Stop Suffocating our Planet with Single-Use Plastic: Biodegradable Swaps for your Everyday Life
Our human obsession with plastic as the go-to product material can no longer be ignored. Not only is plastic incredibly harmful to the environment as a chronic pollutant of the Earth’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, but it is also made out of the same finite fossil fuels that we are quickly running out of. On top of that, we use fossil fuels to power the machinery necessary to extract those fossil fuels and therefore continue the constructed cycle of pollution. How is it that with the climate data and scientific knowledge we have today, we still produce 400 million tons of plastic waste every year?
In order to turn this train around, we have to start taking accountability for our purchasing habits. Are you still buying single-use plastic water bottles? What material is your toothbrush made out of and/or packaged in? What about your cleaning supplies, beauty products, groceries? How often do you shop online, and from which companies? As individual consumers, we know that we don’t have as much environmental influence as the large corporations we buy from. But what if we didn’t buy from them?
What if we switched to smaller, eco-focused businesses that care more about their impact than their profit?
Big companies are powerful, but they also rely on our willingness to buy their products and services in order to stay in business. If we can steer consumer trends towards consciously purchasing from sustainable businesses with eco-friendly products and biodegradable packaging, the big companies will eventually have to change their strategies to keep up with the new market demands.
The global economy has always prioritized economic wealth above ecosystem health — but Rome wasn’t built in a day, and trends take time to change. We can catalyze tangible change if enough of us collectively swap out plastic for products that biodegrade (in a reasonable amount of time).
What does it mean to truly be biodegradable?
As a society we have a tendency to create vague buzzwords that ultimately lose the authority of their intended meaning, like with ‘sustainable’ and ‘organic’. Sustainability as a concept is important, but when a bunch of different brands start overusing the word ‘sustainable’ to describe their actions as a way to market to eco-conscious consumers, the meaning of the word quickly loses authenticity.
Something is truly biodegradable if it can degrade in a natural environment within a reasonable amount of time, without external human action. The Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘biodegradable’ as something that is “able to decay naturally and in a way that is not harmful.” So even if a product has been certified as compostable by The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), it still needs to be disposed of in its proper environment to actually decompose; that proper environment might be an at-home compost bin or a specialized composting facility, but it more than likely won’t be able to decompose on its own in a natural environment.
What about bioplastic alternatives?
In a perfect world, all of our packaging would be 100% biodegradable and safe for the environment. But as we know, just because a product and its packaging claims to be biodegradable doesn’t actually make it so. Compostable and biodegradable packaging are tested under a specific set of lab conditions to successfully biodegrade in a reasonable amount of time, but nature is unpredictable and will not always replicate the tested lab environment.
In addition to producing biodegradable materials, we must also produce and distribute suitable recovery systems for these materials.
Whether these systems take place in our homes, industrial compost facilities, or at a neighborhood composting site, the options need to be varied and accessible. If we don’t provide the proper materials for successful degradation, they definitely will not break down as intended. As stated in Science and Engineering of Composting, “Making or calling a product biodegradable has no inherent value if the product, after use by the customer, does not end up in a waste management system that uses the biodegradability features.”
One of the most widely used bioplastics is Polylactic acid (PLA), and it is currently being used widely across the US. The manufacturing process of PLA creates far less pollution than conventional plastics and it is derived from a carbon-neutral resource: commercially grown corn. However, PLA bags have been found completely intact after more than 3 years in the natural environment: still causing pollution and environmental degradation along our beaches, water sources, and forests. Unless PLA is disposed of at a specific facility, it can be just as harmful as plastic.
The future isn’t all doom and gloom, however, since organizations like The Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance are helping to provide research into the circular systems and plant based plastics that will become even more necessary as we deplete the limited fossil fuels we have left. Bio-based sources like seaweed and sugar beets are potential renewable sources they are looking into right now.
What are some of the best biodegradable materials?
Unprocessed wood, bamboo, and cork are infamously biodegradable. But the main reason these are great alternative materials is their ability to regenerate quickly, with very little agricultural inputs.
For instance, bamboo is a rapidly growing renewable resource that can grow in many different climates ranging from rainforest to cool temperate forests. It’s biodegradable, but it’s also durable; meaning you can keep your bamboo products for an extraordinarily long amount of time before you have to worry about disposal.
Sisal is another renewable resource to keep a lookout for. Similar to bamboo, it requires minimal agricultural inputs compared to other crops, it can be grown in all soil types except clay, and thrives in hot, arid climates. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, when “measured over its life-cycle, sisal absorbs more carbon dioxide than it produces. During processing, it generates mainly organic wastes and leaf residues that can be used to generate bioenergy, produce animal feed, fertilizer and ecological housing material and, at the end of its life cycle, sisal is 100 percent biodegradable.” So not only is sisal a faster growing, lower input alternative, but it’s also potential biofuel, a biological fertilizer ingredient, and it naturally offsets our carbon outputs.
How can an individual consumer make a difference?
According to a 2020 survey, 66% of US consumers and 80% of young US adults (ages 18–34) are willing to pay more for sustainably made products as opposed to unsustainable products. The main roadblock moving forward is that 78% of those surveyed say that they don’t know how to identify environmentally friendly companies.
Thankfully there are organizations making that aspect easier for the average consumer and the average company. One example is Sustainable Brands™, whose Brands for Good Initiative is helping make sustainability more attainable and enticing for companies transitioning from unsustainable models. Sustainable Brands also has a lot of helpful and up-to-date articles on consumption and sustainability.
Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect environmentalist — but reducing your plastic consumption through conscious buying will make a difference (especially when your impact spreads throughout your household, friends, and community!)
↓ Here are some brands and products to look into ↓
Ecoriginals — Bamboo Baby Wet Wipes
These baby wipes are made from 100% sustainably sourced bamboo fiber and packaged in paper and cornstarch, so the whole product is biodegradable and compostable at home. Additionally, Ecoriginals plants a tree for every order to help offset global carbon outputs. They also have high performing eco-friendly diapers that are 90% biodegradable, made with wood pulp, pure cotton layers, tissue paper, and non-GMO cornstarch for softness.
Plantish — Bamboo & Organic Cotton Reusable Face Rounds
Plantish’s cotton and bamboo reusable face rounds can replace your single use cotton wipes and cotton balls. The two materials provide different textures for versatile uses (bamboo for makeup removal and cotton for toner application/gentle exfoliation). The average consumer uses 730 cotton pads a year, but you can be one of the more sustainable consumers who simply puts their dirty reusable face rounds in a mesh bag, and washes them with cold water.
Plantish also has multiple eco-friendly household sets, including this Zero Waste Cleaning Kit (with bamboo and sisal materials), to help you transition away from plastic and paper-based cleaning materials. They even have eco-friendly dishwashing sets, shower/beauty sets, dental sets, and hair care sets.
Eco Pea Co. — Bamboo Diapers
A medical grade bamboo diaper from Eco Pea Co. will be more than half degraded in just 2–3 months. Regular diapers take 500 years to decompose! Eco Pea also uses 100% previously recycled plastic for their packaging.
Eco Trade Company — Bamboo Towels
One single roll of their bamboo towels replaces 60 conventional paper towel rolls. These towels are stronger and more durable than normal paper towels, so they can be thrown in your washing machine up to 120 times before you discard them.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
The main takeaway here is: our individual environmental impact is largely determined by what, how, and how much we buy. It might feel like your individual decisions don’t matter — but next year when you throw away 730 single-use cotton pads, all your 24-packs of plastic water bottles wrapped in plastic, and the 60 paper towel rolls (that one bamboo paper towel roll could replace): remember that eco-friendly alternatives to those products already exist.
We still have a long way to go in this fight for our planet…
Composting needs to be more accessible to all
Recycled plastic and bioplastics need more research, development, and implementation
Agriculture needs to become more regenerative in approach, and regenerative agriculture needs more research/development to be implemented at larger scales
The fast fashion industry is still one of the biggest polluters (i.e STOP SHOPPING AT SHEIN)
Public transportation needs an overhaul and city structures should be readjusted to be less car-reliant
…just to name a few.
So for now, focus on what you can do at home. Gradually implement eco-friendly changes into your household, and educate your family, roommates, and friends on how easy it is to make small product changes. Buy local, buy small, buy less from Amazon.
It all adds up. We can make a difference.
