Did you know about biodegradable bags?
Some time ago, Montucky had mentioned his surprise that we don't have biodegradable bags yet. I just read an article that states these type bags have actually been around for nearly ten years! I wonder why we have not seen more of them? There has apparently been some controversy over these bags. It was stated that biodegradable bags and plastic bags take nearly the same amount of energy and resources to produce. If these bags get mixed together, sorting them can be a nightmare and will also cause many batches of plastic bags to be discarded rather than recycled. Also, for kinesthetic learners like us, many of these bags may be tossed out to test their ability to decompose (yes, we tried it with a biodegradable plate!) People may just toss the bags out thinking it will break down, but it takes about 18 months for one to decompose. More seriously is the impact that these bags can actually have on the environment. Compost can become leached with chemicals mixed with the biodegradable bags. Oxygen depletion can also result which in turn causes algae blooms and death of marine life. I find this to be interesting and hope that some of these issues can be resolved, as I like the idea of biodegradable items.
2 comments:
That's interesting! I wasn't aware of biodegradable bags (other than paper ones). I still think someone will rethink the problems and come up with something safer.
On the lighter side, when I first glanced at the title of your post my mind read biodegradable blogs. I want to be one of the first to have one of those!
ha ha!! you would be the first montucky! :)
I thought the article was interesting. I've not seen any of those bags and I agree that someone will surely come up w/ something!
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