Bite of Seattle attempts 100 percent compostable

Over 50 food vendors are pitching tents at the Seattle Center this weekend for the annual Bite of Seattle food fest. Organizers are hoping to make this year’s festival a zero-waste event. There are three new composting and recycling booths where visitors can dump their plates and forks.

"There will be people inside the booths just educating the consumer about what goes where, how they can carry on these efforts at home," says Cindy Stohl, a coordinator for the Bite. "And so we're not trying to do this just for the festival, but also trying to educate the consumer."

Seattle's Food Packaging Law requires that all temporary food vendors use recyclable or compostable containers. Maria Hug is running a Ben and Jerry’s truck at the Bite. She’s using cups and spoons that might look like plastic, but are actually made of starch or corn.

"All of our spoons, all of our products, everything is compostable," says Hug. "We keep all of our cones and wrappers to a very minimum."

All the compostable food and containers from the Bite will be processed through the Cedar Grove composting center in Everett. They’ll turn the renewable waste into compost, and then sell it back to local landscaping companies and hardware stores.

The Bite of Seattle ends this Sunday at 8:00 p.m.

Click here for answers to some frequently asked questions about recycling in Washington, courtesy of the State Department of Ecology.