Although the living standard has been greatly improved, the pollution is becoming more and more serious. With the rapid development of the economy, environmental protection has been more and more attention. The concept of low-carbon living, compostable, biodegradable, and oxidizable appeared around us more and more frequently.
Both composting and biodegradation involve natural degradation or the decomposition of organic matter into soil through microbial digestion, although the terms are not interchangeable. Oxidation-degradable plastics include additives that chemically break down the plastic over time but cannot be digested by microbes.
Packaging for environmentally friendly products emerged out of the need to create a new packaging solution that would not generate the same waste and toxicity as known synthetic materials such as conventional plastics.
Compostable, biodegradable, and oxidative degradation are the terms commonly used in the sustainable development of packaging materials, but what is the difference between them? What difference does it make when describing packaging characteristics as “compostable” or “biodegradable”? Whether can oxidize degrade plastics to belong to the environmental protection completely pack category?
This article guides you through the terms you should be looking for in eco-friendly packaging.
What is compostable?
If the material is compostable, it means that under composting conditions (temperature, humidity, oxygen, and presence of microbes) it will break down into CO2, water, and nutrient-rich compost over a specific time frame.
Why “compostable” is better than “biodegradable”?
If your packaging bag is labeled “compostable,” you can ensure that it will break down in up to 180 days under composting conditions. This is similar to the way food and garden waste are broken down by microbes, leaving a non-toxic residue.
Why “compostable” is important?
Flexible plastic packaging waste is often so contaminated by food waste that it cannot be recycled and ends up in incineration or landfill. That’s why compostable packaging came out. Not only can it avoid landfill and incineration, but the resulting compost also returns organic matter to the soil. If packaging waste can be integrated into an organic waste system and used as compost for the next generation of plants (nutrient-rich soil), Then waste for the market is recyclable and available, not only is no longer “garbage,” but also has considerable economic value.
What is the difference between household and industrial or commercial composting containers?
Household composting containers have a smaller capacity and are typically exposed to ambient temperatures. In this case, the compostable material will break down in 180 days.
Commercial or industrial composting containers have a much larger capacity, so more heat is generated in industrial compost containers (45-60℃), thus accelerating biodegradation. The same compostable material typically breaks down in commercial compost within 90 days, about half as much as household compost.
What is “biodegradable”?
The term “biodegradable” stands for a process, but the conditions or timeframes under which the product will break down and degrade are not certain. The problem with the term “biodegradable” is that it is a vague term with no clear time or condition. As a result, in practice, many things that are not “biodegradable” can be labeled as “biodegradable.” Technically, all naturally occurring organic compounds can be biodegraded under the right conditions and will break down over a period of time, but it can take hundreds or thousands of years. For example, wood is biodegradable, but wooden structures don’t break down and can be passed down through generations.
To avoid confusing consumer and industrial composting grounds, regulators around the world have begun restricting or banning the use of “biodegradable” as a way of describing packaged products, Instead, the promotion uses the term “compostable,” which better describes the expected service life of the packaging and when it can be degraded.
What are Oxidation-degradable Plastics?
Oxidation-degradable products are made from conventional plastics, And specific additives are added in order to break down the plastic into small pieces, but that stops there, it never fully degrades because the microbes can’t recognize the synthetic monomers and therefore won’t digest them. Like conventional plastics, oxidizable and certain biodegradable plastics will become small pieces of plastic that eventually break down into microplastics. A large number of foreign studies have pointed out that biodegradable plastics will break into small pieces, resulting in microplastics pollution.
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