Farmers and composting companies say allowing plastic to be considered compost will undermine the purpose of composting, which is to improve soil and crop health. Plastics manufacturers say loosening the rules will encourage more people to compost
By Susanne Rust, Staff Writer, LA Times, July 4, 2025
Greg Pryor began composting yard and food waste for San Francisco in 1996, and today he oversees nine industrial-sized composting sites in California and Oregon that turn discarded banana peels, coffee grounds, chicken bones, and more into a dark, nutrient-rich soil that farmers covet for their fields and crops.
His company, Recology, processes organic waste from cities and municipalities across the Bay Area, Central Valley, Northern California, Oregon, and Washington — part of a growing movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by minimizing food waste in landfills.
But, said Pryor, if bioplastic and compostable food packaging manufacturers get their way, the whole system could collapse.
At issue is a 2021 California law, known as Assembly Bill 1201, which requires that products labeled “compostable” must actually break down into compost, not contaminate soil or crops with toxic chemicals, and be readily identifiable to both consumers and solid waste facilities.
The law also stipulates that products carrying a “compostable” label must meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program requirements, which only allow for plant and animal material in compost feedstock, and bar all synthetic substances and materials — plastics, bioplastics and most packaging materials — except for newspaper or other recycled paper without glossy or colored ink.
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The USDA is reviewing those requirements at the request of a compostable plastics and packaging industry trade group. Its ruling, expected this fall, could open the door for materials such as bioplastic cups, coffee pods, and compostable plastic bags to be admitted into the organic compost waste stream.
Amid pressure from the industry, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery said it will hold off on implementing its own rules on AB 1201 — originally set for Jan. 1, 2026 — until June 30, 2027, to incorporate the USDA guidelines, should there be a change.
Pryor is concerned that a USDA ruling to allow certain plastic to be considered compost will contaminate his product, make it unsaleable to farmers, and undermine the purpose of composting, which is to improve soil and crop health.
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