Do compostable plastics work? | Benefits of Natur-Bag ...

Thousands of products labeled with terms such as &#;biodegradable&#;, &#;biobased,&#; and &#;compostable,&#; are being developed for a variety of applications.

However, there is still much confusion, misunderstanding, and misinformation on terms like biodegradability, oxo-degradability, anaerobic digestion, landfill degradation or biodegradation, marine biodegradation of plastics. Claims are made without substantiation with hard scientific data or the data provided has little or nothing to do with substantiating biodegradation.

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The technical blog is an effort to clarify some of the definitions and misconceptions about biodegradable vs. oxo-degradable products.

What does &#;Biodegradable&#; mean?

Biodegradability is an end-of-life option that allows one to harness the power of microorganisms present in the selected disposal environment to completely remove biodegradable plastic products from the environmental compartment in a timely, safe, and efficacious manner.

Composting is one such environment under which biodegradability occurs. In the composting environment, the nature of the environment, the degree of microbial utilization (biodegradation), and the time frame within which it occurs are specified in an ASTM standard. For biodegradable plastics under composting conditions (compostable plastics) that ASTM standard is number D.

The US Composting Council in sponsorship from the California Organics Recycling Council recently put together a guide called &#;Compostable 101&#; which is an overview of compostable plastics and products in the market today.

What are &#;oxo-degradable&#; products?

These are made by incorporation of specific additives into traditional plastics such as Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS), Polyethylene Terephtalate (PET) and sometimes also Polyvinylchloride (PVC) at the moment of conversion into final products. The additives are based on chemical catalysts, containing transition met­als such as cobalt, manganese, iron, etc., which cause fragmentation as a result of a chemical oxidation of the plastics&#; polymer chains triggered by UV irradiation or heat exposure. In a second phase, the resulting fragments are &#;claimed&#; to eventually undergo biodegradation. European Bioplastics has a strong position paper summarizing the ills of oxo-degradables and as an industry distanced itself from such products claiming degradability for benefit of the environment.

The true story of Oxo-Degradation

Designing products to be degradable or partially biodegradable causes irreparable harm to the environment. Degraded products may be invisible to the naked eye. However, out of sight does not make the problem go away. One must ensure complete biodegradability in a

short defined time frame (determined by the disposal infrastructure). Typical time frames would be up to one growing season or one year. The disposal environments are composting, anaerobic digestion, marine/ocean, and soil.

Unfortunately, oxo-degradable products in the market fragment into smaller pieces and may even degrade to residues invisible to the naked eye. However, there is no data presented to document complete biodegradability within the one growing season/one year time period. It is assumed that the breakdown products will eventually biodegrade. In the meanwhile, these degraded, hydrophobic, high surface area plastic residues migrate into the water table and other compartments of the ecosystem causing irreparable harm to the environment.

In a Science article researchers report that plastic debris around the globe can erode (degrade) away and end up as microscopic granular or fiber-like fragments, and that these fragments have been steadily accumulating in the oceans. Their experiments show that marine animals consume microscopic bits of plastic, as seen in the digestive tract of an amphipod. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation report that degraded plastic residues can attract and hold hydrophobic elements like PCB and DDT up to one million times background levels. The PCB&#;s and DDT&#;s are at background levels in soil, and diluted out so as to not pose significant risk. However, degradable plastic residues with high surface area concentrate these highly toxic chemicals, resulting in a toxic time bomb, a poison pill floating in the environment posing serious risks.

Japanese researchers confirmed these findings. They reported that PCBs, DDE, and nonylphenols (NP) were detected in high concentrations in degraded polypropylene (PP) resin pellets collected from four Japanese coasts. The paper documents that plastic residues function as a transport medium for toxic chemicals in the marine environment.

Therefore, designing hydrophobic polyolefin plastics, like polyethylene (PE) to be degradable, without ensuring that the degraded fragments are completely assimilated by the microbial populations in the disposal infrastructure in a very short time period poses more harm to the environment than if it was not made degradable.

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In an effort to reduce the claims that are made in the market about environmentally benign degradation of products, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in revised its Green Guide and advised companies &#;that unqualified biodegradable claims are acceptable only if they have scientific evidence that their product will completely decompose within a reasonably short period of time under customary methods of disposal.&#; (short summary of revisions). Since the revision the FTC has cracked down on several misleading claims related to degradability of a product in landfill or those taking several 100 years to biodegrade!

In this article, we'll cover:

What is the difference between upstream versus downstream?

Upstream refers to the functions that occur before a product is used by a consumer. Conversely, downstream refers to what happens after a product has been used and is at the end of its life. For example, upstream benefits of compostable packaging would include the renewable materials containers are made from and how they are produced. Downstream benefits would include what happens to the containers after they've been used to carry food or drinks.

How are compostable containers meant to be discarded?

Compostable packaging is designed to break down into water, CO2, inorganic compounds and biomass. In laymen's terms, compostable packaging is intended to break down into nutrient-rich soil so that the original product is not visually distinguishable. This disintegration process is meant to happen within 90 days at a commercial composting facility. Some compostable packaging is both home compostable and commercially compostable depending on the material.

What are the upstream benefits of compostable containers?

Even if you don't have commercial composting available in your community, there are still many benefits from using compostables.

Made From Renewable Resources

The first upstream benefit is that compostable food service products come from renewable sources. The products we carry are made from plant-based materials like bamboo, sugarcane fiber, recycled paper, and corn.

Many of the materials used in compostable packaging are made from agricultural byproducts, or what is left over and unused after farming. Fiber from wheat, sugarcane and bamboo farming are prime examples. Previously, the stalks, leaves, and fibrous remnants were burned or left to compost. With compostable packaging, they are put to use to replace materials like foam and plastic while giving farmers and additional revenue stream.

Less Toxic Chemicals

The second benefit is that the production of compostable packaging doesn't involve toxic chemicals used in many traditional plastics. There's the styrene and benzene that workers and consumers are exposed to from polystyrene plastic. The dioxins in our environment from the use of chlorine bleaching of paper. And the small and large oil spills from petroleum extraction. None of these chemicals are issues with plastic alternatives like PLA and PHA.

Fewer Resources Needed To Manufacture

The third benefit is that many sustainable packaging solutions use less energy to produce than their plastic counterparts. For example, making cups with PLA creates 75% fewer greenhouse gases and 50% less non-renewable energy compared to conventional plastic cups made from petroleum.

Making cups with PLA creates 75% fewer greenhouse gases and 50% less non-renewable energy compared to conventional plastic cups made from petroleum.

Sustainable Demand Creates Sustainable Supply

Another benefit consumers get from buying compostable food service products is that it creates and supports demand for more responsible and sustainable products. This rewards manufacturers for continuing to innovate and drives down costs of plastic-free packaging.

It also sends a signal to municipalities to enable more permits to be created for commercial compost facilities to process these products into usable compost instead of filling up landfills.

Educates Consumers & Drives Change

Having consumers use compostable products and read that they are compostable creates awareness and education for compostable materials. This paves the way for drastically reducing plastic and foam use in the future. Use complimentary marketing assets to educate your customers about your choice to use sustainable food packaging.

What happens if you just throw away compostable items?

Unfortunately, compostable containers that are thrown in the trash will most likely end up in a landfill, where they will decompose and emit greenhouse gases. Even food emits methane when its sent to a landfill. The good news is that compostable containers will break down into organic plant-based materials versus plastic containers which break down into smaller microplastics and leech harmful chemicals.

What about using recyclable plastic?

In case you were wondering, using recyclable plastic known as RPET, is not a long-term sustainable answer. Approximately 93% of all the plastic we throw out each year never reaches a recycling facility but ends up in a landfill anyway. Of the small amount that does go into the &#;recycling&#; stream, very little comes back in the form in which it originated.

You can safely assume that most plastic in the recycling bin ends up in a landfill because there isn&#;t a profitable enough market for some plastics to be recycled. It often ends up scrapped and sometimes even incinerated for energy, not turned into another plastic bottle as many people think. Additionally, food residue renders paper and plastic unable to be recycled because of contamination.

Even if commercial composting is not available in your area, there are many reasons to make the switch. It sends the message to your community, governments, and consumers that you care and are willing to drive change.

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