[rob74]

Interesting! But when a material is described as "home-compostable", I immediately have to ask myself what stops it from composting while still being used as packaging? OTOH, if they make it stable enough to have a long useful shelf-life, they have the opposite problem, that it takes years to break down when in the environment. Ok, still better than most plastics...

[smt88]

Paper is home-compostable and stable enough for use as packaging. I imagine the key factor is always moisture in such cases.

[christkv]

In composting there are heat, humidity and lots of organisms. If stored dry it probably does not fall apart as fast.

[dayofthedaleks]

Likewise, I find that home composting claims for most man made materials are claptrap as they require industrial operations with grind prep and high heat before they actually break down. Think mechanical digestors, not compost piles.

[papercrane]

The actual paper also doesn't test the biodegradability of material.

That said, they don't use anything exotic. It's just soy protein, acetic acid, water and glycerol. It would be interesting to see how long it would last in a compost pile, but I wouldn't be surprised if it broke down fairly rapidly.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23813-6

[hanniabu]

The same things that allow twigs and leaves to last much longer when not being composted.