Benefits of Biodegradable Bags: Why Is It Essential?

Benefits of Biodegradable Bags: Why Is It Essential?

The standard definition of biodegradable material is an object or a substance that can decay and get destroyed naturally without producing any harmful materials.

Simply put, if an object is biodegradable, it means that it will ultimately be able to break down into a lot of smaller pieces with the help of microorganisms like fungi or bacteria.
However as there is no exact time limit on how much time biodegradable materials take to break down, it can get confusing sometimes. This is the central difference between biodegradable plastics and compostable. It is often an essential consideration that you need to take into account when you need to choose if biodegradable bags are right for your business.

We have been focusing on increasing the usage of biodegradable materials over the past decade especially since we want to reduce how much traditional plastic is used globally. It is an environmentally viable solution to use biodegradable materials whenever possible. However, when you are considering switching to biodegradable plastic bags for your business, you need to take every aspect into consideration. Here are 7 benefits of biodegradable bags to help you make this decision:

Benefits of Biodegradable Bags

biodegradable bags benefits infographic

Easily decomposable
After continued field trials, development, and research, there are 100% compostable materials available made from a blend of PLA(sugar cane) and co-polyester. Compostable, biodegradable films and bags are completely recyclable and weigh just as much as traditional plastic bags. They provide equal strength and are completely leakproof. Biodegradable bags can degrade on sea or land.

Reduction in Carbon Emissions
Biodegradable bags are made from PLA bioplastic which is made from sugar cane. You can think of biodegradable bags as a plant-based alternative. It creates far fewer carbon emissions as compared to traditional plastic. Traditional plastic can release up to four tons of emissions, while biodegradable plastics only emit 0.8 tons of carbon which is a clear 500% reduction.

Recycling and Repurposing
Bioplastics take up oil that is completely organic and extracted from plants as compared to traditional plastics. These oils can make the surfaces of biodegradable bags less brittle and more malleable so that it gets easier to add new textures and form new shapes. Biodegradable bags are exactly just as moldable when they are compared to traditional plastics. They can even be turned into several appealing shapes that meet your requirements exactly. Additionally, you can even repurpose and recycle these several times in their shelf life.
Traditional plastics, on the other hand, are generally not very safe for repurposing and recycling since they may have some material that may leak dangerous and toxic chemicals right from the first use. As biodegradable packaging and bags originate from natural substances that are found in nature, there can even be toxins and dangerous chemicals present in these items.

Non-Toxic
Biodegradable bags are manufactured from natural materials which indicate that they are very safe for users. Traditional plastics are usually made with chemicals and harmful by-products that can pose a threat to life and the environment as well. These are very likely to release these harmful substances when going through the breakdown process. PET Plastic that is most used for standard water bottles can leak chemicals and even attract harmful bacteria. However, when it comes to biodegradable plastic bags, they are deemed to be completely safe. Biodegradable plastic bags do not release any toxins when they are breaking down. Their by-products get completely absorbed after breakdown by the soil.

Less Petroleum
Biodegradable plastics can also minimize the usage of petroleum supplies. Normally traditional plastic can be manufactured using oil molecules being treated and heated in order to convert into polymers. Right now up to 2.7 percent of the petroleum of an average country is used during the manufacturing process for traditional plastic. On the other hand, biodegradable plastics are manufactured using completely natural materials like plants, starch, orange peels, corn, and sugar cane. This manufacturing process needs far less energy. If you want an environmentally friendly option, this manufacturing process does not need any fossil fuels to be burned.
Hence, this indicates that a lot more biodegradable plastics can be produced while consuming far less energy as compared to traditional bags. Therefore, as well as taking up less precious resources, you also add less pollution to the environment. When you reduce the production of traditional plastics, you can produce more biodegradable plastics preferably, while freeing up oil resources for reallocation to various causes such as transport and heat.

Brand Friendly
You can even use biodegradable bags to market your product better. You can use custom biodegradable bags to create a better brand image. There are a lot of corporations like Coca-Cola that use bioplastic products because they are sustainable. You can choose green options to create a positive impact on your brand as well as focus on helping the environment.

Conclusion

As you saw in the article, there are a lot of advantages to using biodegradable bags. Biodegradable bags are very environmentally friendly. For the sake of the environment, we need to encourage their use. However, it is wiser to focus on the education and awareness of plastic bags since repurposing them can create a big difference. Since biodegradable bags can take up a lot less time than traditional plastic to decompose, they can be extremely easy to recycle and don’t even release any toxic chemicals.

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