An increasing number of products today are described as “eco-friendly” and biodegradable. However, not all of them live up to the environmentally friendly label. Even those that do make the grade as certified biodegradable or compostable don’t end up where they should.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Organic materials—comprised of yard trimmings, food scraps, wood waste, and paper and paperboard products —are the largest component of our trash and make up more than two-thirds of the US 249.6 million tons of solid waste in 2008.” The product category of containers and packaging specifically is right up there with 31 percent or 78 million tons making it to the municipal waste stream.

So what can we do? To start, let’s sort through the confusion and break down (pun intended) the differences between products that are compostable and those that are biodegradable.

Biodegradable

According to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Green Guide, a product or package qualifies as biodegradable if it “completely breaks down and returns to nature, decomposing into elements found in nature within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal.”

The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) cites a 2006 American Chemistry Council study showing that most consumers believe a product labeled “biodegradable” will go away completely and on its own in a year or less. The BPI says many consumers also believe that these products will “biodegrade” in landfills.

However, most of today’s landfills lack the key ingredients of exposure to sunlight, air and moisture for the product or package to break down in a timely manner. The BPI notes that today’s landfills are engineered to eliminate moisture and to slow biodegradation. “In fact, researchers have found in landfills legible 30 year old newspapers; 5 year old lettuce and 10 year old hotdogs,” the BPI said in a recent article. They strongly encourage that we focus our energy on our solid waste challenge through more source reduction, reuse, recycling and composting, decreasing the amounts of waste going to landfills and incinerators.

To combat the hikes in “biodegradable” claims, the FTC has been cracking down on false or deceptive environmental marketing claims.

Compostable

View of Earthcycle Packaging decomposing in your compost bin

Compostable products are similar to biodegradable ones, but when they break down, they turn into humus, which provides valuable nutrients to the soil. According to the FTC, for products to qualify as certified compostable “all the materials in the product or package will break down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost (e.g., soil-conditioning material, mulch) in a safe and timely manner in an appropriate composting program or facility, or in a home compost pile or device. Compostable products typically break down over one to four months in a composter, depending on the product size and material used.

The important distinction between biodegradable and compostable products is that the resulting humus is safe and a valuable nutrient to soil.  The humus is tested for heavy metal content and must meet US and Canadian stated levels in order to be considered compostable.

Earthcycle turns to humus in your compost

So, while some products are considered biodegradable, they may not be considered compostable because they either don’t meet the heavy metal requirements or don’t break down in a timely fashion.

In the alternative packaging world, certified compostable products, such as our Earthcycle packaging, are made out of such natural products as palm fiber (which Earthcycle uses), bagasse (a sugarcane fiber), and vegetable starch to name a few. If you’re curious how Earthcycle composting works and what our product Life Cycle looks like – click here.

So, in addition to making better purchase decisions, looking for certified compostable products etc. (look for label below), and composting as much as applicable material as possible, here’s what the EPA recommends we can do:

“Reducing, reusing, recycling, and rebuying—the four “Rs”—is key to diverting organic materials from landfills or incinerators and protecting human health and our land, air, and water. Waste reduction and recycling prevents greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, reduces pollutants, saves energy, conserves resources, and reduces the need for new disposal facilities.”

BPI Compostable Logo