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'biodegradable' is an unregulated term, meaning brands/manufacturers don't have to declare how long it would take or what conditions it needs. As long as it breaks down eventually it can be labelled as such.
Always ask if it's been landfill tested and what the timeline is. https://twitter.com/Cooler_Future/status/1347860805451182081
Always ask if it's been landfill tested and what the timeline is. https://twitter.com/Cooler_Future/status/1347860805451182081
Plastic is not a natural product, so when it "breaks down" usually what that means is it just breaks up into #microplastics - another problematic form of plastic pollution causing harm to the planet (and getting into our bodies through the food chain 
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Landfill usually lacks heat, light and oxygen - the 3 components needed for biodegradable material to work. Biodegradable plastics can't be recycled because of extra chemicals in them - and in landfill they generally release methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.
Biodegradable plastics are oil-derived plastics with extra chemicals added. They actually take more resources to produce, and don't solve the environmental problem.
There are compostable bioplastic alternatives (not the same as biodegradable) - made from plant materials (like corn starch), but compostable is another wooly term without regulated definition.
Not all are suitable for home composting and won't necessarily work in landfill conditions. So if your town/city doesn't have industrial composting infrastructure, you can't dispose of it properly.
What can we as consumers do?
Reduce demand for single use plastics, regardless of how they're made
Ask brands using these labels to define them and clarify
Read the labels and dispose of plastics properly
Push for better legislation by writing to your MP
Reduce demand for single use plastics, regardless of how they're made Ask brands using these labels to define them and clarify Read the labels and dispose of plastics properly Push for better legislation by writing to your MP
