Can biodegradable food storage go into curbside recycling bins, or should it always be composted or landfilled when composting is unavailable?

Biodegradable food storage and bamboo fiber food containers can reduce plastic waste, but most of them should be composted—not put in curbside recycling—unless local programs clearly say otherwise.

What “biodegradable food storage” really means
Modern biodegradable food storage includes items like bamboo fiber clamshells, bagasse trays, PLA-lined containers, and other plant-based packaging designed to break down under specific conditions. Many are marketed as eco-friendly or “green,” but labeling terms such as “biodegradable,” “compostable,” and “recyclable” describe very different end-of-life pathways.

“Biodegradable” usually means the material can break down by microbes over time, but it does not specify how fast or under what conditions.​

“Compostable” means the product meets certain standards to disintegrate and biodegrade into non-toxic material in industrial or, less commonly, home compost systems.

“Recyclable food packaging” is designed to go through mechanical recycling (e.g., paper, cardboard, PET), and compostable plastics generally do not fit this stream.

Can biodegradable food storage go in curbside recycling?

In nearly all programs, biodegradable or compostable packaging should not go into curbside recycling bins because it contaminates plastic and paper recycling streams. Recycling facilities are designed around specific resins and paper grades; compostable plastics and fibers behave differently, reducing product quality or forcing entire batches to landfill.

Municipal haulers commonly state that compostable or biobased plastics must stay out of blue recycling carts even when they look like regular cups or clamshells.

When compostable items mix with PET or HDPE, they cannot be easily separated and may cause structural or color defects in recycled pellets.

Can biodegradable food storage go into curbside recycling bins, or should it always be composted or landfilled when composting is unavailable?

Generally, biodegradable and compostable food storage products should not go into curbside recycling bins unless your local recycling program explicitly lists them as acceptable.

When access to curbside or industrial composting is available, these containers should go into the organics cart with food scraps and yard waste.

If composting is not available and the product is not conventionally recyclable, the safest option is to place it in the trash (landfill) rather than in recycling, to avoid contaminating the recycling stream