Are biodegradable bags a solution to a safe environment?

Question

what im tryna say is that, are biodegradable bags safe for our environment? and do they contain any poisonous chemicals or something?

=]

Answer 1

It may be a help, but to really make a difference take your own canvas bags and reuse them every time you shop.

Answer 2

Back in the 1970s, the major grocery store chains attempted to sell paper grocery bags laced with DMSO in the hope that the DMSO would slowly break the bags down in a 2 year time frame.  After nearly 2 years of decomposition in an experimental Brooklyn landfill, guess what jumped out?  Meatloaf, Janet Reno, Sasquatch, and Gary Coleman!  There you go!!

Answer 3

If they are truly biodegradable, they would not include dyes, inks, or parts that are harmful to the environment.

Answer 4

I'm very skeptical about the "biodegradable" bags.  I saved one stamped largely "biodegradable" on it that blew into my yard during a rainstorm.  It's showing no signs of deteriorating yet and i thought i might figure out a way of framing it to prove it's not breaking down.  The company was not proud enough to put their name on the bag, i noticed, or i would have been to their website.

Not two weeks after that i read in an email newsletter that a kid in Canada has just "discovered" a way of making plastic bags biodegradable.  Obviously they are a long way from being on the market, so if a company is claiming their plastic bads are degradeable... i suspect they are lying.

As you have guessed, just because something breaks down and disappears visably, does not mean that it is truly biodegradeable.  For that, all the elements in the bag must be reuseable and non-toxic.  Plastic is made from petroleum.  It is not renewable and it is toxic.

To be safe, i would stick with cellulose bags, which are TRULY biodegradeable.  They are made out of plant fibers and crystal clear.  For shopping bags, i would suggest taking your own bags.  Even if we do come up with a biodegradeable shopping bag one day, it still requires energy to make every one, so taking and reusing your own bags is still the best environmental choice.

I'll put a link to cellulose bags below.

Answer 5

It's a start, but not the final solution.