Biodegradable
What Does It Mean?

Biodegradable Manufacturer Claims

Many products claim to be 100% Biodegradable. Unfortunately, most consumers simply assume Biodegradable means good for the environment.

Few consumers are aware that many manufacturers have been using the word Biodegradable as a smoke screen to distract concerned consumers from the real problems chemicals are creating in our environment.

The real question one should ask is how long does it take for the chemicals in a product to completely and safely bio degrade into the environment.

Uranium and many chemical compounds can take centuries to totally bio degrade.

Do you think of them as Biodegradable?

Classified Biodegradable

To be classified as "biodegradable", a product must be able to be broken down naturally into the raw materials of nature and disappear into the environment.

Truly biodegradable products break down into:

* Bacteria * Fungi * Simple organisms * Carbon * Hydrogen * Oxygen * Carbon dioxide * Co2 and water H2O *

Just because a product says its biodegradable, doesn't mean it's good for the environment.

Biodegradable Guidelines

Because there are no real guidelines available to aid consumers, many products may say they are biodegradable and be technically telling the truth.

Sooner or later, the product will eventually break down into nature (say, in about 30 years). However, most consumers expect a green product to be biodegradable.

Biodegradable Isn't Always Safe

Many Biodegradable Products may break down in a reasonable amount of time (weeks or months). However, they then become hazardous to animals, humans and plant life afterwards.

For example, take nonylphenolethoxylate (NDE). It is an active ingredient found in many of today's cleaning supplies. Made solely of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, it should be completely biodegradable and safe for the environment.

Yet, it is not Safe.

Once broken down, it becomes a dangerous benzene ring that is hazardous to women, damaging their reproductive organs.

How Long It Takes Is A Factor

Another concern is how long it takes a product to break down into the environment. A piece of bread, for example, is completely biodegradable, and can break its complex sugars into simple ones within days.

Compare this to paper, another completely biodegradable product which can take up to 5 months to degrade, even under perfect circumstances.
Disposal Procedures.

Disposal Procedures

Another problem is our disposal procedures. When put into a natural compost pile, table scraps will degrade rather quickly. Left compacted amidst tons of garbage in a landfill, it can take years to break down.

Researchers have found 25-year old apple cores and newspapers in near perfect condition. They have been found in landfill's with garbage from thousands of other households.

Finding ways to better dispose of biodegradable materials will help in the breakdown process, making it quicker, easier and safer.

Returning To Nature

Any product that comes from nature, plants, animals, and minerals, will eventually return to nature. That is given enough time and the right circumstances.

How Long Do Natural Products Take?

How long does it take for many so-called "natural" products to return to a natural state:

  * Paper: 2-5 weeks * Banana peel: 3-5 weeks
  * Orange peels: 6 months * Cotton rags: 1-5 months
  * Cigarette butts: 1-12 years * Milk carton: 5 years

Man Made Petrochemical Products

Did you know that man-made petrochemical products cannot return to nature. There simply aren't any microorganisms found in nature that can break them down. They are left to litter the earth for centuries to come.