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Some Biodegradable Plastics Don't Live Up To Their Claims
ckwu writes From bread bags to beverage bottles, many plastics now contain additives designed to make the materials biodegradable. But a new study shows that plastics made with such additives do not biodegrade in the environment significantly faster than those without the compounds. Researchers prepared films of commercial plastics with three different types of additives supplied by their manufacturers. The researchers then treated the film samples to mimic disposal of such plastics in a compost pile, a landfill, and soil. After about six months of composting, a year and a half of landfill-like conditions, and three years of soil burial, the plastics with additives did not show any more evidence of biodegradation than plastics without them.
20 years ago I got a yellow rain jacket (the trash bag kind) once when on a cruise by Niagra falls. Written on the back in huge block letters was the word "Biodegradable". It is still usable today. I have little trust of biodegradable plastics until I see proof.
I read the internet for the articles.
We had to separate glass, plastics, and paper. The a truck comes around and dumps all three bins and the garbage cans in to the same trash truck without any form of separator.
And to induce more rage- they won't pick it up if it is not sorted properly.
don't care if they really work or if they're helping reduce plastic in landfills.
Biodegradable does NOT mean they degrade in landfills. Landfills tend to have very dry conditions, so almost nothing will rot. It is common for them to contain century old newspapers, and dessicated food. Biodegradability is important for plastic discarded along roadsides, or adrift in the ocean, not for landfills. It is arguable whether it is even desirable to have landfill material decompose. Decomposing releases CO2, methane, and other greenhouse gases. If the material remains intact, we can dig up and recover materials as recycling techniques improve. We are already doing this with some landfills. It is called Landfill Mining. The only rationale for decomposing landfill material is the myth that we are "running out of space", but that is nonsense. We have enough landfill space to last for centuries, even with our current wasteful practices.