Monday, April 12, 2010

Biodegradable packing peanuts

Styrofoam takes up about 30% of landfills.

Many companies have developed packing peanuts that are 100% biodegradable ISO (International Organization for Standardization) definition.

They are made from all-natural plant material, such as sorghum or, more commonly, corn starch. With direct contact with water, the peanuts degrade into inert proteins that are consumed by bacteria.

Biodegradable resin is transported in pellet form, from which peanuts are produced on demand using a machine. This saves energy and warehouse space.

For further Information - visit one of these links:

Biodegradable Cups
Non Biodegradable Cups
Waste Produced from consumption of biodegradable cups
Waste from plastic cups that are not biodegradable
Fabric Cal Cups
Biodegradable Products Institute (Complete list of biodegradable products)
PLA Cups
Puffy Stuff Biodegradable Packing Peanuts
Starch Tech Inc.
U-Haul Moving Supplies

Negative aspects of real plastic bags

Can take over 100 years to degrade.

Cannot be composted.

Less than 2% actually get recycled.

Studies indicate 100,000 marine animals and 2 million birds die each year from ingesting or being caught in plastic debris.

Identifiers of Biodegradable Products

Biodegradable Products Institute logo.

Benefits and Info on BioBag

It can “breathe” without leaking. The material allows the passage of air but is resistant to liquid.

Consequently, it keeps produce more fresh.

Biodegradable bags decompose as naturally as food scraps so they are compostable.

Made from material called Mater-Bi.

Contains no polyethylene (plastic).

They are shelf stable. (only decompose when exposed to natural environment)

They leave no harmful residues behind.

“Bag from corn”

They meet California Law, SB 1749 and 1979, for biodegradable and compostable product claims

They are GMO free.

No chemical additives to enhance decomposition

Decompose in 10-45 days.

Do not decompose well in landfill conditions

BioBag was recently selected to promote San Francisco’s food waste collection program. The city is sending 100,000 rolls of BioBags to residents to educate consumers on the importance of diverting food and other biodegradable waste from entering landfills.

Important Facts

40% of all landfill is paper, which is not degrading; there are reports of newspapers more then 70 years olds are still in perfect condition.

Biodegradable plastic bags




The original bags were introduced 10 years ago and are made from resins containing polyethylene, starches and heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, and beryllium.

Five years ago, a second biodegradable bag was invented, which used starches and biodegradable polymers and polylactic acid.

Biodegradable plastic bags are a good choice for the environment

Solutions to be considered

Use a tote bag to hold shopping goods

Use/Request paper bags vs. plastic

Recycle your plastic bags

Use biodegradable plastic bags

Plastic Bag: Facts & Solutions

About a hundred plastic bags are used each year in the U.S. alone.

Plastic bags, once they become litter, get into our waterways, parks, beaches and streets.

About 100,000 animals such as dolphins, turtles, whales, penguins, are killed every year due to plastic bags.

Plastic bags are not biodegradable and the decomposition of them takes about 1,000

Plastic bags need petroleum to be manufactured and petroleum is becoming less available and getting more expensive; petroleum is needed for factories, transport, heating, lighting, etc. Therefore this resource should not be wasted on plastic bags.

Only 1% to 3% of plastic bags end up getting recycled.

It costs $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags.

Even if plastic bags get recycled, it still does not solve the problem of using non-renewable resources and toxic chemicals to produce them.