County should require compostable containers

Plastic containers are made from petroleum, a fossil fuel. Getting that oil out of the ground and turning it into plastic creates pollution and adds to climate change. We should be using less petroleum, not more.

Most plastic takeout containers are never recycled. Food left on them often makes them impossible to recycle, and many recycling centers don’t accept them anyway. As a result, they end up in landfills or are shipped to other countries that don’t have good waste systems. Too often, this plastic piles up, is burned, or ends up in rivers and the ocean. Millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, where it harms fish, birds and other wildlife. Over time, it breaks into tiny pieces called microplastics that are now found in our water and even our food.

Compostable containers are a better choice. When they are collected with food scraps and sent to commercial composting facilities, they break down instead of staying in the environment for hundreds of years.

San Mateo County has a chance to lead by making this simple change. Requiring compostable takeout containers will reduce plastic waste, cut our use of petroleum, and help protect our community and our planet.

The time to make this change is now.

Erik Fuller

San Carlos