{"id":22163,"date":"2014-08-25T03:12:54","date_gmt":"2014-08-25T01:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=22163"},"modified":"2014-08-24T09:15:54","modified_gmt":"2014-08-24T07:15:54","slug":"meredian-biodegradable-plastics-meet-nirvana-standard-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/meredian-biodegradable-plastics-meet-nirvana-standard-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Meredian biodegradable plastics meet the nirvana standard of ‘Green’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greenwashing\u2019 is an unforgiving label generally assigned to practices and products that are marketed as \u201cenvironmentally correct,\u201d but which, when examined closely, are not.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A simple example of greenwashing is an office that brags on the fact that it collects cans and bottles from backroom vending machines to recycle for cash, but stocks cheap, disposable, plastic dishware and flatware in the break room.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to sustainability expert and filmmaker Veronica Miles, who\u2019s helped strategize and implement green waste management measures with the New York City Department of Sanitation, EcoSet Consulting, and Crown Disposal, greenwashing can also be defined as \u201c\u2026a company selling products they call \u2018green\u2019 to appeal to a marketing trend, or just to make money because they know consumers respond to the word \u2018green\u2019 and often look for products associated with that word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is Recycling a form of Greenwashing?<\/h3>\n

Says Miles, \u201cThe greenwashing term I dislike the most is \u2019100% Recyclable,\u2019 often written next to a recycling logo. Whether or not something is \u2018recyclable\u2019 isn\u2019t about what the product is made of, but depends on how the product is handled after it is used and what facility it goes to. When consumers see the recycling logo, they think \u2018green,\u2019 so they are being fooled by a blanket statement that could be applied to anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Recycling is Hard Work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For several decades, however, recycling has served as \u201cTHE\u201d green solution to the problem of plastic trash overflow in the bins of the world. Housekeeping habits have been adapted to recycling. Waste management companies have modified processes to meet the demand. New manufacturing practices have erupted.<\/p>\n

In most municipal scenarios, consumers are required to pre-sort recyclables from other trash. Waste management companies are then required to separate plastic recyclables by one of the seven resin codes used to classify plastic compounds since 1988.<\/p>\n

Despite all the effort, and though recycling plastic is far better than tossing it into a ditch, waterway or landfill, the impact of recycling remains low. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), \u201conly 9 percent of the total plastic waste generated in 2012 was recovered for recycling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Says Miles: \u201cAlthough it\u2019s a dream for all humans to be fully educated on proper waste disposal, we can\u2019t count on consumers to always know how to throw something away properly and know where it\u2019s going. Therefore, plastics and plastic alternatives will inevitably end up in landfills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is Biodegradable Plastic just another Instance of Greenwashing?<\/h3>\n

Greenwashing can also be applied to certain plastic products \u2013 such as food storage bags and trash can liners \u2013 touted on store shelves as \u201ceco-friendly\u201d when, in actuality, the plastic involved is only partially constructed of biodegradable materials.<\/p>\n

For decades, in fact, partially biodegradable plastic has ameliorated problems for waste management companies overwhelmed with mountains of plastic based trash \u2013 such as disposable diapers \u2013 that cannot be recycled and has nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n

However, plastic that mixes biodegradable compounds with petroleum compounds does not offer a genuinely non-toxic, renewable substitute because the petro plastic in the mix still takes millennia to fully degrade.<\/p>\n

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Is Bioplastic the solution to plastic pollution?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Biodegradable plastic \u2013 called bioplastic \u2013 can be a solution \u2013 and avoid the label of \u2018greenwashing\u2019 \u2013 only if it meets a sort of Nirvana level of criteria for rapid reintegration with the biosphere.<\/p>\n

The criteria include:<\/p>\n