Your Good Intentions May Not Have the Desired Intent
By Beth Eckl
Just because a product has “biodegradable” on its label, doesn’t mean it will reduce landfill.
Is a biodegradable product environmentally preferable? The reality may surprise you.
Biodegradable, according to the U.S. EPA, means the ability of a substance to break down, physically and/or chemically by microorganisms. For example, many chemicals, food scraps, cotton, wool and paper are biodegradable; plastics and polyester generally are not. However, where and how a substance breaks down is critical to knowing if a product will actually biodegrade.
Case in point. In the 1970’s, William Rathje, an anthropologist from the University of Arizona, gathered a team to study and dig into landfills to assess excavated material. In their report, “Rubbish,” the team found paper — a biodegradable product — made up a bulk of the garbage. The story does not end there. They found intact newspapers that were decades old. Essentially, they discovered landfills are not places where substances break down. Why? They cannot breakdown unless they have air, water and sunlight. In a landfill, exposure to air, water and sunlight is not penetrable lower than the first layer or so of refuse. While there is biodegradation, it would take centuries, not decades to degrade a product back to organic material. Biodegradation can only happen in an environment where the required conditions are present.
Additionally, a Michigan State University study found that several additives that claim to break down polyethylene (such as plastic bags), and polyethylene terephthalate (such as soda bottles), also do not work in common disposal situations such as landfills for similar reasons.
Because biodegradable products generally do not have the appropriate environment to biodegrade in typical disposal situations, the use of the claim biodegradable can be deceptive. As a result, the City of San Francisco and the state of Maryland both prohibit the sale of products using marketing claims associated with “degradable,” “biodegradable,” or “decomposable.” These claims imply the item will breakdown, or decompose in a landfill or other environment; however, as noted above, biodegradation is a complex process dependent on many conditions. The state of California prohibits any plastic product from making such claims on the product and packaging. The law requires clear scientific evidence for environmental claims.
Since “biodegradable” products may not have an appropriate environment to break down in for full life cycle considerations, the claim may not be environmentally preferable, as illustrated by the government agencies who do not recognize the claim.
What are the alternatives? The only claim about plastic product ingredients breaking down the state of California deems acceptable is ”compostable” where the claim is substantiated by the product meeting ASTM plastic compostability standards (ASTM D6400 and ASTM D6868). So instead of considering “biodegradable” or “degradable” as a sustainable product, look for “compostable” products that meet ASTM D6400 and ASTM D6868 or are certified to a reputable third party standard as compostable (such as BPI Institute, DIN CERTCO) to ensure claims are, indeed, real. As a next step, find a commercial composting opportunity to address the end of use for the compostable product, too. This approach will ensure that your efforts to reduce waste are, in the end, doing just that.
