8 things you need to know about biodegradable packaging(below)

Before you start a fairly complex and potentially costly journey, biodegradable bag supplier continue to share the following eight things with them.

5. In general, compostability certification requires testing and certification of the entire structure and/or all components.

Suppose you want to put your frozen fries in a more environmentally friendly bag, such as 1 mil thick. You will find that the extruder manufacturers claim that the film produced by their machine has been certified as an industrial compost by the US PBI or the European TUV, one of the two major certification bodies. Great! Can this be done? No.

First, you need to determine the film specifications for testing and certification. If your film is 1.2 mils thick and you want 1.0 mil, then you have passed the first level. If you want 1.5 mils, you need to start from scratch and use a 1.5 mil film (or thicker).If you don't print anything on the bag, coloring or staining, you may have already finished. However, if you want a beautiful 6-color printed white bag, you need to make sure that all colorants and inks meet BPI or TUV-approved industrial compostability. If not, you will need to find approved colorants or send the compostable bags to pass the entire testing and certification process again!

6. Biodegradation is the last line of defense

Compared to making the product biodegradable, people are more willing to choose to reduce the amount, reuse and recycle the packaging. It can be said that the latter three strategies make the molecule active. Biodegradation eliminates carbon-hydrogen bonds in the material, which also eliminates their performance characteristics and the energy value that still exists in the latter three strategies. Therefore, the true value of biodegradation is a protective measure against environmental impacts that should be packaged as a “leakage” closed-loop system.

7. Does this mean that it is unreasonable to consider biodegradable packaging bag (ie, household or industrial compostable) over-recovery?

In general, the value of recycling is that it allows hydrocarbon molecules (for plant-based resins) to act as carbohydrate molecules. The value of this molecule is based on the bond between hydrogen and carbon, which both contains the inherent performance advantages of plastics and the energy potential for fuels. Once this bond is broken, the carbon is released into the atmosphere and it is no longer isolated and therefore cannot be used for other purposes.Only well-conceived life cycle analysis can determine if compost is better than recycling. LCA needs to review the environmental and economic costs of the recycling process, particularly those associated with transportation and reprocessing.

In addition, we believe that landfills are very bad. In reality, it's best to develop a system in which truly recyclable materials are removed from the top, food waste is composted, and the rest of the material is used to produce energy – hopefully – discarded Landfill for future use. In this case, the landfill should be called the underground carbon tank!

Biodegradable Trash Bag

8. ASTM, ISO, and similar standards were developed many years ago to accommodate PLA and may no longer reflect the level of technology.

As mentioned earlier, current plastic biodegradation certification standards require decomposition. However, there are some new materials coming out that can be biodegraded without decomposition, which will greatly reduce the production of microplastics.

Ironically, this environmental benefit does not allow these materials to be certified for compostability or marine biodegradability. Therefore, standards need to be revised or rewritten to reflect the value and contribution of these materials.