes, watch and share this short clip from Kiss the Ground: The Compost Story.

There’s still a long way to go to build the composting infrastructure our communities need, but progress is happening—and we can all play a role in keeping food and compostable packaging out of landfills.