I had so much stuff planned for tonight, and then I stumbled upon this video about a new Sun Chips bag.  Reading people’s comments about the bag being too noisy heavily increases the chances of me attempting to stomp my own face into a jar.  What is the issue here?  Are you really going to stop eating something based on its packaging?

First of all, kudos to Frito-Lay for trying to design a compostable bag.  Someone’s gotta start the movement sooner or later.  Be clear about whether it is actually biodegradable, or a product that just breaks down into smaller pieces causing problems.

To all my fellow composters out there:  Good luck composting this bag at home.  It isn’t easy.  The bag is designed for disposal in a commercial composting facility (example video of the process found HERE) that maintains crazy high temperatures that can even process stuff like chicken bones.  If you’re going to try it anyway, be sure to shred it up before adding to the pile.  If you try to compost it whole, it will be more trouble than it’s worth (think of how unshredded leaves and newspaper clump up your finished product).

I don’t know why something like this gets me so riled up…I guess it’s because there’s really no reason to complain that a chip bag is too loud.  It’s just a chip bag.  If you’re complaining the bag is too loud, your friends (if you have any) think you complain about everything.  If you liked Sun Chips before the bag was created, why wouldn’t you like them now?  The product is the same.

Hell, I feel just as lame because I’m going to buy one of these new bags just to make a new video reminding you yet again why you should be happy that a major corporation is attempting to try something innovative for once.

There is one major flaw on Frito Lay’s part: A good portion of people that buy this bag will think that they can just dispose of this in the regular trash and that it will magically biodegrade…it won’t.  Landfills are anaerobic, which means there’s no oxygen.  Whether your bag is designed as biodegradable or not won’t make a significant difference…don’t let anyone tell you different, not even waste hauling companies.

I guess that I’m not really helping by saying that, either…because now even more people will be disenchanted that their bag isn’t going to do anything differently in the dump.  Well, apply that thinking to all of your waste from here on out.  Reduction is the key here, and it will lead to satisfaction and simplicity.  I promise.