The statements above sent me off on a little research jag. There is a little bit of spin and misrepresentation going on. Here are the facts behind the facts:
- The EN13432 standard requires 90% biodegradation within 90 days under commercial composting conditions.
- There is no standard that applies to home composting.
That does not mean that plastics can’t be formulated in such a way as to compost in backyard composters and it does not mean that the ones that are currently being used do not biodegrade at all in less controlled conditions. The dog poop bags that I mentioned last month are made from a corn based plastic and break down in 10-45 days.
Commercial composting is an industry that should be growing. The agriculture industry is far too reliant on chemical fertilizers that require a huge energy input to produce. 2% of the world’s energy production is used to convert atmospheric nitrogen into fertilizer. We need to have a viable alternative in operation before we truly hit the wall with fossil fuel scarcity. If we weren’t frighteningly behind in this regard, we wouldn’t be worried about what to do with biodegradable plastic bags.
