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I'm not sure if this is a real issue or just an annoyance. If the plastic degrades fully within a few years, it's already much less pollution than plastics wher

I'm not sure if this is a real issue or just an annoyance. If the plastic degrades fully within a few years, it's already much less pollution than plastics where you're looking at 100 years.

nicbou 4y ago
It's a real issue for Berlin's trash collection service, who reminds people not to use biodegradable bags for their bio waste.
- wiseowise 4y ago
  How do you isolate bio waste then?
  - shapefrog 4y ago
    You put it in the bio waste bin (optional - use biodegradable bags)
    - wiseowise 4y ago
      Didn’t parent comment just say not to use biodegradable bags?
      - nicbou 4y ago
        Take it to the bin downstairs almost daily. Or keep an airtight bin in the house and dread the day you have to clean it.
justinclift 4y ago
When I lived in the UK for a few years, I had a compost bin and used it for a few years with the green "compostable" bin bags they're talking about. eg these ones: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-compostable-garden-refuse-sacks/555925-549984-549985 https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-compostable-... After 2 years, those bags hadn't degraded at all. Completely unfit for purpose, false advertising, etc.
- denton-scratch 4y ago
  That's the opposite of my problem: food-waste caddy-liners that disintegrate too quickly, so they fall apart while I'm taking them out.
- ZeroGravitas 4y ago
  They're designed for the heat of an industrial composter. You get ones specifically designed for home composting, but even without considering these bags there is a bit of an art to home composting and you want to mix things up to get the reaction going smoothly. From the article: > But the research shows that, in this case, the better solution is to send compostable plastics to industrial composting facilities, where composting conditions are regulated. > “We have shown that home composting, being uncontrolled, is largely ineffective and is not a good method of disposal for compostable packaging,” said Purkiss.

I'm not sure if this is a real issue or just an annoyance. If the plastic degrades fully within a few years, it's already much less pollution than plastics where you're looking at 100 years.

nicbou 4y ago

It's a real issue for Berlin's trash collection service, who reminds people not to use biodegradable bags for their bio waste.

wiseowise 4y ago
How do you isolate bio waste then?
- shapefrog 4y ago
  You put it in the bio waste bin (optional - use biodegradable bags)
  - wiseowise 4y ago
    Didn’t parent comment just say not to use biodegradable bags?
    - nicbou 4y ago
      Take it to the bin downstairs almost daily. Or keep an airtight bin in the house and dread the day you have to clean it.

justinclift 4y ago

When I lived in the UK for a few years, I had a compost bin and used it for a few years with the green "compostable" bin bags they're talking about. eg these ones: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-compostable-garden-refuse-sacks/555925-549984-549985 https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-compostable-... After 2 years, those bags hadn't degraded at all. Completely unfit for purpose, false advertising, etc.

denton-scratch 4y ago
That's the opposite of my problem: food-waste caddy-liners that disintegrate too quickly, so they fall apart while I'm taking them out.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
They're designed for the heat of an industrial composter. You get ones specifically designed for home composting, but even without considering these bags there is a bit of an art to home composting and you want to mix things up to get the reaction going smoothly. From the article: > But the research shows that, in this case, the better solution is to send compostable plastics to industrial composting facilities, where composting conditions are regulated. > “We have shown that home composting, being uncontrolled, is largely ineffective and is not a good method of disposal for compostable packaging,” said Purkiss.