Yes, biodegradable plastic bags are recyclable provided they have not degraded substantially.
Microorganisms present in a landfill will aid in the degradation process provided sufficient oxygen is present.
No, the biodegradable additive we use is a major advance over cornstarch based degradable additives.
Degradable plastic using cornstarch-based additives possess many undesirable properties. Specifically, plastic incorporating cornstarch-based additives cannot be recycled and contaminate the recycling process. They may also emit methane when degrading. biodegradable plastics can be recycled along with regular plastic and do not emit methane.
No, you will not notice a difference between biodegradable and regular plastic bags.
Yes, during their useful life oxo-biodegradable plastic bags are the same as regular plastic bags. You will not notice a difference until the bag has been exposed to UV light or heat for prolonged periods of time.
It takes about 6 to 8 months of exposure to one or more degradation promoters (sunlight, heat, microorganisms) for our bags to degrade. If the bags are kept inside they will receive minimal or no exposure and will last much longer. It’s likely they will remain usable for 1 year if stored inside. You can think of them like paper bags. You don’t see a paper bag degrade in your house, but when they become litter they degrade at a much faster rate.
No, unlike other degradation processes biodegradation will not emit methane.
biodegradable plastic degrades due to exposure to the elements (sunlight, heat, and microorganisms). Two years is an estimation based on the average conditions. The actual amount of time required to degrade a bag will be longer or shorter depending on the amount of exposure.
We believe this is an optimal situation. Biogradable plastic bags degrade fastest. in the exact situation we want them to: when they become litter.
Yes, we have a collection of literature on biodegradable plastic.