Saturday, September 13, 2008

What's YOUR definition of "biodegradable"?

And the fine print reads "*except as defined by the states of California & New York" - how do these states define "biodegradable" I wonder?

Merriam-Webster defines "biodegradable" as:
: capable of being broken down especially into innocuous products by the action of living things (as microorganisms)

As it turns out, this company does not require their product to follow the Merriam-Webster definition or the California/New York definition of biodegradable to be labeled as such.

I guess I can be happy that the state I live in expects items labeled "biodegradable" to mean that they will eventually become compost. My neighbour who bought these will be returning them, as they are made of... surprise: plastic. Look out biobags, here she comes!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

So basically this is plastic that breaks down into smaller bits of plastic that cannot be broken down, used by organisms, collect in lower food chain animals, become deadly toxins and poison everthing and everyone, not unlike any other plastic product...

I believe this is what we call Greenwashing. I think you should send them a letter ;)

gnat said...

Ugh. I SHOULD write a letter.