just did a google on that brand, it says they are made from corn starch material. not sure how much cheaper they might be or dearer than normal take away plastic containers, but the composting thing takes away a lot sins. also not sure how much they take to make they may create heaps of carbon output in the manufacturing + what chemicals may be used in their manufacture? also corn is a staple on the world food market so would corn crops be needed to set aside for the manufacture of this product? could make corn even more expensive as it is used in the fuel chain as well. the bothering bit is the length of time and temperature needed for decompostion in a compost pile, i for one don't use compost piles all rottable stuff goes directly to the garden, and i these aren't collected seperately then they can't be channeled to a large composting processor. so could just end up being another land fill product they may or may not break down? would like to have these sorts of containers that we could recycle in our own gardens. guess it is a start in the right direction. len Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

My toad recipe: Buy Camellia shrub. Plant camellia shrub in nook formed by corner of front porch and house, near hose for watering ease, near porch for enjoyment ease. About a year after planting said shrub, acquire large yellow female dog. It is not known if size, color or gender of dog are factors in toad attraction, however this one is large (107 pounds) and yellow, and female. This one is a lab cross of some sort, but as she was acquired by responding to a plea from a friend working on a construction site where she and a companion had been "living free" for two months (companion wandered into road, rip buddy, sorry your previous owners didn't do better for you), her precise heritage is unknown. Judging from said companion, now located under backyard next to elderly cat, there is some mastiff in there too. Locate outside water dish (dented stainless steel mixing bowl from kitchen) under outside tap, again for ease of watering. (Are you sensing a theme too?) When the local climate becomes hotter than said large yellow dog would like, make arrangements for dog to be outside for extended periods and look the other way while dog burrows under the camellia shrub to excavate a nice shallow trough large enough to accommodate dog's ample butt. (Those construction workers must pack some awesomely fattening lunches.) Decide that you don't really want the dog to excavate under the camellia bush, and rake some leaves under there. When this does not deter her (Her precise words were OOOOO Cushy!) allow small children to "fill" water bowl, look other way when it overflows and begins to fill wide shallow butt depression, flooding dog out. After all, the camellia bush needs water too, right? Note that dog is a wuss when it comes to water, and rake more leaves and lots of sticks under shrub. Really mound them high to remove cushy factor and encourage slime factor. Watch dog give you sad, sad looks while forlornly shoving her way under tall, pointy evergreen looking thing that the previous owner swore was a cedar and randomly stuck in the yard after accepting bid on house. Happily allow dog to set up new digs under the too-rapidly-growing-to-be-a-cedar cedar because mowing under it is impossible and you're tired of cutting each blade of grass by hand. Dog had grass rooted out in two weeks, max. Cedarish thing doesn't appear to care. Wait a year or so until some of the leaves have broken down under the camellia bush, stick your hand under there to retrieve the sprinkler the teen aged son decided belonged under the bush instead of in the shed, and get startled into screeching when all the hoppers go jumping away. Voila! Toads! They've tried to lay eggs in the water dish so I'm looking into acquiring a small pond or water feature sometime next year, which is how I found this thread, and I thought I'd share my toad recipe.

A huge wreath might just look cool !!!

Hey igloochic, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to convert others. Just something I've become convinced about by own research (definately not a chemical engineer, but do have a science degree so feel somewhat able to follow the arguments pro and con). I've found talking to other moms that while they have concerns, they aren't finding other options, so I thought I'd throw this out there for those who are looking. The Swiss bottles are the Siggs I mentioned above and like I say they work, but we find them hard to clean and can't get cubes in them. The klean kanteen isn't cheap either, but a bit less than the sigg bottles. Does anyone out there know if it's true about the tetra paks and milk cartons being lined in plastic?