Plastic Bin Bags
Plastic Bin Bags
Most people get lost in all the new terms when they are planning to try out a new range of bags or even to be a little bit more environment friendly. You basically need to have a PHD in chemistry to understand all those technical terms. What is a biodegradable plastic bag? What is a compostable bin bag? What is a recyclable plastic bag? What is a recycled plastic bag? What is a bio ethanol plastic bag? What is a carbon captured plastic bag? For most people this is just too much information.
Let’s start at the start. Up to a short while ago plastic was being manufactured from ethanol extracted from fossil fuels. So before the first plastic raw material was invented, the world had to discover oil, extract it, transform it into fuel, extract the ethanol and only then, make it into raw plastic. A cheap source of plastic that has created the plastic bonanza. From a fancy material, in no time, the plastic has become widely available. Initially all plastic bags were made from a heavy duty material that was not degradable, non compostable and highly polluting. After many years of use of non recyclable plastic, the world has realized that there is a problem that has to be sorted. The seas, the rivers and fields were covered in non degradable plastic components. So the race for finding an alternative source of plastic that will decompose or degrade over a shorter period of time had begun.
Biodegradable Plastic Bags | The invention of the biodegradable plastic bag was the first step in the right direction. But the question is, are those bags as biodegradable as claimed? Well, yes and no. While the bags were degrading when buried in the ground, the period of fully degrading was highly dependent on the thickness of the bag and the environmental conditions as well. Some biodegradable plastic bags had an estimated fully degrading period of up to 1000 years. Is that degradable? Technical yes, but in reality not really. For a plastic bag to be called fully degradable it should fully degrade within 2-3 years and have nearly 0 environmental impact. While the biodegradable plastic bag is a better option than the non degradable plastic, a better option was needed to deal with all the plastic waste all over the world.
Compostable Plastic Bags | The compostable plastic bag is another step in the right direction. The main advantage of the compostable plastic bag was the fact that it is manufactured from plant based materials, it does not generate a lot of pollution in the process of manufacturing, and technically it fully degrades within a short period of time. The main advantage is that no fossil fuel had to be used in the process of manufacturing this bag. The process of fully degrading while buried in the landfill is quite complex and a lot of conditions have to be met for the composting process to actually happen. While the plastic will transform into compost if buried in commercial landfills, the same plastic bag will never compost if disposed of in the local river, buried in a normal landfill or just left in an open space. While some issues were resolved by the compostable plastic bags, there was still a lot to do on the road of a carbon neutral and 100% environmentally friendly plastic bag.
Carbon Captured Bags | These bags are manufactured from ethanol extracted from sugar kane, potatoes or other sources of natural ethanol. This award winning range of plastic bags provide a lot of advantages. The main one is the fact that no fossil fuels are required to manufacture it. The raw materials, like the sugar cane for example, will extract about 200 kg of carbon for every 1000 kg of raw material produced. The process of manufacturing carbon captured plastic bags is as clean as possible and it is does not cause a lot of pollution. The only issue with those bags is the fact that while the bags are fully recyclable, it can only be recycled with other plant based plastic bags. This is a good bonus but not really helpful in the process of getting rid of all the wasted plastic hanging around. To be able to fully benefit from all the advantages provided by the carbon captured plastic bag, the whole world has to start using only those bags or similar ones. A great alternative to the old polluting plastic but still more work to do.
Recycled And Recyclable Plastic Bags | After years of study and research the world has come to one conclusion, we all need to recycle more and get involved in the circular economy. Recycling old plastic with new and innovative technologies that do not generate a lot of pollution and then re-using the same plastic over and over is the only way forward. Of course, the carbon captured plastic bag is great but only if most people are likely to start using those particular bags or similar bags. The biodegradable range is also great if the world has between 200 to 1000 years to wait to actually degrade. The only realistic and practical option right now is to recycle all the plastic we can and then use it and re-use it hundreds of times while not generating any more loose waste. The recycled plastic bags are top quality, are easy to use and store and are also pretty affordable.
All of the above options have advantages and disadvantages. All the plastic bags manufacturers are doing their best to create the most innovative and the most environmentally friendly plastic bags. To create that special plastic bag that ticks all the boxes and is actually affordable to the masses is the holy grail of the plastic bags industry. It will take time, investment and patience. In the meantime we should all do our best to recycle more, use less plastic bags and avoid generating unnecessary waste.