Why Bio-material

A not-so-perfect solution

If you think that opting for “green” plastics on a day-to-day basis is a way of doing your part to help address our growing landfill problem, think again.

“When they [consumers] hear the term “biodegradable” they think that somehow things are going to magically disappear no matter what they do, ranging from littering to putting them in landfill,” says Steve Mojo, executive director of BPI. “The reality is, none of that happens.”

Why? Because landfills are essentially built to “entomb” waste, preventing exposure to air, moisture and sunlight. So even biodegradable waste won’t break down very much in a landfill (and the products that claim they will cite dependency on variables such as oxygen and microbial activity). That’s why newspapers found in landfills are still readable 35 years later.

“The notion of making plastic bags biodegradable and then sending them to landfill is really oxymoronic,” says Mojo. Which is why consumers should look for compostable, not biodegradable products, he says. “By calling things ‘compostable’, you signal to the consumer that this is something you need to handle differently.”