Smaller plastics aren’t always thrown away properly, leading to microplastics in water, soil and food — risking ecosystem and even human health.
A consumer peels a banana, eats it and throws the peel into the compost. However, one more step is needed: removing the produce sticker.
Because they are plastic, produce stickers are not compostable or biodegradable. Putting them into the compost along with the banana peel contaminates the compost. These small bits of plastic, also known as microplastics, leach into soil, water and food when not disposed of properly. From there, they make their way into various species — including humans — creating health risks and disrupting the ecosystem.
The Washington State Department of Ecology and Department of Agriculture are looking for a solution to this issue. House Bill 2301, which focuses on waste material management, requires the departments to conduct an assessment of produce stickers and their alternatives by Sept. 1, 2025.
The assessment will look at different produce sticker options for qualities such as compostability, toxicity, cost and performance, according to Shannon Jones, the plastics reduction coordinator for Ecology.
Some people may consider the issue an unimportant one, Jones thinks, because a produce sticker is as small as a fingertip. But those fingertips can add up.
“To put it into perspective I like to imagine an entire truckload of bananas that’s dropped off at a compost facility and each one of them has a produce sticker,” Jones said. “All of a sudden you’re dealing with this huge contamination issue.”
Looking for alternatives
The study’s purpose isn’t to ban produce stickers, but to find alternatives. After all, they play crucial roles for consumers and employees, according to Katie Beeson, government affairs director for the Washington Food Industry Association (WFIA).
For consumers, the stickers allow them to know what codes to use at self-checkout lanes in grocery stores. For employees, it helps them to differentiate between organic and nonorganic produce.
WFIA is a nonprofit that helps independent grocery stores in the state. They focus on advocating and educating grocers and suppliers, including about sustainability.
“I think that we would all love to see stickers that are compostable,” Beeson said. “But since they’re not on the market now, it’s hard to advocate for something that doesn’t exist.”
Plenty of plastic
Shopping sustainably can be a challenge for consumers. Most items on the shelves at grocery stores contain plastic.
Grocers have little control over how products are made and packaged, according to Beeson. But that doesn’t mean they can’t have a role in the discussion.
“The store is the first thing that comes to mind when the consumer is thinking about how they can reduce their plastic intake,” Beeson said. “That’s why we engage in these topics.”
Journey toward sustainability
If throwing away or recycling small plastics isn’t an option, then how do consumers dispose of them?
Seattle-based Ridwell is one of many companies taking on that task. They take hard-to-recycle items and recycle or reuse them for the consumer by working with various partners.
One of their Seattle partners is Trex, which takes plastic film and turns it into composite decking.
Ridwell’s goal is to help people live up to their own sustainability values, according to Ridwell CEO and co-founder Ryan Metzger. They also focus on transparency by showing where and to whom their picked-up products go.
Metzger believes it’s important for people to understand the journey their plastics go on, so they know their plastics aren’t going into a body of water, the landfill or a compost facility.
As research continues at the state level for produce stickers, some solutions are being found for other small plastics so they don’t fill water, soil or food with microplastics.
“Everything starts small. Your bread tag might be small today, but I can go into a warehouse and see boxes the size of this conference room full of bread tags,” Metzger said.
— By Margaret Baumgartner