Sustainable Saturday - Biodegradable Plastic Trash Bags

With all the added trash that the holiday produce, I thought I would re-post a blog post from awhile back about biodegradable plastic trash bags . . .

When making your decision regarding how to dispose of your trash, consider this:

• Conventional plastic bags are made with petroleum which may eventually break down, but it will never truly go away.
• When exposed to heat and light the plastic breaks apart into tiny particles which infiltrate our soils, bodies of water and are ingested by the fish we eat.

Here is the info you need to know when it comes to biodegradable plastic trash bags:

• Find out exactly where your trash goes: does your city compost garbage or does it truly go to a landfill?
• If your city does compost garbage your best bet is a bio-based trash bag. Bio-based means its made from corn, sugarcane or potatoes.
• If your trash goes to a landfill consider using bags made from recycled plastic or synthetic biodegradable plastics. Synthetic plastics mixed with additives allow the plastic to break down when exposed to light, heat and oxygen. If they are buried underground they may not break down as nothing biodegrades 100 percent in an air tight landfill. Bags made from recycled plastic would be the preferred option.