The typical usage time for a plastic bag is shockingly brief, often just around 12 minutes, after which it is discarded without much thought about its ultimate destination.
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Once these everyday totes reach landfills, they can linger for centuries, far outlasting a human lifetime. Astonishingly, plastic bags contribute significantly to the plastic waste found in whale stomachs or bird nests. Worldwide, our consumption rate of plastic bags ranges between 1 to 5 trillion annually, underscoring the magnitude of the issue.
Biodegradable plastic bags are promoted as greener alternatives, claiming to decompose into benign materials far quicker than conventional plastics. Some companies assert their bags "will degrade and biodegrade in a continuous, irreversible, and unstoppable process" if scattered as litter.
Biodegradable bags that were left underwater in a marina still retained the strength to carry heavy groceries.
In a study featured in Environmental Science and Technology, researchers evaluated these supposedly eco-friendly bags, made from various organic and plastic components, and sourced from U.K. retailers. After three years in different environments including garden soil, ocean water, open light, and a lab, none of the bags fully decomposed in all conditions.
Notably, biodegradable bags submerged in a marina for years remained strong enough to hold groceries.
"What is the role of some of these really innovative and novel polymers?" queried Richard Thompson, a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth and the study's senior author. Polymers, the repeating chains of chemicals forming a plastic's structure, whether biodegradable or synthetic, are complex to recycle and slow to degrade if left in the environment, Thompson noted. This suggests that these plastics might exacerbate, rather than alleviate, existing problems.
Analysis of Different Biodegradable Plastics
Researchers tested five types of plastic bags.
Firstly, high-density polyethylene bags - the standard grocery store variety - were used as a benchmark. The other samples touted as eco-friendly included:
- A biodegradable plastic bag partially made from oyster shells
- Two varieties of oxo-biodegradable bags, containing additives that supposedly speed up degradation
- A compostable bag derived from plant materials
These bags were subjected to four different environments: outdoor garden soil, saltwater in a marina, exposure to daylight and air, and a dark, temperature-controlled lab environment.
Julia Kalow from Northwestern University, a polymer chemist uninvolved in the study, explained that these variables - oxygen, temperature, light, interactions with water, and bacteria - could alter the structure of plastic polymers.
Unveiling the Reality: Findings from the Study
Even in the harsh marine setting, where algae and sea creatures covered the plastics, three years wasn't enough to decompose any bag except the compostable plant-based one, which vanished underwater within three months. Given different conditions, this same bag held up but weakened when buried in garden soil for 27 months.
The only consistent breakdown across all bag types happened with exposure to open air for over nine months. Even traditional polyethylene bags disintegrated into fragments before 18 months.
"I would take that timescale to be too long for these products to be regarded as providing an environmental advantage," Thompson remarked.
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Although these bags decompose faster than traditional ones, they could still pose deadly risks to marine life like seabirds, whales, turtles, and fish during that time. Additionally, they become unsightly litter or occupy landfill space for extended periods.
It also remained unclear if the broken-down plastic completely dissolved. Kalow questioned if they turned into harmless molecules or merely fragmented into tiny microplastics.
Further studies, she suggested, are needed to trace these plastic fragments' fate and determine whether they ultimately vanish or turn into polluting microplastics and harmful chemicals.
Reevaluating the Impact: Why It Matters
Regular plastic bags aren’t suitable for home recycling bins, leading most to end up in landfills or becoming litter carried by wind and water.
Labels like "biodegradable," "compostable," or even "recyclable" are theoretical — they don’t reflect the practical outcomes.
Biodegradable and compostable bags are designed to tackle these issues, but the study reveals they often fall short. Ideally, biodegradable bags should be landfilled or recycled, but in practice, commercial recycling facilities are generally unwilling to handle them. When mixed with regular plastics, biodegradable plastics can contaminate and degrade the quality of recyclable materials.
For compostable bags to break down efficiently, they require the optimal conditions found in industrial composting facilities with high temperatures and ample oxygen. Without these conditions, such as in landfills, these bags may be preserved rather than decomposed.
Thompson highlighted that labels like "biodegradable" and "compostable" are largely theoretical and don’t accurately portray the real-life behavior of these materials. They can mislead the public about disposal methods and environmental impact.
Three years after the researchers buried or submerged these plastic bags, they remained almost as functional and harmful as when they were first produced.
Simple improvements might offer solutions. Thompson suggested standardized materials to streamline waste management. Kalow added that new technology could eventually produce more effective biodegradable plastics.
In the meantime, making a habit of carrying a reusable bag to the store could provide a practical solution to plastic waste.
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