The average person uses a typical plastic bag for as short a time as 12 minutes before throwing it away, never thinking of where it may end up.

Question

Yet once consigned to a landfill, that standard grocery store tote takes hundreds or thousands of years to break down — much more than a human lifetime. Bags make up an alarming amount of the plastic found in whale stomachs or bird nests, and it’s no wonder — globally, we use between 1 and 5 trillion plastic bags each year.

Biodegradable plastic bags are marketed as more eco-friendly solutions, able to break down into harmless material more quickly than traditional plastics. One company claims their shopping bag “will degrade and biodegrade in a continuous, irreversible and unstoppable process” if it ends up as litter in the environment.

In a study published this week in Environmental Science and Technology, researchers put supposedly eco-friendly bags made from various organic and plastic materials and sourced from U.K. stores to the test. After three years buried in garden soil, submerged in ocean water, exposed to open light and air or stashed in a laboratory, none of the bags broke down completely in all the environments.

Answer 1

The findings from the study published in Environmental Science and Technology raise important questions about the effectiveness of biodegradable plastic bags in mitigating the environmental issues associated with traditional plastic. Despite being marketed as more environmentally friendly alternatives, the bags tested did not demonstrate the ability to fully decompose in a variety of conditions commonly found in nature.

This highlights a critical issue: while biodegradable plastics may offer a perceived solution to plastic pollution, their actual performance does not necessarily align with consumer expectations. The fact that none of the bags broke down completely after three years in diverse environments suggests that simply labeling a product as "biodegradable" is not enough to ensure it will not contribute to pollution.

Additionally, the study emphasizes the need for comprehensive waste management strategies and consumer awareness regarding the lifespan of plastic products. It's clear that addressing the plastic pollution crisis requires a multifaceted approach, including reducing single-use plastic consumption, improving recycling programs, and exploring truly sustainable alternatives.

Ultimately, the research underscores the importance of scrutinizing eco-labels and actively seeking solutions that lead to meaningful reductions in plastic waste, rather than relying on claims that may not hold up under real-world conditions.