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Being born in the galut, I'm not well acquainted with the laws of tithing. However, I'll need to spend some time in Israel, therefore I started to read about it. As OU's guide says, one should wrap and discard terumah gedolah and terumat maaser, many say that plastic should be used to wrap it.

As all my grandparents were Holocaust survivors, I have concerns about discarding food in general, but this plastic wrapping is quite a polluting practice. How was it done in the old days? For example, the separated challah was put in the fire of the oven, but we're using electric ones now. Are there any other, more environmentally friendly ways to fulfil this important mitzvah?

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    Are you particularly set on separating terumah yourself? Depending on where in Israel you are going to be, it may be more common to buy produce that has already had it separated. (And some of that is already done in a more environmentally friendly way; see for instance the feeding of terumah to the Kohen-owned animals at the Biblical Zoo.)
    – Rish
    Commented Oct 17, 2018 at 12:12
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    @Kazibácsi Why does the end of your first paragraph say "many say that plastic should be used" rather than "this Star-K guide says that plastic should be used"? Have you seen a recommendation or requirement for plastic from many sources? The OU guide that you link to, by contrast, says to wrap but doesn't specify plastic. I know this sounds like picking nits, but the central issue in this question is the perceived requirement to wrap in plastic in particular, so it's important to establish clearly your basis for understanding that this is a requirement.
    – Isaac Moses ♦
    Commented Oct 17, 2018 at 14:43
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    Disposal of tithes is not an important Mitzva, at least not any more than eating an apple is the important Mitzva of not eating pork.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Oct 17, 2018 at 15:31
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    The first of your three surces in the question specifically says either burial or putting in a plastic bag. Your second source is about generic disposal of holy items, and the MY question you linked explicitly mentions wrapping with paper. Are you looking for something different?
    – Salmononius2
    Commented Oct 17, 2018 at 15:33
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    You can't put it in a full compost bin. @sal You could have multiple small bins, one for each day, that you cycle once the contents have rotted beyond edibility. Seems like a lot of effort for a rare and small problem. One meal with disposable plastic cups probably wastes more than wrapping all the Terumah you have to dispose of over the year.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Oct 17, 2018 at 16:20

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