Materials and Waste

In a recent survey conducted by Smart Design, respondents ranked compostable plastics as a more sustainable material than recycled plastic or paper fiber. Unfortunately, compostable plastic breaks down only under the specific heat and moisture conditions of an industrial composting facility—a fact that only 22% of people we surveyed were aware of. Toss a compostable plastic bag into a landfill or composting bin, come back a year later, and you’ll find . . . plastic.

You can chalk up part of this misunderstanding to greenwashing, but there’s also a basic truth of human nature at play. People like to feel they’re doing the right thing, and they seize upon messages that support this. If that emotional need is fulfilled, they tend to suspend their skepticism and interpret the message in the most comforting way possible. This is the main reason “wish-cycling”—putting things in recycling things that we wish belonged there—is so common, driving the average contamination rate in curbside recycling to about 25%.