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The Truth about Biodegradeable Plastic Bags
Only one of the bioplastics we tested was compostable in typical home compost pile conditions.
Everyone?s aware of how long-lived petroleum-based plastic bags and packaging is ? we?ve all seen the trash along roadsides and in our lakes and oceans. There are some new ?bioplastics? that are claiming to be ?100 percent compostable,? but testing commissioned by MOTHER EARTH NEWS has found that most of these claims are misleading, at best.
Basically, there are two kinds of ?composting.? Composting at home usually involves small-scale piles with low temperatures and less-than-optimum humidity. Then there?s large-scale municipal composting, where materials are shredded, mixed and maintained at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, a much higher temperature than typical home compost piles. Many cities compost yard wastes, but only a few sites ? about 113 in the entire nation ? will also accept these new degradable plastics.
We tested five types of bioplastic bags to see how well they would compost. None of them broke down completely after 25 weeks in home compost conditions (77 degrees). A product from Italian Bioplastic manufacturer Novamont came closest to what we would call truly compostable (see photo in the Image Gallery), with a product called Mater-bi. Mater-bi is ?made of corn starch, vegetable oil derivatives and biodegradable synthetic polyesters? Only Mater-Bi was compostable at typical home compost pile conditions.
Three other brands did fairly well only under commercial composting conditions; they showed little or no degradation in home compost conditions. One type, called Oxo-biodegradable, did not break down even after 25 weeks at 140 degrees.
Most bioplastic products currently being marketed carry incomplete and/or misleading labeling, according to composting expert William Brinton of Woods End Laboratories, who conducted the testing for us. One exception is the packaging developed by Frito-Lay for their Sun Chips. Their new bag (which we did not test) proclaims ?100 Percent Compostable? on the front, and on the back it states the bag is made from ?90 percent renewable, plant-based materials and it breaks down completely into compost in a hot, active home or industrial compost pile.? We applaud Frito-Lay for their accurate labeling and their ongoing efforts to develop better packaging. At this point, their bags are definitely more compostable than their competitors?. But what most consumers won?t realize is that most of these bags, at this point, are unlikely to reach a hot compost pile.
The bottom line is, most plastic packaging that claims to be ?biodegradable? or ?compostable? will only partially break down under the conditions typical of most home compost piles.
Re: The Truth about Biodegradeable Plastic Bags
Ditto.
Yeah this is what we got with our food compost bins through Waste Management, and the only kind I've really seen in stores. I like the way they feel!