Comments on: Sun Chips Bag-05-21-10

By: sophie

sophie — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:00:04 +0000

okay, so for a science project i decomposed sunchip bags too and got the same sort of discoloration. i don’t think its fungi… i think the decomposition process is beginning, but only on the surface of the bag. 😀

By: Barb V.

Barb V. — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:17:32 +0000

I put a bag in my in-ground pit on May 20. As of today, it looks about like the picture you provide. Mine has some blotches. When I scrape away the layer of black castings, a some of the silver part is gone. But this sucker looks like it is going to last for a looooong time! I thought my amped-up California Reds would make short work of that flimsey stuff. ‘Course they’ve had water melon and other summer fruit to distract them. So how are your Great Northern Reds doing?

By: Aura

Aura — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:37:24 +0000

Given the average amount of “spin” commonly used in advertising claims…
I wouldn’t be surprised if “using a flame thrower to reduce something to ashes, then burying the ashes in the garden” might be legitimately used to justify claims of “biodegradable” via a “hot composting” method!

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:42:41 +0000

My Pre-K class also placed a Sun Chip bag in our garden and buried it. We have worms in there but not a lot. We checked after 4 weeks and it looked exactly like it did when we buried it. The students were disappointed since I had read the bag’s claim to them. I haven’t checked since mid-May when school was out. We have had a hot wet summer. I wonder if the weather conditions affect the decomposing any?
Mary
teacher for the Rosey Rabbits Class

By: LARRY D.

LARRY D. — Sun, 30 May 2010 01:40:27 +0000

I saw somewhere you can compost a paper mate pen if you remove the ink.And a target gift card.I think i’ll try that.Those bags are like nails on a chaulkboard to a snacker like me!

By: Anna

Anna — Sat, 29 May 2010 00:19:23 +0000

I reported on the first Sun Chip post that my bag had decomposed in about 6 weeks in my hot compost pile. However, I just turned my pile again and found it in nearly perfect condition–there’s just one singe mark on it.

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:52:25 +0000

I put my Sun Chips bag in my worm trench 5 weeks ago and just checked it a few days ago. No change in the bag. I’ve now put it into my compost tumbler to see if the heat well help it along. With the 90 degree days we’ve had here, hopefully it will start to break down soon.
Hmmm….90 degree days, good for Tumbler composting, not so good for a 60 degree weather fan.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Wed, 26 May 2010 03:20:23 +0000

JENNIFER – Cutting it into strips should help to speed up the process (more surface area for microbial attack). Would be interested to know how the strips are coming along by the time they end up in harvested vermicompost.
————
RED – I would have expected a little more than faded color after a month and a half, but they do mention that a “hot active pile” is best. Did you try a hot compost approach, or cooler composting (such as worm composting)?
———–
MICHAEL – I haven’t tried hot composting one of these bags (yet – haha). Really, all I’m trying to do here is see what will happen when the bag is left to decompose in a mesophilic system. More curiosity than anything. I certainly don’t expect to see the bag break down nearly as quickly as the hot composting time-line they show on the back of the bag. Should be interesting to see how it looks in a few months though.
8)

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 26 May 2010 03:02:58 +0000

Bentley,

Great article. Basic but great. If fast food company’s are going to make it easier for consumer to compost, somebody should find out if their claims are true. If not it’s just more lipstick on the “piggie”.

You get me thinking and I’m wanting to do the same experiment now with soldier grubs and a bag of sun chips in a BioPod and see it speeds up the process more.

Anyway… I do believe they need to also make sure the food itself can decompose, as I hear McDonalds happy meals can take over a year:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1258913/Happy-1st-birthday-Mother-keeps-McDonalds-Happy-Meal-year–gone-off.html

Cheers

By: Michael from Roanoke

Michael from Roanoke — Wed, 26 May 2010 01:09:12 +0000

Dear Bentley, I was just wondering if you set up a control and hot-composted a Sunchip bag? It seems by the pictures on the back that that’s what the bag’s designers had in mind. I can think of plenty of items that my worms can go through slowly but that they absolutely devour after some traditional composting. As always, thanks for your wonderful and informative site.