While these \u201cbioplastics\u201d are made from organic materials, they require specific environmental conditions to break down and decompose. And some of these products contain additives or aren\u2019t transparent about the materials they use.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fast facts <\/strong><\/p>\n In 2023, Oakland adopted an ordinance<\/a> limiting the distribution of single-use foodware like plastic cups and utensils \u2014 including the so-called compostable kind \u2014 by restaurants. Throughout this process, the city had conversations with Waste Management, Oakland\u2019s curbside trash and composting contractor, said Rebecca Parnes, the city\u2019s recycling manager. The company decided to stop accepting bioplastics, including the green bags.\u00a0<\/p>\n Parnes said the reckoning over bioplastics was fairly recent and gradual.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf people have been buying compostable bags and putting them in their compost, they shouldn\u2019t feel bad, because they thought they were doing the right thing,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd for a period of time, a lot of cities were promoting it, because we thought it was the right solution. Now that we\u2019re learning more, we\u2019re realizing it\u2019s not.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Confusingly, several cities in Alameda County do accept bioplastic bags in compost. You can find illustrated regulations for cities in three Bay Area counties online<\/a>. But, according to Parnes, only one facility in the state can actually process bioplastics \u2014 and it\u2019s in Southern California.<\/p>\n Composting rules should become clearer and more standardized in coming years, due to a couple of state laws meant to reduce waste and encourage transparency.<\/p>\n Senate Bill 1383<\/a>, which went into effect in 2022, required cities in California to offer organic waste collection services. It specified that cities can accept compostable plastics only if the facilities they use provide annual notice that they are able to process them. Another 2022 law, SB 54<\/a>, required clearer labeling on packaging.\u00a0<\/p>\n Currently, plastic bags of all sorts are the most common contaminant found in local compost (and in recycling bins, where they\u2019re also prohibited), Parnes said. But she\u2019s seen plenty of more creative stuff, too \u2014 including a television once placed in a green bin in Oakland. The city conducts regular audits<\/a> of curbside bins.<\/p>\n So what happens if you do put a green bag of fruit and vegetable scraps in your bin?\u00a0<\/p>\n At Waste Management\u2019s processing facility in Altamont, contamination, including \u201ccompostable\u201d plastics, \u201cis sorted out during processing and directed to the landfill,\u201d said spokesperson Daiane Cez\u00e1rio in an email.<\/p>\n Parnes said industrial processors typically grind up compost, then sift it through a series of screens that separate out larger items. This process catches a lot of contaminants, but it isn\u2019t perfect, she said.<\/p>\n Waste Management sells the compost it processes<\/a> to farmers, landscapers, and other customers. In comments<\/a> made to the state legislature in 2023, the company said there\u2019s a market for compost that includes (uncoated) paper scraps, but it\u2019s much harder to sell compost contaminated with plastic. It\u2019s also hard to effectively sort it out with existing technology, the company said at the time.<\/p>\n What should Oakland residents do with their home compost?<\/p>\n For residents who rely on green bags, it might be difficult to figure out what else to do with your drippy, stinky food scraps. Those bioplastic bags \u2013 sold in bulk at places like Costco and provided for produce at popular local stores like Farmer Joe\u2019s and Berkeley Bowl \u2014 presented a convenient, but ultimately too-good-to-be-true, solution.<\/p>\n Parnes often uses small paper bags she\u2019s accumulated, like the ones that bread loaves come in. Or you can use mail or shredded paper to line your kitchen pails. Many people also keep their food scrap buckets in the freezer or fridge to avoid leaks, rotting, and fruit flies.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ve heard from a reader who expressed concern about residents interacting with mold and bacteria if they have to regularly dispose of compost that isn\u2019t contained in a bioplastic bag. He said he wears an N95 mask when dumping scraps into the curbside bin, which in some households or buildings might already have food rotting in it from earlier in the week.<\/p>\n Several people have told us they were unaware that green bags are prohibited in Oakland compost.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
![\"compost](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/compost-bags-2.jpg\")
Products made from bioplastics are often advertised as compostable. But in Oakland, they\u2019re not. Credit: Natalie Orenstein\/The Oaklandside <\/p>\n