Biodegradable vs. Compostable: Don’t Be Greenwashed
Look around you. Everything you see right now is biodegradable. From the flat panel large screen TV to the plastic fork in you fast food bag. It’s the perfect term for the greenwasher because “biodegradable” only means that a material will break down “over a period of time.” It could take a year, ten years, or ten thousand years. It’s all biodegradable.
On the other hand, “compostable” actually means something. To use that term a product or material must adhere to specific scientific criteria. Essentially, a material must break down into measurably tiny and environmentally benign parts within a specifically limited time frame. The following video from VivBizClub spells out the difference between biodegradable and compostable. Don’t be greenwashed!
Related articles
- 5 Things You Might Not Know About Composting (casasugar.com)
- Bioplastics Debate: Could They Harm The Environment? (huffingtonpost.com)
- Compostable vs. Biodegradable (vivbizclub.com)




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