Organic plastic bags
What about “BIO plastic bags”?
In addition to primary plastic and recycled plastic, various so-called bio-plastics have already arrived on the market. Very few bio-plastic bags are actually more environmentally friendly after disposal than conventional plastic film bags.
In fact, in the disposal practice in Europe, hardly any of the „bioplastic bags” decomposes by themselves afterwards under environmental influences or is composted.
The vast majority of so-called “bio-plastic bags” In any case, only a very small percentage of what is currently on the market is made from cultivated, renewable plant components. Despite all the feel-good propaganda, the biggest component in this film material is still plastic made from refined petroleum.
The “bioplastic” from Brazilian sugar cane or genetically modified corn (imported from the USA to Europe as plastic but not as corn!) is usually refined in a very similar way to petroleum when it is made into plastic. In fact, no other plastic is produced from the sugar cane than from the oil: so the product from it remains the same: the same standard plastic bag, which this time gets the same properties from sugar cane as it usually does from refined oil. So it is also not biodegradable!
Instead of a real biodegradability, a chemical additive can and will be inserted into the foil, which allows the bag to break down into smaller and smallest particles. Some of these particles can later remain in the environment as microplastics in the dust. Microparticles of plastic in the dust and in the air we breathe can hardly be healthy for humans and animals.
For “organic advertising” Unfortunately, around the bag it is often enough that a small part of the plastic of the bag was refined from corn or sugar cane or another renewable raw material. Organic does not have a strict term like in the food industry!
It can be appreciated that renewable raw materials are also used and that new paths away from oil are being taken.
But the impression that is given remains false: because these bags are not biodegradable or compostable down to the smallest detail, but usually, if compostability is promised, provided with extra chemistry, which decomposes the pocket of a part into the smallest remains of plastic particles, so that the particles are no longer noticeable. The rest breaks down into carbon dioxide and water.
So the part of the bag that actually breaks down chemically breaks down into water and carbon dioxide. The output of carbon dioxide is held responsible for the greenhouse effect and climate change. Water is not a special compost! So what remains in the compost is biologically not particularly helpful, apart from the water!
According to the state of the art, recycling of standard plastics still seems to us to be the best way to justify it today. Bioplastics should only be used on an experimental basis. Unfortunately, we are not aware of any credible studies on what happens to the catalyst chemistry in the “bioplastic bags” subsequently dispersed in the environment as compost.
There are two issues to be distinguished: 1.) the before before the bag: the properties and consequences of the renewable raw materials, 2.) the after after the bag: the biodegradability.
So biodegradability is a completely different matter. In fact, the “biodegradable” Plastic bags in Europe currently 98% in no composting plants at all but mostly in incinerators. If they have ended up in a composting plant, they have to be fished out again in the compost, which is very laborious.
Unfortunately, as a small or large consumer, man only has abstract thoughts about theoretical biodegradability, which, to the best of our knowledge, is not entirely true today due to several factors takes place and eventually leads to unwanted effects.
The reason for this is that even the real, actually decomposing plastic bags would have to stay in the composting facility for too long by today's standards to biodegrade or at least break down. This means that in practice, the cycle time for the dwelling time in the composting plants is unfortunately shorter than it would take for real biodegradable plastic bags to decompose or transform, not to mention decay -Chemical additive in the pseudo-bio plastic bags. More fundamentally and much more disturbing is: as a rule, the supposed biobags are not real, 100% biodegradable bags from the outset, but just regular plastic doors with a proportion of plastic refined from renewable raw materials.
Firstly, how is the consumer supposed to tell the real ones from the fake ones if he chooses the organic waste bin with a clear conscience? Secondly, how should this be differentiated in the sorting? See: http://www.ortenberg.net
The appearance of the real, 100% biodegradable bag is currently still in the per thousand range compared to the “fake BIO plastic bags” with and without chemical additives.
Intermediate result: Actually, due to the market glut of pseudo-BIO plastic bags, any way for the degradability of a genuine, biological biodegradable BIO plastic bags are still blocked in practice from an organizational and procedural point of view. The marketing of BIO plastic bags therefore only makes sense and is justifiable to a very limited extent.
The good will in environmental matters among the population, consumers and disposal companies is being systematically destroyed due to the fact that plastic bags can’t be differentiated between genuine BIO and false BIO, which has not been the case up to now; red.
The intentional decomposition of plastic in the environment into the smallest particles and also carbon dioxide must in the long term cause a higher environmental and health impact than the recycling of crude oil-based plastic bags due to the resulting plastic dust ;ten. Above all, the raw material plastic is also destroyed. The consequences of plastic dust are neglected in the debate about bioplastics and their decay. The consequences of a wildly distributed chemical decomposition additive in the so-called BIO plastic are also neglected.
I order the “BIO plastic bags” despite it. Doesn't the real BIO plastic bag disintegrate much too quickly for me?
The durability of both the so-called and the real bio-bags is as good as that of the standard PE or PP film before and during use. However, the foil, which is not cheap anyway, has to be chosen with a slightly larger diameter in order to ensure the same properties, e.g. in terms of tear strength. The real “organic bags” In our experience, they are not yet quite as hard-wearing in use and can be stored in a dry place for 1 to 2 years before use – no longer. They're not supposed to last 1,000 years!
It's best if you always order a year's quantity, no more. But: Bio-foil bags can be printed and handled in the same way. If you want to order a real BIO plastic bag, please let us advise you.
Are standard plastic bags more environmentally friendly than organic plastic bags?
If conventional standard plastic bags are disposed of in the yellow sack or bin, the purely petroleum-based standard carrier bag made of PE or PP can be used without any problems and with little energy consumption be recycled and keep the overall quality of the recycled material high. So it goes into the plastic cycle made from recycled material, which has long been established in Europe. As a recovered plastic, it will be in high demand on the market and will be required for a wide range of products. The so-called BIO plastic bags with their decay additives endanger the plastic recycling and the sustainability of the recycling cycle, which is based on sorting.
If biodegradable plastics and crude oil-based plastics are mixed before recycling, this reduces the quality and predictability of the plastic that is subsequently recycled. So if BIO plastic bags end up in recycling, this destroys the sustainability of the resulting RE plastics.
We need to understand that traditional plastic is a coveted and important commodity in the technological world. Plastic is a product that should not simply be broken down or made to disappear - but used again and again with the highest possible quality.
We therefore recommend today and in the medium term that our customers as buyers continue to choose normal plastic made from primary material or recycling, without false BIO and without new additives, and to support recycling to the best of our ability .
Plastic bags that end up in household waste, neither in the yellow bin nor in the yellow sack, donate energy or heat to the waste incineration plant. They burn non-toxically and with low CO2 emissions.
(This statement has been written to the best of our knowledge and belief, 05/07/2013. If we have overlooked something among the many developments in the market and in the technology, we apologize.
The completeness and accuracy of this text has been prepared without guarantee, as both the products and the disposal sector are constantly evolving. If you have any further information for us, please let us know. We are always open to new things, eager to learn and not dogmatic!)
See also, unfortunately still up-to-date:
https://www.zeit.de/zeit-wissen/2011/ 05/Plastic bags
Content: plastic bags facts, bioplastic bags, organic bags, environmental bags, organic bags, eco bags, compostable bags, bio plastic bags, recycling bags, recyclable bags, abolish, CO2, contra, chemicals, Germany per year, dispose of, EU, for organic waste, law, fee, law from when, in the sea, in organic waste, yes or no, yes Honest, subject to a charge, material, disadvantages, sustainability, problem, paper bags, regulation, recycle, decline, statistics, environment, Federal Environment Agency, environmental pollution, prohibited, plastic bag ban.
- PSI:
- Member No.: 48072
All Rights Reserved SitemapPrivacy PolicyTerms and ConditionsCookie usageWorth knowingLegal Notice of BagobagCookie Settings
Sign In