Biodegradable items tend to break down into natural materials by the microorganisms without harming the environment. The examples of biodegradable items are food scraps, wood, cotton, human and animal waste.
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Can plastic be biodegradable? Well, it sounds strange if this term is associated with something &#;eco-unfriendly&#; like plastic.
To your surprise, it is true. Plastic bags can be biodegradable. Biodegradable plastics are made of specialized enzymatic or chemicals that break down the material once exposed to sun and air. Standard plastic is made with chemical fillers that can be a threat to environment when they are released when the plastic is burnt.
U.S. Environmental Agency has alarmed that only 8% of the 31 million tons of plastic is recycled each year. The rest part goes to landfills and waterways, creating litter and threat to the wildlife.
In this scenario, biodegradable plastic bags can be a savior to the environment. Here&#;s how&#;
1. Less Carbon Emission:
Traditional plastic releases four tons of emissions while biodegradable plastics only emit nearly .8 tons of carbon. This way, they ensure the minimal amount of carbon emissions into the air in the process of manufacturing.
Also Read: Going Green is Not Easy: Top Green Packaging Challenges
2. Waste Reduction
Traditional plastics make up the 13 percent of the waste. As we have told you that only 9 percent go for recycling, while the rest enters water bodies and landfills. The good thing with biodegradable plastics is that it breaks down over the course of time, depending on its exposure to sunlight, soil and air. Although not all biodegradable plastic will completely break down, any reduction will create space and minimize the pressures on the waste fills. Therefore, biodegradable plastics may eliminate the need to add more landfills, saving lands for other purposes.
3. Recyclable:
Given that they take a lot less time to decompose than traditional plastics, they are easy to recycle, that&#;s too without releasing toxic elements. Another advantage of biodegradable plastic bags! They are moldable as traditional plastics and can be turned into various appealing ways to suit your requirements.
4. Source Reduction:
Biodegradable plastics also minimize the use of petroleum supplies. Nearly 2.7 percent of country&#;s petroleum is consumed by the manufacturing of traditional plastics. Their oil molecules are heated and treated so that they convert into polymers.
Biodegradable plastics, on the other hand, are manufactured using corn, orange peels, starch, plants and switchgrass. Their manufacturing requires less energy and generally not involves the burning of fossil fuels. The corn based plastics require 60 percent less energy than generating a similar polymer from raw petroleum. Many bags are also made from organic materials or paper.
More biodegradable plastics can be manufactured with less energy which also lowers the amount of pollution.
5. Non-Toxic:
It can&#;t be denied that traditional plastics are made using harmful by-products and chemicals which are a threat to environment and life as well. They are likely to emit these harmful substances during the breakdown process. But this is not a case with biodegradable plastic.
They are safe and don&#;t release toxins during their breakdown process. They are absorbed by the soil. Such benefits of biodegradable plastics are welcoming, as the toxic plastic heap on the planet is on the rise and this ever increasing rate will pose health problems for both human and wildlife.
Bottom Line:
So these are the benefits of using biodegradable plastic bags. They are safe for the environment and their use should be encouraged. However, the need of plastic usage awareness and education regarding their repurposing is necessary as the wise use can make a difference.
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The fashion industry uses a lot of traditional plastic. Microplastics have been found in Arctic snow. Plastic bags have been found in the Mariana Trench. It&#;s a big problem.
To tackle this issue, it&#;s good to know the benefits that the alternatives can provide.
Below you can explore seven important benefits that biodegradable plastics have to offer:
1. Biodegradable Plastics Produce Less Emissions
We consume over 100 million tonnes of plastic each year. In , the greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production was equivalent to nearly 1.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). That&#;s a lot of garment trims and fashion debris.
Biodegradable plastics offer a reduced rate of these emissions as they&#;re not made through the harmful extraction and refinement of petroleum.
For every ton of petroleum-based plastics produced, there&#;s up to three tons of CO2 that follows suit. With bio-polymers, this figure is reduced to 0.5 tons.
Finally, biodegradable plastics can actually help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As bio-polymers are derived from plants, this means it takes a lot of CO2 from the atmosphere for plant growth. This is known as a &#;carbon sink&#;.
2. Less Energy is Used in Their Production
With biodegradable plastics, we no longer need to go through the lengthy process of finding hydrocarbons (in the traditional case, crude oil). We no longer have to use expensive and devastating processes when it comes to extracting, transporting and refining.
This means we are consuming less energy in the production stage. More importantly, we are burning less fossil fuels.
For more information, please visit biodegradable garment bags.
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What is potassium formate used for?If we add in the energy to clean and recycle plastics, biodegradable alternatives offer a less energy-intense route.
3. Biodegradable Plastics = Less Waste
It&#;s estimated there are over five trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans. Plastics also make up 13% of our current waste, which translates as roughly 32 million tons each year.
If current trends remain stable, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by - especially as we use plastic in everything. Even our clothes. Think of the packaging and trims your garments comes with. All those small bits of plastic add up.
Depending on the method of breakdown, a piece of biodegradable plastic can either fully biodegrade or be reduced by a significant portion of size in 18 to 36 months. Traditional plastic can take up to 1,000 years to fully biodegrade, so this represents a huge improvement.
Brands are now beginning to look into eco-friendly business practices. There are many brands out there that practise them and create beautiful garments and accessories, such as Citizen Wolf, STORY mfg and GRAMMAR, amongst hundreds of others.
Tags, trims and labels are an important part of any brand. Finding ones that are made from recycled and eco-friendly material is a small change in your production, but makes a significant difference to your environmental impact.
Here at Weavabel, we&#;re branding specialists who continue to invest time and money in sustainable practices. We&#;ve developed a range of eco-friendly tickets, labels, tags and packaging that you can explore to get a feel for what less waste truly looks like.
4. Petroleum Will Eventually Run Out
In , 93 million barrels of oil were used everyday globally. That&#;s an incredible statistic. Petroleum is a finite source. There&#;s only a certain amount hidden under our feet and it won&#;t last forever.
Growing crops to create biodegradable plastics can theoretically last forever, if there is good farmland available.
Combine this with renewable energy use and you have a winning combination for environmentally friendly production.
5. Biodegradable Plastics Can Decompose Quickly
Under the right circumstances, bio-polymers can decompose fast. For things to break down properly, you need warmth and moisture so that natural processes can get to work.
If these conditions are met, some biodegradable plastics can breakdown within just a few weeks. You can even add some to your garden compost bin.
This means biodegradables won&#;t sit forever in landfills or clog up waterways. It&#;s a win-win situation.
6. Say Goodbye To Harmful Chemicals
Over the cycle of their decomposition, traditional plastics can release pollutants such as methane or bisphenol A (BPA), which can harm both the environment and human health.
This isn&#;t the only chemical present in types of plastic. We&#;re also talking phthalates such as BBP, DBP and DIBP. These have been classified as harmful to human health.
Bio-polymers don&#;t contain these chemicals and so when they biodegrade, our environment and our health aren&#;t affected.
7. Sustainable Business Practices are Popular
Biodegradable products are usually seen as a key part of sustainable business practices. Sustainability is the keyword on everyone&#;s lips. Organisations that have adopted sustainability practices, such as using biodegradable plastics, in their products are favoured by customers over organisations that don&#;t.
Including eco-friendly materials and biodegradable plastics in your products and packaging means you stand to gain the benefits from customers who resonate with your sustainability practices.
That being said, sustainability is more than a trend. It&#;s an idea backed by science and can help to change the world. The change towards sustainability is a change you need to action.
Say Yes to Sustainable Business Practices and Involve Them in Your Processes
If you&#;re looking to make your fashion brand more sustainable, issues like biodegradable versus traditional plastics can be important to consider.
To answer your questions, we&#;ve created a handy guide for brands that are wanting to make the transition to sustainable production methods. It has everything from how the world-leading fashion brands are reacting, and what the current customer trends are when it comes to looking for sustainable products.
Download your free useful guide today! Fill in the form to receive a FREE copy of the eBook and kick start your journey to becoming a sustainable brand.
MAKE FASHION SUSTAINABLE
Join brands such as MANGO, Zara, Stella McCartney and many more when it comes to sustainable fashion. The fashion industry has had a disastrous impact on the environment, and for many brands the time to change is now!
To help you start your journey to becoming an eco-friendly brand we've created a guide all about:
How to Make the Transition to an Eco-Friendly Manufacturing and Production Process
In the eBook you will learn:
What impact the fashion industry has had on the environment
How consumer trends in sustainability have evolved
What the world-leading fashion brands are doing right now
How production processes can be more eco-friendly
How to make the transition to becoming a more sustainable brand
Want more information on biodegradable resin supplier? Feel free to contact us.
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