Is there a difference between "biodegradable" and "compostable" bags? If so, what? The "biodegradable" food waste bags supplied by our county council are still intact after a year in the compost bin.
@josusa47 It's all rather as long as a piece of string, where plastics are concerned. A lot of materials labelled as biodegradable and/or compostable are not really any such thing, especially looking back over the last twenty years. It depends on your definition, as far as I can see. Some are polymers that just break down into smaller bits. Some bio- plastics are made of starch, sugars or cellulose (potato, soya, woodchip). But as referred to above, it's very hard to find out what bags, boxes, carriers, pots etc are made of and the sellers seem to generally have no idea.
I would say on average l buy between 6 to 10 compost bags a year, and there's only so many hanging baskets that need relining . I have a small independent garden centre near me that take back plastic pots, seed trays and the plastic pot trays for recycling. I know they are trying very hard to find a way of taking back old compost bags, but as far as l know they have had no luck yet. I've managed to get rid of some small bags on Freecycle (the type that stones and gravel come in), but must still have nearly 70 that have been accumulated over the years. There must be some enterprising person out there who can come up with a cunning plan....
I tried to use corn starch compostable bags in our kitchen waste caddy but they started to disintegrate in a day if you added anything damp so not a lot of good, in the heap they were gone within the week, so a good idea but not very practical 😕 🐗
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
I put the cover from my Gardening from Which magazine (other magazines are available ) into the food waste caddy as stated on the wrapping. Guess what - they didn't take it ! Maybe one for the curmudgeon thread.......
@LG_ l left in on the top with the words "please recycle in your food waste caddy" clearly visible on it. If they spotted it stuffed in halfway down they'd just leave the whole thing. Fair play, they took it out, got rid of the food waste and then placed it neatly back inside. I could spend weeks doing this until it probably decomposed anyway, but l'm afraid it then went in the bin for normal household waste and l waved farewell to it.......
That's a shame , especially when you'd bothered to make the writing visible too. To be fair to them though, they've probably been told that any plastic renders the food waste null & void for recycling... They may not be able to or have the time to read individual pieces. We recently had a talk and Q&A session with the recycling boss from the local council. The general conclusion on this was that due to time and training constraints, putting compostable plastic visibly in the food waste risked misunderstanding by the collectors, so it is best to incorporate it fully, ripping it up a bit if necessary.
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
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I've managed to get rid of some small bags on Freecycle (the type that stones and gravel come in), but must still have nearly 70 that have been accumulated over the years.
There must be some enterprising person out there who can come up with a cunning plan....
🐗
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
Maybe one for the curmudgeon thread.......
Lyn uses compost bags to separate 'good' from 'bad' and since I am fighting couch grass it was the best idea. Now recycling half my bags as barriers.