Going Biodegradable — The Impact of Biodegradable Products
As people move towards eco-friendly means of living, the use of biodegradable products has become the latest trend of the professional sector — and it looks like it is here to stay.
What Are Biodegradable/Compostable Products?
Before we move ahead, let us first understand what biodegradable/ Compostable products are. In simple terms, the ability of a product to be thoroughly broken down by microbes and various other biological components is what makes them biodegradable. Some examples of these components can include air and moisture.
In order for a product to become biodegradable, it must first break down into an organic matter at a similar rate to its materials in a natural process. Paper and plastics can be considered biodegradable products but plastics that are petroleum-based are not. Looking into the field of green chemistry, we know that it revolves around creating products that have a less environmental impact, including creating materials that degrade safely and rapidly into the environment. One of the green chemistry products includes bioplastics that are specifically designed to biodegrade.
Negative Impacts of Using Non-Biodegradable Items
Objects that are made from plastic or styrofoam tend to fill up landfills every year. It can take up to centuries for these products to degrade, and once they do, they end up leaving behind toxic residues. Once these toxins come into contact with the environment, they can create a significant amount of damage to the human body and the entire ecosystem.
Moreover, the cost of landfills can be very high, and aside from the expense that goes into the land itself, preparing the land is also another additional cost to the list. And the waste that sits in the landfill not only drains you of your money but also takes up a large space of your land.
Sticking to Biodegradables
To begin with, manufacturing biodegradable plastics is actually far less harmful to the environment through its lack of environmental pollution when compared to the production of petroleum-based plastics.
Moreover, when biodegradable plastics break down, they release non-toxic, harmless elements. They produce only about 32% of greenhouse gases that are emitted by the plastics made from petroleum. Plus, they only need around 35% of overall energy to be created than the ones needed for non-biodegradable plastics.
And one of the best things about it is that biodegradable plastics are actually made from organic matter that can significantly lower the nation’s municipal waste.
And you can learn more about how much the world has benefited from all of these if you look into the work done by Frederic Scheer — a highly acclaimed French-American entrepreneur and inventor who has spent many years working in the biodegradable industry and has made significant progress in his work.
Back in 1994, Scheer predicted the potential demand of biodegradable products in the future and decided to secure exclusive distribution rights in North America for various grades of Mater-Bi resins.
Soon after in 1997, he founded the Biodegradable Product Institute (BPI), which is a science-driven organization that supports a shift to the circular economy. This was done by encouraging the production, utilization, and appropriate end of life for materials and items designed to biodegrade in specific biologically activated environments — effectively becoming the largest biodegradable association on a global scale.
He went on to create his first venture in Biodegradable Biocorp, Inc. that culminate with changing the Sydney 2000 Olympics and making them the “Greenest Game ever”. He supplied all biodegradable and compostable utensils and bags that after the game was composted and served as fertilizer in all public parks in Sydney. He went on creating from his kitchen Cereplast Inc., a company that he brought to Nasdaq that eventually ended up being purchased by a Korean conglomerate.
