Have you ever wondered about what happens to the little stickers on your apples, bananas, and avocados? Those produce stickers contain important information for pricing and identifying fruits and vegetables, but they create an unexpected waste problem.

Most produce stickers are made from non-biodegradable plastic with a synthetic adhesive. They are not compostable in either backyard compost piles or commercial composting facilities. If left on produce scraps, they contaminate compost and can eventually break down into microplastics polluting soil and waterways. Produce stickers should not be put down the garbage disposal. The stickers are also not edible, so it’s always best to remove them before eating.  

The simplest solution is to peel the sticker off before washing or composting your produce. Because they’re made from plastic and adhesive, they should be put in the trash, or stickers can be recycled with soft plastics at Recycle Utah.

Produce stickers may seem like a tiny piece of waste, but removing produce stickers helps keep compost clean and keeps plastic stickers out of the environment. 

It is also farmers’ market season! The Park City Farmers Market is held on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Park City Mountain Resort. Shopping at the farmers market whenever possible is an environmental bonus because the produce does not have stickers, the fruits and vegetables are in season, and there are significantly fewer food miles—the distance food travels from where it is grown to where it is consumed. There are many advantages to supporting the farmers’ market, but the greatest may be the sense of community.

By Stella Dustman