Biodegradable and compostable are often used as marketing terms to describe various goods and their impact after they are disposed of. Each term holds different meanings and different environmental impacts. Here’s what you need to know.
What Is The Difference Between Biodegradable And Compostable Goods?
Biodegradable and compostable are often used as marketing terms to describe various goods and their impact after they are disposed of. Each term holds different meanings and different environmental impacts. Here’s what you need to know.
The Common Misconception
Many people are curious about the best way to efficiently reduce waste, but are unsure of whether biodegradable goods or compostable goods are the more beneficial option. Biodegradable and compostable are not interchangeable terms, although it is not uncommon to see them used that way. And with the market being flooded with products misleadingly labeled as biodegradable, well-intentioned consumers are being tricked into making purchases that are actually harmful to the environment. To help you understand the difference in biodegradable and compostable goods, let’s dive into their individual meanings.
What Does Biodegradable Mean?
Biodegradation is a natural process that does not require human intervention. A biodegradable good can be broken down by microorganisms, such as fungi, into many natural elements. Most products are biodegradable to some level, even plastic. A product that takes one hundred years to break down into organic matter is still considered biodegradable. However, biodegradation is often slowed down in landfills because the waste does not have access to ample sunlight, air, or moisture.
What Does Compostable Mean?
Composting requires human intervention and is actually a form of recycling waste for reuse. By periodically turning your compost bin, you are encouraging ample sunlight, oxygen, and moisture for breaking waste down into organic matter. And apart from residential composting, some areas offer commercial composting. Commercial composting speeds up the composting process by using machinery such as wood chippers to more easily break down the waste.
Compostable goods are beneficial for many reasons, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
What Is The Difference, And Which Helps To Reduce Waste More Efficiently?
Compostable goods require certain conditions to break down properly, so it is a bit more of a commitment to start composting. Composting is generally a speedier process than biodegradation, thanks to human intervention. Composting could also be considered a better way to directly lower one’s individual carbon footprint, however, because there is no guarantee on how long your biodegradable goods will be sitting in a landfill. With a compostable good, you are personally ensuring that your product, quickly and efficiently, is returned to organic matter. And with “biodegradable” becoming an eco-friendly buzzword, sometimes the conditions required for these products to actually be broken down are deceitful.
For example, many products labeled as biodegradable actually require a very specific set of circumstances to be broken down through the process of composting. These products would actually be no better off in a landfill than a nonbiodegradable product. Labels on compostable objects are generally more straightforward, and the goods are often derived from plants. Whereas biodegradable objects can still be made up of toxic chemicals and can take much longer to be broken down, so it is a good rule of thumb to pay more attention to purchasing compostable goods, rather than seeking a biodegradable label.
Biodegradable plastic, called bioplastic, still produces the greenhouse gas methane and contributes to marine pollution in the same manner that standard plastic does. When in doubt, it is always an option to contact a manufacturer and ask for the information regarding their biodegradable object to figure out the best way to dispose of a product.
Why Is Nonbiodegradable Waste Harmful To The Environment?
There is no current solution for our nonbiodegradable waste problem. We can’t simply send trash into space or burn it, so what is there to do with it all before we end up walking waist-deep in our own garbage? There is no telling how many thousands of years it will take for this waste to begin breaking back down into organic matter.
The production of these nonbiodegradable goods should also be considered in relation to the harm they pose on the environment. Nonbiodegradable goods require intensive processing, water waste, various forms of pollution, and chemicals. However, in recent years biodegradable goods have also been known to increase the level of greenhouse gas emissions in landfills. The best way to efficiently reduce the amount of waste you produce is to cut out your use of single-use plastic or paper products and avoid truly nonbiodegradable materials such as styrofoam and poly-mailers.
Key Takeaways
- Biodegradable and compostable are not interchangeable terms.
- Composting requires human intervention, and biodegradation does not.
- Composting is generally quicker than biodegradation, thanks to human intervention.
- Specific conditions are required for biodegradation to take place, and products will go through the process at different rates.
- Composting can be done through residential or commercial methods.
- Biodegradable labels have a tendency to be more misleading than compostable labels.
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Biodegradable and compostable are often used as marketing terms to describe various goods and their impact after they are disposed of. Each term holds different meanings and different environmental impacts. Here’s what you need to know.
The Common Misconception
Many people are curious about the best way to efficiently reduce waste, but are unsure of whether biodegradable goods or compostable goods are the more beneficial option. Biodegradable and compostable are not interchangeable terms, although it is not uncommon to see them used that way. And with the market being flooded with products misleadingly labeled as biodegradable, well-intentioned consumers are being tricked into making purchases that are actually harmful to the environment. To help you understand the difference in biodegradable and compostable goods, let’s dive into their individual meanings.
What Does Biodegradable Mean?
Biodegradation is a natural process that does not require human intervention. A biodegradable good can be broken down by microorganisms, such as fungi, into many natural elements. Most products are biodegradable to some level, even plastic. A product that takes one hundred years to break down into organic matter is still considered biodegradable. However, biodegradation is often slowed down in landfills because the waste does not have access to ample sunlight, air, or moisture.
What Does Compostable Mean?
Composting requires human intervention and is actually a form of recycling waste for reuse. By periodically turning your compost bin, you are encouraging ample sunlight, oxygen, and moisture for breaking waste down into organic matter. And apart from residential composting, some areas offer commercial composting. Commercial composting speeds up the composting process by using machinery such as wood chippers to more easily break down the waste.
Compostable goods are beneficial for many reasons, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
What is the Difference, and Which Helps to Reduce Waste More Efficiently?
Compostable goods require certain conditions to break down properly, so it is a bit more of a commitment to start composting. Composting is generally a speedier process than biodegradation, thanks to human intervention. Composting could also be considered a better way to directly lower one’s individual carbon footprint, however, because there is no guarantee on how long your biodegradable goods will be sitting in a landfill. With a compostable good, you are personally ensuring that your product, quickly and efficiently, is returned to organic matter. And with “biodegradable” becoming an eco-friendly buzzword, sometimes the conditions required for these products to actually be broken down are deceitful.
For example, many products labeled as biodegradable actually require a very specific set of circumstances to be broken down through the process of composting. These products would actually be no better off in a landfill than a nonbiodegradable product. Labels on compostable objects are generally more straightforward, and the goods are often derived from plants. Whereas biodegradable objects can still be made up of toxic chemicals and can take much longer to be broken down, so it is a good rule of thumb to pay more attention to purchasing compostable goods, rather than seeking a biodegradable label.
Biodegradable plastic, called bioplastic, still produces the greenhouse gas methane and contributes to marine pollution in the same manner that standard plastic does. When in doubt, it is always an option to contact a manufacturer and ask for the information regarding their biodegradable object to figure out the best way to dispose of a product.
Why is Nonbiodegradable Waste Harmful to the Environment?
There is no current solution for our nonbiodegradable waste problem. We can’t simply send trash into space or burn it, so what is there to do with it all before we end up walking waist-deep in our own garbage? There is no telling how many thousands of years it will take for this waste to begin breaking back down into organic matter.
The production of these nonbiodegradable goods should also be considered in relation to the harm they pose on the environment. Nonbiodegradable goods require intensive processing, water waste, various forms of pollution, and chemicals. However, in recent years biodegradable goods have also been known to increase the level of greenhouse gas emissions in landfills. The best way to efficiently reduce the amount of waste you produce is to cut out your use of single-use plastic or paper products and avoid truly nonbiodegradable materials such as styrofoam and poly-mailers.
Key Takeaways
- Biodegradable and compostable are not interchangeable terms.
- Composting requires human intervention, and biodegradation does not.
- Composting is generally quicker than biodegradation, thanks to human intervention.
- Specific conditions are required for biodegradation to take place, and products will go through the process at different rates.
- Composting can be done through residential or commercial methods.
- Biodegradable labels have a tendency to be more misleading than compostable labels.
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