New Report Reveals Challenges of ‘Biodegradable’ and ‘Compostable’ Plastic, Provides Guide to Choosing Best Products
Corresponding Checklist Offers Consumers and Businesses Easy Way to Determine if Bioplastic Products Are Worthy Plastic Alternatives
For Immediate Release: July 11, 2024
Contacts:
Melissa Valliant, Beyond Plastics — melissavalliant@bennington.edu, (410) 829-0726
Judith Enck, Beyond Plastics — judithenck@bennington.edu, (518) 605-1770
Beyond Plastics released a report evaluating bioplastic materials currently on the market, the voluntary standards that govern their design, and scientific research findings to date on their safety to help individuals assess their options. Called “Demystifying Compostable and Biodegradable Plastic,” it also covers the waste management issues associated with bioplastics and provides a checklist to guide decision making.
Beyond Plastics has supplemented the report with a brochure (Spanish version here) that can be distributed to local businesses, as well as a shareable educational video that walks viewers through bioplastic terminology, myths, and decision-making guidance. Restaurant owners can also benefit from “A Restaurant’s Guide to Reducing Plastic” — a Beyond Plastics publication from 2022 — for more information, especially on the benefits of shifting to reusable packaging.
Beyond Plastics also called on Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan to finalize changes to the FTC Green Guides, which address the accuracy of environmental claims made by companies. The Green Guides have not been updated since 2012. The FTC opened a public comment period earlier this year, but there is no indication of when it will move to finalize an updated version.
The packaging industry markets bioplastic products as a solution to plastic pollution, claiming they degrade faster in the environment, are made from safer materials, and have smaller climate change impacts than regular plastics, which are created from fossil fuels. These claims tend to attract consumers and businesses looking for environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuel-based plastic; however, as our report shows, just because a product is “biobased,” “compostable,” or marketed as a “bioplastic” does not necessarily make it better.
“Many consumers and businesses are genuinely trying to do the right thing when they replace traditional plastic products — like utensils, takeout containers, and straws — with bioplastics that claim to be ‘biodegradable’ and ‘compostable,’ but unfortunately they’re often replacing one harmful material with another,” said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and former EPA regional administrator. “The lack of regulations around bioplastics allows companies to present their products as more environmentally friendly than traditional plastic without meeting any standards for safety, toxicity, climate change impacts, or how long it takes for them to degrade. This report combats the often misleading promotion of bioplastics by providing a close look at the benefits and harms of products on the market today. Ultimately, individuals should always try to eliminate the need for plastic altogether or replace it with a reusable option; but when a bioplastic product is the only material that fits the bill, this report should ensure individuals are making choices that better the planet and human health.”
Key findings include:
Bioplastics are typically made using the same processes as traditional plastics, which means they may also contain harmful chemical additives.
Some bioplastics may be even more toxic than traditional plastics because their product formulations contain new, unidentified chemicals.
No federal standards define or regulate bioplastic, biodegradable, or compostable products. This leads to misleading advertising and waste management challenges.
Compostable plastics can only break apart in a commercial composting facility, and few communities in the U.S. have access to commercial composting facilities.
Certification programs in the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand are run by trade associations or private organizations that represent bioplastics manufacturers, posing potential conflicts of interest.
For example, the U.S.’s main certifier of compostable packaging, the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), has some of the most powerful petrochemical companies on its board, including BASF, Eastman Chemical Company, TotalEnergies Corbion, and Danimer Scientific.
Instead of swapping out one type of plastic for another, the best option is to turn off the spigot for single-use plastics, which make up nearly half of all plastics produced. The next best solutions are swapping plastic for a reusable or refillable system, or replacing plastic with a recycled paper or recycled cardboard product.
When plastics are necessary and cannot be eliminated, biobased polymers may be preferable because of the devastating environmental, human health, and environmental justice impacts associated with fossil fuel-derived plastics. But that needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis — any bioplastic product should be carefully vetted.
To expand reuse opportunities across the country, legislators should require reuse and fund it through legislation like packaging reduction bills, often referred to as extended producer responsibility, or EPR.
To view the report, key findings, and other materials, please visit https://bit.ly/demystifying-bioplastics
To access the news release online, please visit
https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/report-bioplastics
About Beyond Plastics
Launched in 2019, Beyond Plastics is a nationwide project that pairs the wisdom and experience of environmental policy experts with the energy and creativity of grassroots advocates to build a vibrant and effective movement to end plastic pollution and promote alternatives to plastics. Using deep policy and advocacy expertise, Beyond Plastics is building a well-informed, effective movement seeking to achieve the institutional, economic, and societal changes needed to save our planet and ourselves, from the negative health, climate, and environmental impacts for the production, usage, and disposal of plastics.
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