Bio-based fibres

The booming market of biodegradable products has a beneficial effect to the environment. However, not every product that is sold as being biodegradable really is biodegradable, for some marketers are seizing this lucrative opportunity to mislead their often-gullible customers. 

As customers are becoming increasingly aware of the environment, they tend to prefer buying a product that is labelled as biodegradable to one that is not. This trend explains the steep increases in the demand for biopolymers and development of ecological products.

The information provided on products can sometimes be confusing or even misleading. Therefore, a good understanding of the different terms and what they stand for is essential to guarantee the effect of the way we discard our waste.

The “100% bio compost” claim on the packaging probably refers to industrial composting, which is usually the case for PLA. It means that is is compostable under industrial conditions (heat and humidity) and that it will not biodegrade in your compost pile at home. However, it is not a certified label, and it is highly unclear in which environment these cups will actually degrade.

The typical foil wrapped around magazines is made of thermoplastic starch, which is home-compostable, but not 100% bio-based. The starch is blended with special types of polyester or polycaprolactone, which are biodegradable materials, but not bio-based. 

Also note that the label states “foil 100% biodegradable”, which does not imply the printing ink. When analyzing the ink, we found it was polyurethane-based and therefore not biodegradable