"Eco-Packaging" Finalist: Co-op Corn Starch Bags
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 04. 3.06
Simple, functional, biodegrable, and even compostable - Ryan Freeburn's entry in our "Eco-Packaging" Contest has eco-mojo to spare. His local co-op packages their goods in corn starch-based plastic bags instead of what Ryan refers to as "regular old wasteful
plastic bag[s]". This way, once Ryan is finished with these radishes (or whatever else he may buy from the co-op), he can simply throw the bag in his compost instead of the trash. With little to no packaging ending up in the landfill, Ryan's entry shows why we get excited about bioplastics.
How come you have the most votes and *no* comments?......hhhmmmmm......
Wanna cookie?
One concern I have is that users would have to know and remember to compost the bag, and not just throw it in the garbage.
A "compostable" bag in a landfill is never going to break down completely. Sure, in theory compostable bags could decompose in a landfill. However, 6-ish ft. of dirt or other inert covering are placed ontop of the waste at the end of each day in sanitary landfills (a legal requirement), and every day newly delivered wastes are placed on top of the previous days' wastes. Both of these actions result in the blocking of the sunlight and oxygen required for degradation. the Garbage Project of U. of AZ has found intact "biodegradable" newspapers from the '50s, '60s and earlier in landfills!
I also think consumers (at least those who don't pay loads of attention to waste issues, which would be the majority of consumers) would get confused and say to themselves "Is this the biodegradable plastic bag I got? I can't tell - it looks like a regular plastic bag, so I'll put it in the garbage." That would defeat the whole intent of this design, wouldn't it?
Even if these bags ended up in a landfill and did not break down, it does not defeat the intent of the design. The intent goes far beyond simple break down. There is a larger picture to consider. Better to have a unbroken down organic plastic in the landfill than a landfill full of petrochemical plastics that will eventually breakdown and leech chemicals into ground water.
As far as I'm concerned, the ability to compost this starch based plastic is a minimal bonus compared to the benefit of removing petrochemical based plastics from our landfills.
I like this one!
Corn-based *insert-useful-thing-here* -- maybe not the best road.
I like the idea. I set about making a comment here to ask where the LINK was to buy these types of bags; I work at a farmers market and woe the distribution of plastic bags. I think we need to move to a model of charging for bags, whatever their chemical structure.
I realize this isn't going to happen overnight. I've heard of potato starch bags being made -- any research on this? I'll be meeting a friend this weekend who is closer to where these are supposedly manufactured from potato 'waste' in Idaho. Check my entires at 2people dot org, pending that conversation.
CPF&A
Check your favorite search engine for the WRI article on corn-based ethanol for further clarification on my post; essentially, I'm getting at the fuel versus agriculture conversation. Insert plastic bags for fuel and most strains of the conversation are still valid.
I've also heard that the water and energy that go into bioplastics make them inherently unsustainable...
As always, I would love someone to point me to hard data from independent research. Something we could use more of in all walks of life, especially here in the USA.
CPF&A
*sorry for the double-post
Can anyone tell me how to get these bags or contact this man? Thanks.
Tara
TaraNY@gmail.com