Webinar recording coming soon
Thank you if you were able to join us at one of our webinars about the CMA-W switch. We will be posting the recording soon. In the meantime, you can read the information below about the upcoming change. If you are interested, sign up for commercial compost by completing this online form. For information on costs of service, see this business trash page.
The CMA-W Webinar slides (PDF) are available now.
Overview
As of January 1, 2024, the City of Ann Arbor and it's compost facility operator, WeCare Denali (WeCare), will no longer accept BPI-only certified material in compost carts or at the city's compost facility. Instead, only selected products identified as being certified "CMA-W", short for Compost Manufacturing Alliance - Windrow, and made of fiber material will be accepted. A list is available (PDF) of currently selected and certified CMA-W, fiber only products that will be accepted by our composting partner, WeCare. Also, bamboo and palm leaf products are currently excluded as they do not break down within the process timeframes.
The change stems from the following reasons:
Compostable plastics can be nearly indistinguishable from traditional petroleum-based plastics
Which leads to traditional plastics in the compost stream and compostable materials in the recycling stream.
CMA certification adds a field test for compostability, in addition to lab testing, which ensures the items break down appropriately in a real-world compost application.
Compost manufacturers formed the Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA) in 2017 to begin researching and field testing manufactured compostable products. CMA now offers a variety of certifications to products that have met industry standards for properly breaking down in a myriad of ways, including compost windrows like those used at the Ann Arbor compost site.
This change may be frustrating, especially for businesses, organizations or individuals who have stocks of this material. However, the benefits to improving our environment and in meeting the city's climate change goals are well worth the effort.
To help the community understand this shift, the city will:
To see what is allowed in Ann Arbor compost through 2023, please visit our compost page.
Distributors of CMA-W products
BGreen - 734.214.3000
My Green Michigan - 877.304.5810
[email protected]Highland Supply - 248.714.8355
Green Safe Products - 313.326.3100
