COMPOSTABLE GREENWASHING
According to the Daily Mail on 30th December 2022 new research by “Sourceful” a Manchester-based supply chain transparency consultancy says that “marketing compostable plastics as good for the planet is ‘greenwashing’” making things appear more eco-friendly than they are.
Sourceful analysed more than 20 materials, including “compostable” plastic and normal garbage bags. It found compostable bags have nearly twice the global warming impact of traditional plastic. Compostable bags can only properly degrade under high temperatures in special processing plants, but they’re mostly discarded in general waste before being sent to landfill, where they release methane. Ordinary plastic bags, on the other hand, emit very little greenhouse gas in landfill because they are relatively inert.
The main applications of “compostable” plastics include food packaging, bags, cups, plates, cutlery and bio-waste bags.
What is compostable plastic? This term is used to describe a material that can undergo biological degradation in a compost site at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials, leaving no visible (toxic) residues. The term ‘compostable’ is often used interchangeably with ‘biodegradable’ and it suggests that the plastic converts into compost – which it does not.
Sourceful researchers used the European Commission’s Environmental Footprint 3.0 datasets, and examined greenhouse gas emissions of each product’s lifecycle – raw material extraction, film production, and end-of-life stages including disposal. When expanded to other impact categories such as water use and land use, the gap widened to approximately 2.5 times worse than traditional virgin plastic.
The Co-op should stop marketing plastic bags as compostable.
“HOME COMPOSTING” – More Greenwashing
Another study, published in the journal “Frontiers in Sustainability” on 3rd November 2022 says that calling plastic packages “home compostable” is a greenwashing tactic designed to take advantage of consumer interest in environmental sustainability.
The study found 10% of people can effectively compost at home, but “most compostable plastics end up in landfill or are burnt.”
The results were drawn from 9,700 people across the UK who completed the Big Compost Experiment survey study. Those participants were evaluated on their understanding of plastic waste, and 1,600 implemented composting at home with plastics labelled as “compostable.”
The report noted that “When “compostable” plastic gets into food waste, it contaminates it, blocking the recycling process and resulting in more production time, energy and waste.”
The results showed that no specification was reliably home-compostable, and the conclusion was that home composting “is not at present a viable, effective or environmentally beneficial waste processing method for compostable or biodegradable plastics in the UK.
For composting generally see https://www.biodeg.org/subjects-of-interest/composting/
Michael Stephen
Michael Stephen is a lawyer and was a member of the United Kingdom Parliament, where he served on the Environment Select Committee. When he left Parliament Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc. attracted his attention because of his interest in the environment. He is now Deputy Chairman of Symphony, which is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, and is the founder and Chairman of the Biodegradable Plastics Association.
Earlier Postings in this Column
All articles of Michael Stephen can be found here
- 1/ 1/ 20 – Plastiphobia, Microplastics and A Throw-Away Society
- 7/ 1/ 20 – Recycling, Lab Testing, Bangladesh and the Right Bioplastic
- 14/1/20 – Plastiphobia and Bioplastics Definitions
- 21/1/20 – Composting, the European Union and Unemployment
- 30/1/20 – Plastiphobia, Malaysia and a Case Against Compostables and Paper
- 7/02/20 – Coronavirus, MPs Letter, Montreal, Australia and the Dominican Republic
- 14/02/20 – Oman, MacArthur Foundation, Stifling Innovation, South Africa and Compostable Plastics
- 24/02/20 – Serbia, India, Pakistan and European Bioplastics
- 03/03/20 – Plastic To Protect Health and Common Sense on Plastic
- 10/03/20 – Plastiphobia, Singapore, Compostable Plastics, Doorknobs and Carbios
- 17/03/20 – Greening our Way to Infection, Defra Warns Against Bioplastics and Montreal
- 24/03/20 – Ditch the Plastic Bag Ban and Inn-Probio
- 01/04/20 – The Come Back of Plastic Bags, Compostable Plastic Not Wanted and EASAC
- 16/04/20 – Coronavirus and Agricultural Plastics
- 11/05/20 – Coronavirus, Peru, Barbados and Recycling
- 18/05/20 – Say No to Plastiphobia, False Descriptions and the Recycling Myth
- 02/06/20 – Definitions and More Setbacks for Plastiphobia
- 11/06/20 – BBIA, Food Waste and Testing of OXO-Biodegradable Plastic
- 19/06/20 – Oxo Biodegradation, Independent Reports and Precautionary Principle
- 29/06/20 – Banana Republic, Why Turn Plastic into CO2 and Plastic Waste from Ships
- 13/07/20 – Running Scared, The Daily Telegraph and Market Report
- 20/07/20 – Tipa, Plastics Today and The American Genius
- 27/07/20 – Coronavirus, Plastic Litter, Bahrain and Polymateria
- 17/08/20 – Plastics Europe, Confusing Issues and Paper
- 25/08/20 – Professor Emo Chiellini, Plastics Today, Greenwashing and Coronavirus
- 28/09/20 – Kill the Virus, Marine Degradation, Airports, Brazil Retail, Plastic Growth and Face Mask
- 08/10/20 – Compostable vs Biodegradable, Covid 19 and New British Bioplastic Standard
- 27/10/20 – Power of Lobbying, Paper and Cotton Worse than Plastic
- 02/11/20 – Covid 19 and Five Myths About Plastic
- 09/11/20 – Support for OXO BIO, Westminster Forum, Euractiv and Covid
- 23/11/20 – Toxicity of Bio-based and Biodegradable Plastics, and Covid Scaremongering
- 15/12/20 – Recycling and An Article from Austria
- 21/12/20 – EU Scientific Advisers, China Chose Wrong Bioplastics and Covid Nonsense
- 05/01/20 – EU, Covid Lockdowns, WRAP, British Standards Institution and Polymateria
- 12/01/21 – Intertek and Composting
- 19/01/21 – Recycling and Exporting Plastic Waste
- 22/02/21 – Seaweed Plastic, Orange Peel and Xampla
- 02/03/31 – OXO Biodegradable Plastic
- 08/03/21 – EU Scientific Reports and Paper vs Plastic
- 15/03/21 – India, Australia and Dow Chemicals
- 14/04/21 – Oxomar, UK Government and Microplastics
- 26/04/21 – Plastic to the Rescue of Covid and More News from Brazil
- 04/05/21 – Packaging Digest
- 07/06/21 – Minderoo Report and Korea Herald
- 30/06/21 – Recycling, Is the Use of Biobased Plastics Increasing, Confused Australians and Biodegradable Future
- 12/07/21 – EU Flawed Directive, Thailand and Pakistan
- 21/07/21 – Directors Talk, Confusion, Stir Magazine and Dumping Plastic Waste
- 02/08/21 – Angry Farmers, DEFRA and Substitutes for Plastic
- 06/09/21 – Microplastics
- 13/09/21 – UK Government, Defra and David Newman
- 20/09/21 – Michael Stephen Video Interview on Antimicrobial and Biodegradable Packaging
- 05/10/21 – Freedom of Information and Plastic Waste Solutions
- 14/10/21 – Michael Stephen at Pack4Change Summit
- 22/10/21 – Plastic from Algae and Carbon Dioxide
- 15/11/21 – Defra
- 22/11/21 – Defra, India, Food Service Footprint Magazine and Waste 360
- 30/11/21 – RWM Digital Spotlight and Plastiphobia
- 17/12/21 – Disposal in the Right Way and Defra Consultation Responses
- 04/01/22 – Precautionary Principle, Anti Oxo Campaign and Defra
- 11/01/22 – Microplastics
- 17/01/22 – Michael Laurier, A Saucy Problem and Unilever
- 21/02 /22 – No Alternative for Plastic
- 08/03/22 – Sustainable Agriculture, Canada, Consequence of Banning, United Nations
- 14/03/22 – Plastiphobia
- 04/04/22 – Virgin Mobile, Defra, OXO, Microplastics, End of Life Options
- 11/04/22 – Ellen MacArthur Foundation
- 09/05/22 – Response to Association of Plastic Recyclers
- 16/05/22 – Wrap and More Bad News for Compostable Plastics in UK Parliament
- 30/05/22 – A Threat to Humanity and Market Research
- 13/06/22 – Recycling, OECD and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
- 27/06/22 – Recyclass, Unilever, UK Plastic Packaging Tax
- 04/07/22 – Korea, Carbon 13 Study, Defra, Food Shortages and Biobased Plastics
- 09/08/22 – Oxford Analytica, Indonesia, Paper is not the Answer
- 16/08/22 – Video, Canada, The Guardian, Food Waste, Recycled vs Virgin Polymer
- 22/08/22 – Defra and Plastics in Agriculture
- 30/08/22 – Recycling and Food Waste
- 07/09/22 – Microplastics, Environmental Footprints and Coffee Waste
- 21/09/22 – DEFRA
- 4/10/22 – Agricultural Film and Global Plastic Treaty
- 10/10/2022 – Anti-Plastic Zealots
- 17/10/22 – Innovation and the United Nations
- 31/10/22 – Defra Finally Complies with Disclosure Order
- 7/11/22 – Time to Ban Compostable Plastics? Also SUP Legislation in Wales and Scotland
- 12/12/22 – EU Talking About Biodegradable Plastic
- 19/12/22 – Corruption in the EU, Not so Compostable and Cry for Help (FREE)
Interview with Michael Stephen
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed here by Michael Stephen and other columnists are their own, not those of Bioplasticsnews.com