The Benefits of
Biodegradable Plastic Bags
The truth of the matter is plastic is an environmental
problem, but as green-washing ensues, there are
many product claims being made regarding biodegradable,
compostable and degradable properties. To avoid becoming
confused, the first step is to define what these
words actually mean.
The American Chemistry Council did
a study and concluded that most people feel a product
is biodegradable if it can break down naturally (on
its own) in 1 year or less and completely disappear,
leaving nothing behind. The Federal Trade Commission
similarly states that the “…materials
should break down in a reasonably short period of
time after customary disposal.”
The American Chemistry Council also surveyed to
find out what the definition of compostable is and
cited that most respondents believe compostable items
can be put back into the ground to make soil, fertilizer
or mulch that in turn can be used around the home
or garden. In addition they also felt that the main
attribute of compostable materials is that the decomposition
is beneficial to the soil.
The easiest way is to look for the BPI logo.
BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) is
a not for profit promoting the use of compostable
materials and organics recovery via composting and
have a third party certification process verifies
if a manufacturer’s products meet the ASTM
definition for compostability process. Also,
there just aren't enough trees any more to supply
a demand for paper bags.
Source: Information
from Articlesbase
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