Compostable packaging put to the test in Petersfield as cups take years to break down

A University of Portsmouth experiment is underway to test how long compostable packaging takes to break down, as ITV Meridian's Lucy Warhurst found out.

As the world tries to cut down on single-use plastics, compostable packaging has emerged as a more sustainable solution. What many of us don't know is how best to compost it, and how long some will take to break down.Scientists at the University of Portsmouth are trying to find the answers with a year-long experiment in Petersfield.

PHD Researcher, Anita Carey says: "Compostable packaging has been developed to replace single-use plastic, so the idea is that rather than use your single-use plastic and put it in the bin, compostable packaging can be put into your composting system and break down."

Anita says many products don't say whether they're suitable for home or commercial systems, they don't all include instructions and don't always work as well as people might expect.Anita adds: "What people are reporting is that when they go to take the compost out of their composting system, the compost is ready but they're still finding pieces of compostable packaging."

Joanne Hughes from Clanfield in East Hampshire is a keen gardener and composter.She says: "I was brought up with a grandma and grandad who always gardened and grew their own and had compost bins. My Mum and Dad would have compost bins and I've always had compost bins.

"I grew up with 'waste not want' before it became fashionable."

Recently she's been cutting up compostable bags and adding it to her mix, but the results have been varied.Joanne says: "It hasn't composted down after nine months really so you end up taking it out and putting it back in to a fresh batch, is what I've been doing anyway."

Over the next year, Anita Carey will experimenting with compostable materials in home systems to see how they perform.

She'll also survey home composters to see how their experiences compare. Then, next April, she'll analyse the results in the lab.

The Sustainability Centre in Petersfield, which is supporting the project, bought some compostable cups for an event as a better alternative to single-use plastic.

But after five years, chief executive, Christine Seaward, says the cups don't appear to be showing any signs of breaking down.

"Yeah, really completely surprised. I expected it to be I don't know, looking as if it was five years old, looking as if it was degrading in some way and perhaps even breaking up. But it looks as if it's just come out of the packet."Christine says what's important is that we ask better questions and expect better answers. It's hoped that through this project, we might just get that.

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