Do Produce Stickers Break Down in Compost? The Answer May Surprise You

You finally did it—you invested in a

compost bin. It's positioned on your kitchen counter, and you're tossing unusable

food scraps into the soon-to-be mulchy mix left and right, creating nutrient-rich soil and subverting

food waste from the

landfill.

Upon further inspection, though, there seems to be a freckling of ingredients that just aren't degrading. In fact, they look as new as ever! It's those pesky produce stickers, and they're messing with your compost composition.

Produce stickers—aka "price look-up" stickers, or PLUs, an important inventory tool at most grocery stores—are typically made from paper and a layer of plastic durable enough to withstand transport and in-store spritzings of water to ensure freshness. While stickers are FDA-regulated and even

technically edible, they are neither

biodegradable nor

compostable.

Composting is a natural process that uses oxygen, nitrogen, and time to recycle organic matter into a material called humus, a fertilizer that can be used by farmers and home gardeners alike. And while many non-food items can be tossed into your bin or heap—think pizza boxes, paper napkins, coffee filters—most manmade products don't break down by natural means. This category includes those ubiquitous PLUs.

Here are three things you can do to reduce your produce sticker waste while the industry works to find an environmentally sound solution.

The obvious step: remember to remove and toss your produce stickers in the only place they can currently go, the trash. While this does nothing to reduce the waste, it will help to ensure that your compost stays healthy and viable for use in potted houseplants or your garden.

Produce stickers are important for inventory and product identification at grocery stores and markets, but the vendors at most farmers' markets have no need for them. Support your local growers and purchase sticker-free fruits and veggies.

In your final form, you are your own farmer and produce provider, and can easily identify your bounty without the use of a plastic sticker. Build an

organic garden plot in your backyard, or go the small-space route with a

hydroponic gardening system like

Gardyn or Lettuce Grow.