AUGUST 2012 Small Planet Biodegradable Plastics By Jeff Feldman “It’s biodegradable,” she
said, a flush of green pride washing over her face as she of- fered me the small plastic bag along with my purchase. “Bio- degradable? Really,” I asked. “And what does that mean?” “They mix a special additive
in with the plastic that makes it break down in nine months,” came her reply. “Really?” said I again. “That’s cool. But what, exactly, does it break down into?” Thus began my conversation
with the Street Fest vendor about the realities of a “new generation” of plastics. I hated to burst her environmental bubble, but she needed to know the truth (and mistruths) about
the claims we now see on all sorts of disposable products, from degradable bags to com- postable cups to plant-based drink bottles. Some of these claims are indeed true, albeit with certain caveats, but others are pure greenwash. I could tell she was a bit crest-
fallen by the possibility that her bags may not be as green as she thought. I admitted that I didn’t know much about this specific product, but that the claims on the bag’s label raised some questions for me. I prom- ised to look into it and get back to her. Truly biodegradable plas-
tics do exist. The thing is, they aren’t made from plastic at
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all. Polylactic acid, or PLA, is a plastic-like material made from plant starch. Derived from corn, sugar beets and the like, these products are com- postable, breaking down into carbon dioxide and water when exposed to proper conditions. The challenge lies in achieving these proper conditions. Composting PLA requires ex-
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posure to temperatures of 140- degrees for a minimum of ten consecutive days—attained at commercial composting facili- ties, but these are few and far between across the country. PLA products will not decom- pose in your home compost, and certainly aren’t going any- where in an oxygen-deprived landfill. While the notion of waste reduction through PLA is suspect in practice, these plant-based disposables have merits. According to “Corn Plastic to the Rescue,” a 2006 article in Smithsonian Maga- zine (
www.smithsonianmag. com/science-nature/plastic. html?c=y&page=1), producing PLA uses 65 percent less energy than producing conventional plastics. It also generates 68 percent fewer greenhouse gas- es, and contains no toxins. But what about the plastic
bag from our environmentally- minded Street Fest vendor? It was not made from PLA, nor did it claim compostability. The la- bel on her bag stated that it was
made from recycled material blended with an additive lead- ing it to begin biodegrading in nine months. My question re- mained: What exactly does it “biodegrade” into? I wrote to the manufacturer, Command Packaging, to find out. I got no reply. The bag’s label says it is made from recy- cled material. To me, this means conventional, petroleum-based plastic. The company website (
www.commandpackaging. com) confirms this in their list- ing of the materials they collect for remanufacturing into plas- tic bags. They use everything from plastic grocery store bags to shrink wrap to plastic cereal box liners. All are manufactured from low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and thus so must be the new bag. The Command Packaging
website claims the additive they use can “help the plastic in their bags start biodegrading at nine months in environments where other materials would biodegrade.” They suggest that the plastic breaks down into “natural elements of car- bon dioxide, water and humus (elements found in soil).” An environment where other ma- terials would biodegrade typi- cally means exposure to oxy- gen, sunlight and moisture—as when a bag ends up as roadside litter. If the bag is sent to the landfill, all degradability bets are off. Even in ideal biodegrad-
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ing conditions though, if these bags are indeed made from LDPE, that plastic doesn’t just disappear. In fact, all of the petroleum-
based plastic ever manufac- tured is still with us in one form or another. If these bags degrade into their component parts, the plastic bits compris- ing them are simply released in a form too small to see. This amounts to tiny bits of plastic out there in our environment wrecking havoc in ways we’re just now beginning to under- stand.
When I reported my findings
on her plastic bags to my Street Fest friend, she was angry. The manufacturer of the plastic bag pitched her some green hype and she fell for it. It’s so easy to do, though. We try oura- best to make good choices, and companies sometimes take ad- vantage of our environmental eagerness. We need to take the time to ask the right questions: What is it made from? How is it manufactured? What becomes of it when I’m done with it? With the wonders of the In-
ternet, answers are often just a few clicks away. Of course, in the case of disposable bags, drink cups, eating utensils and the like, you could just say, “No thanks, I brought my own.” Jeff Feldman runs GreenPath Consulting, a green building con- sulting firm. You can reach Jeff at
GreenPathConsulting@gmail.com.
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