What You Can Compost in Washington State – How to Check

The first time I heard of personal composting was probably 6 years ago when someone had a compost tumbler in their backyard. I never knew such a thing existed.

Now it's not uncommon to have one as needed.

But what can you compost?

Washington State may be the Evergreen State but Washington is also green in a lot of other ways, too. Compost can certainly help as needed.

Fortunately, the Washington State Department of Ecology has new laws in place so it's easy to tell what is definitely compostable.

What are the compostable product labeling requirements?

This includes literally banning the word biodegradable on products. Now they must use the word compostable.

You will still see the word biodegradable for agricultural mulch films. That's the exception.

The new labeling also must be clear and easy to see.

Products must be made of wood or be 98% fiber with no plastics. Products can also be certified by a third-party to meet the needs and standards of composting and have the logo of the one that certified them.

This way they know items can be broken down during the composting process in a safe, toxic-free way.

A new one for me is plastic bags like you find at grocery stores can no longer be brown, green, or biege if they're not compostable.

Axios goes into more detail on what's happening with composting in Washington State.

What's more, if it's compostable, it shouldn't be replaced in the recycling bin. That's a different thing completely.