Recyclable vs compostable. Which is better to save the planet?

written by

posted on

July 9, 2021

“Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” This has been taught in American schools for decades. It was the same message when I was a kid, and it’s the same message for my kids today. But… this message is deceiving.

I’m 100% aligned with reduce and reuse. I try to do this constantly. But that third one… recycle… is kind of a cop out.

I think that a majority of Americans feel that, if they’re recycling, there’s nothing to worry about. They are doing their part to save the planet. Wrong!!!

According to the EPA, currently only 9% of plastic in the US is recycled.

That’s right. 91% of the plastic you put in the recycling bin goes to a landfill or is incinerated. Argh! That’s really not that helpful.

And... that’s not to mention the energy it takes, the pollution created, and the forever chemicals produced by plastic recycling.

And... that also doesn’t take into account that plastic can only be recycled a certain number of times. That magical Trex decking that requires little maintenance and is made with recycled plastics only lasts 25-30 years. After that, off to the landfill it goes. It cannot be recycled again.

This is why, at Miller’s, we choose reusable and compostable packaging as much as possible.

All of our glass can be reused.

If you don’t live close enough to the farm to return it, I do hope you can reuse it at home or give it to someone else who will.

If your glass does go into the recycling, there’s a much better chance, around 25%, that it will be recycled.

And... if glass ends up in a landfill, at least we know that it will eventually break down into sand and not microplastics and chemicals.

The cardboard and paper padding and plant-based plastics are all compostable.

If you don’t have a home compost, perhaps you can subscribe to a composting service, a growing industry.

The worst case scenario is that your compostable packaging ends up in a landfill. In that case, at least we know it will be dirt in a year and not sit for hundreds of years and leech synthetics into the environment.

So, what do you think? Do you prefer recyclable or compostable packaging? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Opinion

Lovely Farm Day recap with pics and videos. And the sour milk debacle. Our milk really does last.

Despite a little rain and chilly weather, this year's Farm Day event was simply lovely. Thanks to everyone who came out!One family reported, "This is better than Hershey Park!" Another family reported that they're very selective with the natural foods they eat, and that can be a challenge at parties and events. The best part for them was that they could say "yes" to every food that was there. And we heard from a lot of people that the Farmer Panel Discussion was extremely educational. Many thanks to our farmers! They said we could have simply done that the entire day, and maybe I'll take that tip for a new event next year.Here's a short 1-minute video recap of the event: Honestly the food was incredible. We served a smorgesboard of snacks. Our vendors were giving out samples. And there was a hot lunch of smoked brisket, chicken leg and thigh, a loaded salad bar, baked beans, potatoes, and veggies. Here are some pics of the food: We had lots of fun activities, too. A mini petting zoo, making flower crowns, milking a cow, and wagon and pony and camel rides. Here are some pics of that excitement: We also had a Farmer Panel Discussion. We had Aaron representing his two brothers, our raw dairy farmers. We had Daniel, who raises our chickens. We had Lamar, who's our beekeeper. And finally Raymond, who's one of our egg farmers. Here are the first 7 minutes of the panel. It's the intro, before we got into the nitty gritty questions. Overall, Farm Day went off without a hitch. There was one issue --> the Sour Milk Challenge. You see, raw milk naturally sours as it ages. The living microbiology that's inside the cow ferments the milk, breaking down the lactose (milk sugar) and turning it into lactic acid (which is sour). The warmer it is and the longer it sits, the more sour it gets. Drinking sour milk is not a safety issue, it's a palatability issue.I put milk aside way before Farm Day. One was 25 days old, one was 15 days old, and one was 8 days old. It was simply sitting in our cooler. The day before the event I tasted them, and all of the milks tasted the same! They all tasted fresh!!How could I have a sour milk tasting with no sour milk!? I had to think fast. So I put one milk in the culturing room (at 98F) overnight. Another I left on the counter overnight. The one in the culturing room did get a little sour. But, the challenge overall was very difficult (dare I say impossible). Here's what the challenge looked like: This really made me think about how important our milk safety standards are.I mean, given the amount our farmers clean when milking, there's zero manure or urine or dirt in the milk. There's no external bacteria or yeast mixed in.Most raw milk farmers don't do what we do (and pasteurized milk farmers definitely don't). It's kinda gross when you think about it. But, having any manure or urine or dirt or residue from equipment in raw milk definitely makes it sour quickly. It also made me think about temps for storing raw milk.Our cooler is kept at 35F. It seems that this nearly stopped the fermentation. Compare this to a regular home fridge, which is usually 40-42F. Those 5-7 degrees matter! It makes me want to get a separate mini milk-only fridge at home that I keep colder.Anyway, I digress. Farm Day was amazing!!! If you came, we'd love for you to leave your comments below. We'll be attending a few more events this fall, and we'd love to see you there! Healthy Food, Healthy Body. An Event for Healthy Living.October 19, 1-4pmTenafly NJWise Traditions ConferenceOctober 25-27Orlando, FLDocumenting Hope ConferenceNovember 15-17Orlando, FL

We're many small farms. We let farmers do what they love - farm.

Our name is Miller's Bio Farm, and honestly it should change. It really should be Miller's Bio Farms (plural).Why? That's because we aren't just one farm - we are collection of likeminded, small, local, (nearly all) Amish, family farms. We are so lucky to be in Lancaster County, where more and more people are getting into natural farming and food. When Aaron, the founder, started out, he did a lot of things himself. He milked cows, he raised pigs in the woods, he had mobile coops with chickens, had a few beef cattle, and even butchered some chickens.But he never raised laying hens or kept bees. He never butchered his own meat. Besides pasture, he never grew and mixed his own feed. I mean, there were so many things he didn't do.And really, it was never just Aaron, it was his wife Rebecca and their kids too. I mean, doing it all that would be A LOT for one family! And, with smaller properties in Lancaster County (compared to expansive ranches in other parts of the US), there's not enough space either. It's always been a collaboration of farms.We value our farmers' independence. They join us if they align with and can meet our natural standards. But, we want them to own their animals and operations, to make decisions for themselves, and be able to do what they love - farm. Right now, here's where our natural foods come from: Dairy: Aaron's two brothers, John and David, have two small 100% grass fed dairy herds. John's herd is on site and produces all of our fluid milk. David's herd is about 20 minutes away. His milk is used for dairy products like cream, cheese, and yogurt.Eggs: We have a handful of local farms, all within 1.5 hours of the farm. They all follow the same exact farming practices and give the hens the same quality feed.Beef: We have one beef farmer. He's actually a bit of trek, nearly 3 hours from the farm. But his property is just so beautiful.Pork: We have one local farm that raises pigs in the woods. He also grows produce, so in addition to what they forage and their corn & soy free feed, the pigs get lots of yummy seconds and thirds of fresh veggies. Chicken: This comes from one farm about 1.5 hours west of our main farm. Daniel, the chicken farmer, used to be our on site dairy farmer. But he decided that he likes chickens more than cows. And plus, he kinda wanted his very own operation, too. Turkey: This comes from a very local farm that raises turkeys just for us.Seafood: From Wild for Salmon, which is a collection of fishers all following the same natural standards and sustainable harvest practices.Honey: From two different honey farmers. One makes our regular honey and has hives on our main dairy farm. The other makes our creamed honeys.Produce: This is from Lancaster Farm Fresh, which is a collection of farms. They have great transparency, so we're able to find out the growing practices and where it comes from. We'll be pulling another produce farmer in soon to get it even more local. Farmers became farmers for a reason. And it's not because they like computers or talking to people or packing orders. So we do the processing and manage the website and pack orders and do the customer service and help spread the learning around. And our farmers... well... they farm and provide you that amazing food. How do you feel buying from a collection of farms? What's most important to you when buying food?

Here's how we test our raw cow milk on site. Cleanliness so important!

Have you ever noticed that our raw cow milk tastes clean and not barny? Have you noticed that it lasts longer than other raw milks? Our dairy farmers work hard for this. It all comes down to cleanliness... and therefore milk safety. We test every batch of milk on site for general bacteria counts. Here's how and here's why.

Recyclable vs compostable. Which is better to save the planet?

More from the blog

Lovely Farm Day recap with pics and videos. And the sour milk debacle. Our milk really does last.

We're many small farms. We let farmers do what they love - farm.

Here's how we test our raw cow milk on site. Cleanliness so important!

Do

Learn

Uphold

Connect

Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566