My name is Renee Koval-Huenuqueo. I am the Rise Above Plastics (RAP) Coordinator for the Gray’s Harbor Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. I was born, raised, educated, I worked, raised a family and retired here, in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve long been worried about the welfare of our planet, and I am happy to have found the Surfrider Foundation which provides a way I can participate in taking care of our environment.
Single-use plastic has become indispensable for storing food and keeping it fresh. I’ve found that one of my biggest challenges in refusing plastic was not being able to use plastic wrap or zip-lock bags. Nothing seems to be as airtight as plastic wrap over a bowl or a cut cucumber, nor can anything preserve the freshness of vegetables stored in zip-lock bags. And how can I freeze meat or berries without putting it into a freezer bag? I remember as a child wrapping my tuna fish sandwiches in wax paper, which never seemed to seal properly, and I was thrilled when SaranWrap came on the scene. But now even though we are beginning to understand the dangers of plastic, it seems we can’t live without it. So when I first noticed plastic-like products labeled “biodegradable”, “compostable”, “plant-based plastic” in the grocery store, I was hopeful a viable solution was available.
Most plastics begin with fossil fuels; currently in the US the most frequent is ethane which is waste from fracking. During the plastic production process a variety of chemicals are added to give it certain desired qualities such as thickness, flexibility, color. This process gives plastic its long-lasting durability, a durability which renders it immune from decomposition. Bio-based or plant-based plastics, instead of beginning with fossil fuels, begin with plant material, such as cellulose, seaweed, or agave, among others. However, the process to convert it into the plastic we’re familiar with is the same as for fossil-fuel based plastics, and that includes the addition of an array of chemicals.
Biodegradable plastics are engineered to biodegrade in nature; biodegrading meaning that when exposed to microorganisms, it will break down completely into elements that are found in nature in a reasonable amount of time; reasonable defined as a year or less. However, because the plastic manufacturing process involves giving the product its durability, it requires certain conditions in order to decompose according to the above definition. But we all know that Nature is inconsistent, and that the conditions needed to biodegrade these products are not always present from one year to the next. Hence it’s more likely than not that “biodegradable” plastics will remain littered in our environment or in the ocean nearly as long as traditional fossil fuel-based plastics.
Compostable plastics, many of which are also bio-plastics, are engineered to be compostable. These include garbage bags, zip-lock bags, and even plastic wrap, all the plastics that seem to have no alternative. We’ve all seen the bins for compostable waste in many cities in Washington State. We, being responsible citizens, put our used paper plates, and bio-plastic forks and straws in them. We get a sense of relief that now there is an alternative to traditional plastic. But are compostable plastic bags truly compostable as is claimed? Well, yeah, it turns out that you can say that they are, but only under certain conditions. One of these conditions is extremely high heat, which is not found in most composting bins. Indeed, these products must be taken to an industrial composting facility. I contacted the Washington Department of Ecology to find out more about these facilities in our state. Some do exist, but are not conveniently located to be of practical use to most residents. The nearest one to us in Gray’s Harbor County is Cedar Grove Composting, located in Tacoma. However, they only contract with businesses so even if a responsible private resident were willing to make the drive their waste would not be accepted. In all practicality, compostable plastic items can’t actually be composted.
Even if this waste were to arrive at a proper composting facility, there is still the problem of the chemical additives. If these products are successfully composted, they will release these toxins into the final product. When I asked about this problem, I was assured that only CMA (Composting Manufacturers Alliance) certified plastics were accepted. Certification not only requires field testing for complete composting within 180 days, but the items must be free of BPAs However, BPAs are only a small percentage of such chemical additives that can have harmful effects. So, since composting facilities produce compost to be returned to the soil, these toxins have no place here.
Finally, biodegradable and compostable plastics are NOT recyclable, so they must not be put in the recycling bin along with other traditional plastics. Doesn’t this make the already complicated process of sorting plastics even more complicated? Are these plastics really a solution to the problem? I don’t think so. And what really saddens me is that so many businesses make an honest effort to be responsible about their waste and turn to bio-plastic alternatives for straws or clamshells believing that the industry claims are true.
This brings me to a term I’ve struggled with trying to understand. It’s the term “greenwashing”. It means that industry will “wash” a product with packaging claiming that it is eco-friendly or “green” when it in all practicality isn’t, thus deceiving us into believing that we are doing what is right for the environment. Personally, I hate to think that industries we’ve grown to depend on lie about the claims they make, but the more I look into this problem, the more evidence I find that that is actually the case. I keep coming back to the same conclusion: That it’s best simply to avoid the use of plastics altogether although it is nearly impossible to do so. Fortunately, for my part, I’ve had some success in finding suitable alternatives to both plastic wrap and zip-lock bags. In fact, I haven’t bought either since I began refusing single-use plastic a year and a half ago. In the next blog, I’ll write about the alternatives that are working for me. For more information, follow this link