Plastic additives headed for a ‘breakdown’? – my tuppence-worth

There’s an article in Packaging Digest on ‘degradable’ oil-based plastics which have a biodegradable additive thrown into the mix, so they will break down into smaller bits of plastic when in landfill. Here’s my comment!

Both oil-based plastic and genuinely compostable bioplastics have their own recycling process. Recycling these materials creates either recycled plastic, or nutrient-rich compost – both of these are useful end-products and have a market value. By introducing biodegradable additives to oil-based plastic, it confuses the consumer, and messes up both of these recycling systems. ‘Degradable’ plastic is simply a bogus green marketing ploy with no real benefit to the environment.

All Vegware products are plastic-free and have certification to prove they are can compost in under 12 weeks. All our products are designed to break down together with food waste, and in the UK we help all our customers set up food waste recycling through the Food Waste Network so they can go zero waste to landfill. Vegware US also has links with many composting facilities. 90% of all waste could actually be recycled, so stuffing useful and valuable waste into landfill is economic and environmental madness. – Lucy Frankel