Biodegradability, Bioplastics And Compostability - Do You Know The Distinction?

We are super happy that you landed on our blog. We have obviously more blogs on coffee pods, coffee and compostable coffee pods. Other interesting posts on sustainable coffee pods are e.g. from leading media publishers, or Moving Beans. Alternatively check out our pertinent blog on Nespresso pods, as well as http://coffeepodsreviewstoday.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-best-coffee-brewing-machine-for.html.

We are typically being asked what bioplastics are, or what is the significance of an item being naturally degradable or compostable? Is there any relationship in between bioplastics and biodegradability? How should we consumers handle these items?

In this blog, we attempt to break down these ideas through easy explanations that will ideally help you much better understand their significance and be more familiar with the options you are taking as a customer. Let's go step by step:

BIOPLASTICS.

These are products that are either derived from biomass (e.g. plants, such as corn or sugarcane) or are biodegradable; or undoubtedly function both homes. They differ from standard plastics because the latter are made from fossil oil (fuel). The benefits of using sustainable materials to produce bioplastics are: increase in resource performance (e.g. use of biomass for different functions), reduction of the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions (those that considerably contribute to climate change); and saving fossil resources by gradually substituting them.

BIODEGRADABLE.

Biodegradation is a procedure - a chemical process - during which bacteria that are readily available in the environment transform products into natural substances such as water, co2, and garden compost (artificial additives are not required). The process of biodegradation depends upon the surrounding ecological conditions (e.g. area or temperature level), on the materials involved and on the procedure itself. This procedure can take short amount of times (weeks and months) or long periods of time (tens or perhaps hundreds of years).

In other words, plastic items made from biomass (a type of bioplastic) are not always biodegradable. On the other hand, some petrol-based plastics may be biodegradable.

Video: Sustainable and Nespresso Pods by Moving Beans, such as http://coffeepodsreviewstoday.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-best-coffee-brewing-machine-for.html.

The family of bioplastics can be divided into 3 primary groups:
• bio-based (or partly bio-based) however non-biodegradable plastics (e.g. PE, PP, PET, PTT or TPC-ET);.
• plastics that are both bio-based and naturally degradable (e.g. PLA, PHA or PBS);.
• petrol-based plastics that are naturally degradable (e.g. PBAT).

COMPOSTABLE.

Composting is also a procedure-- a chemical process. It is the procedure of biodegradation under aerobic conditions (presence of totally free oxygen) within a time frame of 6-12 weeks. There are 2 methods to perform this process: industrially or home-compost.

Industrially compostable conditions are extremely specific and they have been defined under the European norm EN 13432 for product packaging products and adopted by the British Standard Institution under BS EN 13432 standard. Just those packaging items that fulfill the strict requirements of the EN 13432 requirement are granted with the accreditation of OK-Compost Industrial and can be unambiguously thought about industrially compostable. In practice, this means that you can dispose this product in your natural waste bin for it to be sent out to the closest commercial composting center.

Home-compostable product packaging instead is not covered under one single widely-known standard however rather within several country-based ones. This is since the conditions in a home-compost are not that controllable as when it comes to a commercial compost. Under home-composting condition temperature levels and humidity can vary considerably from location to location, and year on year, not constantly achieving the best decomposition in a reasonable timeframe.

Nowadays, nevertheless, society and experts in the field see the requirement for moving into this direction if we want to become more sustainable. That is why we may see very interesting advancements and developments in this home-composability area in the following years.

Moving Beans is a company that has been providing Nespresso capsules for many years, with more insights under Moving Beans. Alternatively browse a related blog on compostable coffee pods. They were the first to provide sustainable Nespresso-compatible coffee capsules, see http://coffeepodsreviewstoday.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-best-coffee-brewing-machine-for.html.