Which plastics are best?

FACT: Plastics can take up to 400 years to break down. Almost all the plastics ever made can still be found somewhere.

Plastic manufacturers throw around words like degradable, compostable and biodegradable, but what do these really mean? These are all words that mean that the plastics break down, right? There is a difference between all of these and they should play a role in your purchasing decisions.

Biodegradable products break down from naturally occurring microorganisms over a period of time. They are often made from plant and animal sources and some examples of biodegradable products include paper, vegetable scraps and some plastics made from ingredients like corn starch.

BUT: When added to landfills in the oxygen depleted environment, biodegradable waste breaks down under anaerobic conditions and creates methane, which is a greenhouse gas with over 62 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Biodegradable waste can also contain toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides.

Degradable plastics are oil based and break down through chemical reactions rather that the activity of microorganisms, so they can degrade in an anaerobic environment into water, carbon dioxide, biomass and trace elements.

Compostable plastics are close to biodegradable plastics but "greener", according to a Green Living Tips article. For plastic to be considered compostable, it must be able to break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass at the same rate as paper. It also needs to look like compost, should support plant life, and not produce any toxic material. Compostable products are usually made from plant materials like corn, potato, cellulose, soy and sugar.

THE BOTTOM LINE: In some scenarios the fossil fuel input is greater in making these "green plastics" when compared to the equivalent in crude oil basted plastic product.

Not Your Average Vegans... These are Freegans!

According to an article on the Food Production Daily Web site, a shocking forty to fifty percent of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten and household food waste along adds up to $43 billion. This is a serious economic and environmentally un-sound issue.

Freegans are trying to reduce this waste . Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources, according to the Freegan.Info Web site.

"Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed."

In other words freegans are dumpster divers or "urban foragers" who forage through dumpsters and trash bags outside of grocery stores and bakeries to recover usable items and to avoid being wasteful consumers. Dumpster diving is probably the most shocking freegan practice, but others like squatting and ride shares are outlined here.

Find out more about freegans and watch a video here. Or check out CNN's segment on freegans below.

The planet is my friend because...

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Go Reusable

Did you know that more than 500 billion plastic bags are used annually (almost 1 million per minute)? According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. alone uses 100 billion plastic bags per year, with an estimated 12 million barrels of oil going into making them. Look here for more shocking statistics on plastic bags.

Because plastic bags cause so much waste, reusable grocery bags are becoming more popular and can be found in most stores. Many are also given away as promotional items for companies, organizations and causes.

As a college student who is good at getting free stuff, I have at least five reusable bags. I keep a few in my car so I can remember to take them into the grocery store with me. And when I am only buying one item at a store, I often request no bag and either throw the item in my purse or just carry it out.

Reusable bags are made from a variety of materials and fabrics and come in many different designs and colors. Here are a few examples:
1 Bag At A Time
ECOBAGS
Envirosax

Next time you go shopping, pay a few extra bucks to purchase the reusable bag and REUSE IT!

(And if you have a bunch of old plastic bags laying around-- RECYCLE THEM!)