Garbage bags

[Anonymous]

Do you use plastic ones? The biodegradable ones are more expensive but I'm trying them for a change.

[Anonymous]

Unless the biodegradable bags are in a place where they can actually biodegrade, it’s pointless.

Because most trash goes to landfill. And NOTHING biodegrades in a landfill. The compressed, dry, anoxic conditions in a landfill tend to preserve things far longer than they last exposed to air and sunlight above ground. Which are the conditions these “biodegradable” bags must be exposed to to biodegrade. Take away sunlight and surface microbes and stick it under ground with no oxygen and that bag will outlive all of us.

[Anonymous]

Hey! If you have access to a commercial composting facility through a compost drop-off program or a residential composting program, you can look for bags that are BPI (biodegradable products institute) certified/CMA (compost manufacturers alliance) certified. CMA certification is less common but depending, your local facility may have a specific product list through CMA that is specific to their processing context. Bioplastics behave like petrochemical derived/traditional plastics in nature. Unfortunately, bioplastics bags that are labeled biodegradable are not necessarily compostable, and all compostable bioplastics are only commercially compostable (if accepted by your facility). It’s confusing, so third-party certifications can be useful for navigating alternatives for composting purposes.