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Oxo-Biodegradable:
Frequently Asked Questions |
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There is a lot of "green-washing" going on these days, as the business community has discovered that the public's desire to "go green" presents opportunities for increasing sales by marketing their products as "green". Some of these products may look or seem green, but that's not necessarily so.
Oxo-Biodegradable products have often been misunderstood as not actually biodegradable.
The truth is that oxo-biodegradable products that adhere to required standards and testing, etc., such as EZ Bagz products, are biodegradable, and are actually better for the environment overall than even starch/food-based plastics.
Get the real facts here and make informed choices.
(source = Oxo-Biodegradable Plastics Association - biodeg.org) |
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Why do we need oxo-biodegradable plastic?
Because thousands of tons of plastic waste are entering the world's environment every day, and will remain there for hundreds of years unless collected for incineration or composting.
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How does it work?
A very small amount of pro-degradant additive is put into the manufacturing process. This breaks the molecular chains in the polymer, and at the end of its useful life the product falls apart. The plastic does not just fragment, but will be consumed by bacteria and fungi after the additive has reduced the molecular weight to a level which permits micro-organisms access to the carbon and hydrogen. It is therefore "biodegradable."
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Does it really biodegrade, or does it just fragment?
The process of degradation continues until the material has biodegraded to nothing more than CO2, water, and humus, and it does not leave fragments of petro-polymers in the soil.
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What types of biodegradable plastics exist?
The two main types are oxo-biodegradable and hydro-biodegradable. In both cases degradation begins with a chemical process (oxidation or hydrolysis), followed by a biological process. Both types emit CO2 as they degrade, but hydro-biodegradables (usually starch-based) can also emit methane. Both types are compostable, but only oxo-biodegradable can be economically recycled.
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What are the differences between oxo-biodegradable and hydro-biodegradable plastic?
Comparison chart: Oxo-Biodegradable vs. Hydro-Biodegradable: |
OXO-BIODEGRADABLE |
HYDRO-BIODEGRADABLE |
| Usually made from a by-product of oil-refining |
Usually made from starch |
| Can be recycled as part of a normal plastic waste-stream |
Damages recyclate unless extracted from feedstock |
| Can be made from recyclate |
Cannot be made from recyclate |
| Emits CO2 slowly while degrading |
Emits CO2 rapidly while degrading |
| Inert deep in landfill |
Emits methane deep in landfill |
| Can use same machinery and workforce as for conventional plastic |
Needs special machinery and worforce |
| Suitable for use in high-speed machinery |
Not suitable for high-speed machinery |
| Compostable in-vessel |
Compostable |
| Little or no on-cost |
Four or five times more expensive than conventional plastic |
| Same strength as conventional plastic |
Weaker than conventional plastic |
| Same weight as conventional plastic |
Thicker and heavier than conventional plastic |
| Leak-proof |
Prone to leakage |
| Degrades anywhere on land or sea |
Degrades only in high-microbial environment |
| Time to degrade can be set at manufacture |
Time to degrade cannot be controlled |
| No genetically modified ingredients |
Possibility of GM ingredients |
| Safe for food contact |
Safe for food contact |
| No PCB's Organo-chlorines, or "heavy metals" |
No PCB's Organo-chlorines, or "heavy metals" |
| Can be incinerated with high energy-recovery |
Can be incinerated, but lower calorific value |
| Production uses no fertilisers, pesticides or water |
Production uses fertilisers, pesticides and water |
| No limit on availability of feedstock |
Limited availability of feedstock |
| Demand for oxo-biodegradable plastics does not drive up cost of fuel for vehicles |
Demand for hydro-biodegradable plastics drives up price of human and animal foodstuffs. |
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Isn't it better to recycle than to let it biodegrade?
Yes, and one of the benefits of oxo-biodegradable plastic is that it can be recycled as part of a normal plastic waste stream. However, if the plastic is not collected and cannot be recycled, it biodegrades instead of accumulating in the environment.
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Can it be composted?
Oxo-biodegradable plastic does not degrade quickly in low temperature "windrow" composting, but it is ideal for "in-vessel" composting at the higher temperatures required by the new EU animal by-products regulations. Indeed it is likely that windrow composting will soon have to be phased out.
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What happens to it in a landfill?
Oxo-biodegradable plastics fragment and partially biodegrade to CO2 and water in the surface layers of the landfill, but the residues are completely inert deeper in the landfill in the absence of oxygen. They do not emit methane.
By contrast, hydro-biodegradable (starch-based) plastics will degrade and emit CO2 in the surface layers of a landfill if there is enough microbial activity. However, in the depths of a landfill, in the absence of air, Hydro-biodegradable plastics generate copious quantities of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.
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Isn't it made from oil?
Oxo-biodegradable plastics are currently made from naptha, which is a by-product of oil refining, which would otherwise be wasted. Oil is of course a finite resource, but this by-product arises because the world needs fuels and oils for engines, and would arise whether or not the by-product were used to make plastic goods.
Unless the oil is left under the ground, carbon dioxide will inevitably be released, but until other fuels and lubricants have been developed for engines, it makes good environmental sense to use the by-product, instead of wasting it by "flare-off" at the refinery and using scarce agricultural resources to make plastics.
Recently, interest has been shown in manufacturing sugar derived polyethylenes. These, like oil-derived PE, are not biodegradable, but they can be made oxo-biodegradable in the same way as the latter, by the addition of a pro-degradant additive.
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Does it leave any harmful residue?
No. Oxo-biodegradable plastic passes all the usual ecotoxicity tests, including seed germination, plant growth and organism survival (daphnia, earthworms) tests carried out in accordance with ON S 2200 and ON S 2300 national standards.
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Isn't it better to use paper bags?
No. The process of making paper bags causes 70% more atmospheric pollution than plastic bags. Paper bags use 300% more energy to produce, and the process uses huge amounts of water and creates very unpleasant organic waste. When they degrade they emit methane and carbon dioxide (greenhouse gases).
A stack of 1000 new plastic carrier bags would be around 2 inches high, but a stack of 1000 new paper grocery bags could be around 2 feet high. It would take at least seven times the number of trucks to deliver the same number of bags, creating seven times more transport pollution and road congestion.
Also, because paper bags are not as strong as plastic, people may use two or three bags inside each other. Paper bags cannot normally be re-used, and will disintegrate if wet.
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Can it be recycled?
Yes. Oxo-biodegradable plastics can be recycled together with other clean commercial polyolefin wastes, but hydro-biodegradable plastic (normally made from crops) cannot.
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OUR MISSION: EZ Bagz, LLC is sincerely committed to producing eco-friendly, functional, convenient and cost-effective "green products"
that are easy for you AND easy on the planet. All of our product packaging is made from recycled & recyclable paperboard, and we are
also doing our part to reduce our carbon footprint as a company by employing energy-efficient systems in our daily business and
manufacturing practices. We believe that "green living" should no longer be viewed as a luxury, but as a necessity,
and we recognize the need to make green living affordable and easy for everyone. |
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