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Plastic Free July: The challenge and the journey
July has arrived, which means it's time to get started on the challenge — The Plastic Free July Challenge. Not familiar with Plastic Free July? It’s an awareness campaign that started in Perth, Australia and has now transformed into a world-wide challenge that takes place during the entire month of July. The aim of the campaign is not only to raise awareness around the growing problem of plastic waste, the campaign challenges participants to say no to single use plastic reduce their use of single use plastic throughout the entire month of July. That’s 31 days of living life with less plastic!!! If this is the first time you’re participating in Plastic Free July, you’re in for a great challenge, as well as an amazing journey. When first participating in the challenge and learning about the issues surrounding plastic pollution it can be incredibly overwhelming. Instead of getting overwhelmed at all the changes, simply do the best you can. As you continue throughout the journey, you’ll learn there are many alternatives to single use plastic. Once you’re familiar with those “better” alternative options — always opt for the better way. This “Plastic Free July” strive to do your best at eliminating as much single use plastic from your daily life as you can. But remember not to get disheartened when you slip up. If you accidentally order take-away coffee in a single use cup, just remember there's always tomorrow, and the next day, and every day after, that you can work on accomplishing one day without plastic! Forgot to take your keep cup to the shops? Skip the plastic lid on the take-away cup. It might not eliminate all the plastic, but that's one less piece that's headed for landfill. The point of the month-long challenge is to have you to consciously thinking about the choices you make. They say it takes 30 days of repetition to make major changes in your life. Starting a new exercise program? Give it 30 days and you’ll be hooked. Quitting smoking? Give it 30 days and you’ll be on the path to a living a healthier lifestyle (Cigarette butts also contain plastic, so this is a great challenge to undertake during the month of July!) Plastic Free July is no different — give it 30 days (okay 31) and you’ll be on a new lifelong journey that'll have you saying no to plastic and yes to reusables! Get more tips on: Getting Started on your Plastic Free July Journey.
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Plastic Free July: Getting Started
Have you heard about the Plastic Free July challenge? The initiative started in 2001 by the WMRC Earth Carers in Perth and has now transformed into the Plastic Free July Foundation, an independent not-for profit Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to build a global movement aimed at reducing plastic use and improving recycling. #PlasticFreeJuly is not just a challenge but also an awareness campaign to highlight the growing waste problem. It supports behaviour change by helping people to avoid single-use (disposable) plastics. So how do you participate? If you accept the challenge your mission is to 'Choose To Refuse' single-use plastic during July. Are you ready to Choose to refuse? Starting your first Plastic Free journey can be a daunting task. Here are some tips that will help make your first 30 days a little easier. 1. Don't be hard on yourself It's a journey. As we learn more about the journey it becomes a process of discovery. We start to discover more and more items in our everyday lives that we didn't realise were part of the plastic problem. The fact that you're taking the time to read this article means you're likely already aware of the problem and are looking at ways to reduce your impact. Know you are doing your best to reduce the effects of plastic pollution and although it's easy to get discouraged, there are thousands of other people just like you, all over the world, trying to reduce their impact too. 2. Going Plastic Free requires baby steps You won't be able to remove all single use plastic from your household right away. Focus on what you can replace today that will make a difference. It can be just one item. One of the easiest products to start with is replacing your plastic cling wrap with Bees Wax Wraps or Home Compostable Cling Wrap to wrap your lunches or leftovers. Just remember that any compostable plastics will need to be composted in order for them to break down. So if you opt for compostable or bio-plastic options make sure you have a means of disposing them correctly. You don't have to throw your traditional plastic cling wrap way. Keep it in your cupboard and only use it for those rare occasions when you don't have enough beeswax wraps or the item is something that's not suitable for a wrap or reusable container. You'll find that box of cling wrap will stay in the cupboard or draw for a lot longer than you'd expect. 3. Seek out alternatives or go DIY EORTH'S online shop is full of great zero waste, plastic free alternatives to many household and day-to-day items. If you already have a toothbrush that you recently purchased, don't rush out to buy a Bamboo Toothbrush, wait until your current brush is ready to be disposed of. You can also go the DIY method. Don't have any more plastic bags under the kitchen sink and are wondering what you're going to use to put your garbage in? Use a paper bread bag or try making a bin liner out of newspaper, there's a plethora of websites and YouTube videos that will show you how it's done. 4. Check your garbage Looking at what you're throwing away is a great way to discover items that can be replaced with more eco-friendly, zero waste alternatives. Can those items be 100% recycled? Can the packaging be reused or repurposed? Can the packaging or item be composted, or are they destined to end up in the landfill? You'd be surprised how much you can compost: your hair, dryer lint, vacuum dust. Items like dental floss you'll want to eliminate. This doesn't mean throwing away the container and floss you're currently using, but rather replacing it with more eco friendly options once the container is empty. Plastic Free Silk Dental Floss is a great alternative to regular dental floss. 5. Be kind, we're all in this together We are all on different paths in our journey. Some people may simply be unaware of the global problem we are facing. Some may have recently come to the realisation that single use plastics are a problem and are just beginning their journey. The only actions we can control are our own. Do the best you can while encouraging and supporting others, regardless of what stage they are at in their journey. It doesn't matter how far along on the journey we are, we are all working towards the same goal. Eliminating single use plastics from our homes and lives. Going zero waste won't happen overnight, and it probably won't happen within a year. Do what you can to reduce your use. You'll be surprised how easy some changes are to make, an in turn how much less waste you'll be contributing to the landfill. Need some inspiration? Check out our Eorth's Plastic Free shopping selection, you can also find some great gift sets for that eco-warrior friend.
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Swedish Dishcloths — Biodegradable or simply greenwash?
We put Swedish Dishcloths to the test Have you tried wiping your kitchen surfaces with a Swedish Dishcloth? I’ll let you in on a little secret . . . once you’ve tried a Swedish Dishcloth, it’s unlikely you go back to cleaning with a regular cloth again! What the heck is a Swedish Dishcloth you ask — and what makes this cloth so special? Swedish Dishcloths were invented in the mid-1900’s by Swedish engineer, Curt Lindquist. Lindquist discovered that when you mix natural cellulose and cotton, the material can absorb an incredible amount of weight — up to 15 times its own weight! Swedish Dishcloths are like a regular reusable dishcloth. You can wash the cloths up to 200 times, just place them in the washing machine with your regular load of clothes. It's not necessary to hang these on the line, as they dry very quickly. We don’t recommend placing Swedish dishcloths in the dryer, however should they accidentally end up in the dryer — they won’t be ruined. Simply add water to activate them again. Unlike many dishcloths on the market today, Swedish Dishcloths are 100% free from microfibres (plastic), so when the cloth is starting to deteriorate, it’s safe to discard it into your home compost system. That's as zero waste as you hope for! WHAT IS A SWEDISH DISHCLOTH MADE FROM? Swedish kitchen cloth material is made from 70% wood cellulose from FSC certified forests and 30% cotton. They are biodegradable, compostable and microfibre free! And one more bonus — Swedish Dishcloths won’t leave streaks on your kitchen countertops. DO SWEDISH DISHCLOTH PASS THE BIODEGRADABILITY TEST? Okay so we’ve established they're great for cleaning, they are reusable, now what we really want to know is — do they live up to their “biodegradable” and “compostable” reputation, or are they simply another greenwashing product? If you're not familiar with the term greenwashing, it's when manufacturers and marketers use terms like biodegradable and eco-friendly, when in fact the product may take hundreds of years to biodegrade, therefore not making them very eco-friendly at all. There’s only one way to find if they're truly biodegradable, and that’s to put them into the bio-test patch and wait for the results. If you’re not familiar with EORTH’s bio-test patch. It’s a small patch of dirt we use specifically for testing the biodegradability of products. It’s non-scientific . . . it's simply a test to see how a well a product breaks down if it had been littered in the environment. Hence, simply tossing it on top of the soil. We’ve put several products to the test, some came up with a big fail and others went missing without a trace. So how did our Swedish Dishcloths fare in the bio-test patch? Based on our test results a Swedish Dishcloth will take approximately 10 months to fully biodegrade and return back to nature. If placed in a home composting system they will likely be gone within a few weeks. How do we know? We’ve added several to our home composting (Bokashi) system and have never seen a trace of them since! There you have it, we can confirm this product is definitely not greenwash and lives up to it's biodegradable and compostable reputation! Check out the Swedish dishcloth biodegradable results below: We added the Swedish Dishcloth to our test patch in May, 2019 and it had completely biodegraded by February, 2020. May 9, 2019 January 19, 2020 February 20, 2020 Swedish Dishcloths can be used for more than just cleaning the counter tops. Use to clean dishes or for pre-dishwashing Use instead of paper towels Use to clean glass and stainless steel surfaces Great for cleaning glass cooktops Add to the bottom of cut flowers to keep them hydrated when gifting Add to be bottom of a reusable container to keep your herbs and vegetables fresher, longer! Swedish Dishcloths are: Reusable & quick drying Biodegradable & Compostable Machine washable
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Made from Ocean Plastic
What exactly is Ocean Plastic? A lot of products are currently being marketed as made from ocean plastics, which has many people asking, “what exactly is ocean plastic?” The term ocean plastics refers to discarded plastics that have been recovered from either the ocean or the shoreline, and recycled into new plastic products. The products may be made from 100 per cent of plastic recovered from the ocean or a combination of ocean plastic and recycled or virgin plastic. Ocean plastic is recovered by clean up groups such as Parley for the Oceans, and in December, 2019 The Ocean Cleanup announced they’ll also be creating new products from their recent plastic harvest conducted in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Parley for the Oceans source plastic waste from the shoreline as well as ghost fishing nets from the high-seas. Parley have teamed up with sportswear giant Adidas to produce running shoes and athletic wear that is made with a percentage of plastic Parley have collected from ocean and beach clean ups. Another organisation that’s doing their part to clean up the ocean’s plastics is The Ocean Cleanup spearheaded by Dutch inventor Boyan Slat. To date they have only recovered a small amount of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch an area that’s been dubbed as “an island of floating plastic.” However after landing in Vancouver, Canada in December 2019 with their first “ocean plastic catch” Slat wanted to stress the importance of The Ocean Cleanups project was never to “maximize their harvest” but rather to ensure the system they had in place could indeed collect plastics from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Although Slat stated that the majority of the plastics collected were in fact “complete garbage” he believes this ocean plastic holds more value due to it being from a renowned area, likening it to “a normal rock and a rock from the moon, it’s still a rock but it has a story behind it.” The Ocean Cleanup also confirmed that the plastics they collected will be recycled into new products, with the material for those products containing 100 per cent Great Pacific Garbage Patch ocean plastic, and 100 per cent of the proceeds from sale of the products will go to the Ocean Cleanup project. Although Slat believes that the task of creating new products from this plastic “garbage” will be quite challenging, they’re looking at bringing transparency to the market in regards to marketing products as “ocean plastic”. “When we say these products are made from ocean plastic what we mean is that the plastic is actually coming from the ocean. Because right now the definition of ocean plastic is really shady it could come from anywhere. It’s defined as plastic collected near the ocean, and we really want to bring the truth to the market. We really want to guarantee to the people that support us, that this plastic coming from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” said Slat. The Ocean Cleanup has collaborated with DNV GL, an international classification society to certify that the plastic is actually coming from the ocean. The plastic will be tracked from the collection point to the point of being turned into new products. “Every step is being tracked to ensure that we can really promise that this material has come from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” said Slat. ARE MORE OCEAN PLASTIC PRODUCTS IN OUR FUTURE? If it’s possible to recover plastic from the ocean why then aren’t we seeing more ocean plastic being fished out of the sea and recycled into new products? Well there’s an issue of cost of extracting the plastics as well as recycling the extracted plastic. Plastic sourced from the ocean can be eight to 10 times more expensive than using virgin plastic. Along with the issue of costs, ocean plastics need to be cleaned after recovery and when they are exposed to saltwater they degrade, making them less valuable to recyclers. Plastics when placed into a marine environment act like a sponge, absorbing other chemicals which may allow them to only be downcycled into lesser plastic products. One of the problems with relying on either ocean plastics or land based recycled plastics is that it brings the false sense of “if I purchase this plastic product it’s okay it will be recycled over and over again.” Continuing on the path that we are already on — producing more plastic rather than facing the reality that not all plastic can be recycled over and over again like materials such as glass and metal. A solution would be to place heavy taxes on companies using virgin plastic, just like we do with other products that are causing harm to human health — such as alcohol and cigarettes. The reality is we need to turn off the tap on producing more plastic made from virgin material and work with what we already have floating around in the ocean or on land. Ultimately the best solution to the tackle the plastic pollution problem is to reduce our reliance on plastic and source out alternative materials where possible — in cases where using another material is not possible then recycled plastics or in some cases bioplastics are currently the best options.
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Biodegradable Dental Floss - Missing without a trace
Dental Floss, it's used in households across the world every day, but did you know most dental floss is not biodegradable? When we think of single use plastic, dental floss is not usually something that comes to mind. However, your standard dental floss purchased from the supermarket is just that — plastic on the inside and out, and not biodegradable. The floss itself is used once and tossed into the garbage. Although the plastic packaging may get placed into your recycle bin, let's face it, it's highly unlikely that floss packaging is getting recycled. Both the floss and the packaging will end up in landfill where it will remain for well past your lifetime. So what's the solution? You'll be happy to know there are a few types of biodegradable dental floss on the market that contain no plastic, are safe to place in your home composting system and are not packaged in plastic. Silk dental floss is packaged in a glass jar with a metal lid. The container is refillable, so when you have used your dental floss you simply purchase silk refills and add them to your glass jar. Vegan dental floss is packaged in a metal jar, making it super sturdy for travel. Vegan dental floss also has floss refills. You may have heard of Eorth's [non-scientific] biodegradable test patch. It's a patch of dirt we use in the back garden to, quite literally, toss products into. We say toss because these products are added to the bio test patch on top of the soil. The idea is to emulate what would happen to a biodegradable product if it was thrown on the ground in nature. And we say non-scientific because these results are not in conducted in scientific nature; the soil is not tested after it's broken down, there's no analysis of how well they have broken down after one week or two etc. It's simply a test to see if a product will in fact break down over a period of time and how long will that process take? Back to our biodegradable dental floss results. We added Silk and Vegan Dental Floss to the test patch. The vegan dental floss is a bio-based floss that is made from corn. The silk floss broke down faster than the bio-based floss but they both vanished over a period of time. Although neither the silk floss or the vegan dental floss are certified home compostable they have been added to our personal compost many times, and they have disappeared without a trace. Testing stages: We added our silk and bio-based vegan dental floss to the test patch on April 1. The silk dental floss was tied to a wood skewer and the vegan floss tied to a bamboo toothbrush, simply so they would not blow away in the wind. The biodegradability tests were run in the tropics, so it's highly likely that different results would occur in different parts of the world, during different seasons. The results would also likely be very different if they were run during the hot, rainy season of the Far North Queensland (FNQ) tropics. However, the tests were simply to determine if they would break down or not, and in roughly what timeframe. In this case the dental floss test was conducted during the dry cool season in FNQ. Although we checked on the floss almost weekly over the course of a few months, and unfortunately failed to take some photos during that period. May 9th the floss was still holding strong. (We would give it a little tug during the testing stage to see where it was at). On July 3, the bamboo toothbrush was removed from the test patch as there were no traces of the silk floss left. Yes we failed to take a photo during this period, so you'll just have to trust us on this one! The vegan bio based dental floss was still holding tight to the wooden stick. When checking in early September the floss was gone, missing without a trace. Silk Floss - May 9 Vegan Floss - July 3 No Floss - September 3 Take away: Both the silk and the vegan dental floss will completely biodegrade and return back to nature leaving no trace of their existence. An excellent result. The silk floss did break down quicker than the bio-based floss, by a few months. However if using silk is a problem for you and you'd prefer the vegan option then you can rest easy, as it's also plastic free and will cause no harm to the environment. Result: Biodegradable Dental Floss Passed The Test It's important to mention that just because a product states it's biodegradable it doesn't mean that it's going to simply return to nature in a short time frame like an apple, orange or banana peel would for example. In a previous article we covered the difference between biodegradable and compostable along with a breakdown of the logos used for certification of compostable plastics. It should also be noted that some dental floss on the market contain bamboo fibre, although the bamboo itself is biodegradable the fibre is usually a mix of bamboo and nylon. This floss is not biodegradable. Always check your labels! We've previously tested biodegradable/compostable straws — they received a big fail, and after over a year the straw is still sitting in the bio test patch. It's still intact, you could drink from it, it's not breaking down any time soon.
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Zero Waste — it’s not measured in numbers
Is a Zero Waste lifestyle possible? Zero Waste: The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of all products, packaging, and materials, without burning them, and without discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health. The Zero Waste Movement When first learning about the Zero Waste movement many people interpret it as a lifestyle that produces absolutely no waste, however the zero in zero waste is not a number, it's a goal. The Goal: reuse and recovery of products, thereby eliminating waste ending up in landfill, water or air. However, Zero Waste encompasses more than eliminating waste through recycling and reuse, it focuses on restructuring production and distribution systems to reduce waste. Is Zero Waste and Plastic Free the same thing? The goal of zero waste is not to eliminate plastic altogether but rather to ensure it can be reused. For example single use plastics such cling wrap are discouraged, but products such as silicone or products that contain micro-fibres (plastic) that are not biodegradable or compostable but are able to be downcycled into new products, would be considered zero waste [reuse and recovery of materials]. Generally speaking most zero waste products are plastic free, however the concept of a plastic free lifestyle is to reduce and refuse. Plastic Free, particularly when talking about products, means no plastic — not recycled or downcycled plastic, not burning plastic after use, but rather to refuse plastic (single use plastic) altogether. Is plastic production for "Zero Waste" products (those that have a planned second life) really a good thing? As mentioned above zero waste is not a number, it's a goal. The goal of zero waste is to ensure that products are made responsibly and with a future mindset. It is a lifestyle that demotes our current throw-away, disposable mentality. Plastic is not going away and without it we would not be using the technology we have to write this blog post, upload it to the internet and share it with the rest of the world. However there is an urgent need to globally eliminate single use plastic consumption and the only way to do that is to turn off the plastic tap. The catch with zero waste products that are made with plastic products can be downcycled into other products, giving the original plastic product a second life. But after they serve that purpose — then what? The second life will ultimately have an end life which is landfill, so at the end of the day it's not really "zero" waste it's a prolonged life. Zero Waste is essentially living a less wasteful and more mindful lifestyle, and ultimately we all need to be heading in this direction. However, we also need to be mindful of what we purchase, simply buying a product (particularly plastic or silicone) because it's reusable or is able to be downcycled is not being mindful. We are at a stage in the plastic pollution situation that also we need to ask: "Can I find this product plastic free?" "Will it break down naturally back into the environment or will it be another item destined for landfill in another 10 to 15 years?" We all have our part to play in minimising our impact on the environment. Whether that be reusing products or refusing plastic products, every little action counts. Being zero waste or plastic free doesn't mean it has to be done at 100 per cent. Until governments step up and take action to require corporations and business to change the issues surrounding waste reduction and plastic pollution will continue to be an issue. Below are some simple steps you can take to minimise your impact on the environment and create less waste in your day-to-day life. 5 Things You Can Implement for a Zero Waste & Plastic Free Lifestyle Only buy food you need — take an inventory before shopping. Upcycle your clothing — find a piece of clothing you’ve not worn for a while and find a way to incorporate it into a new outfit. Replace disposable products with reusable options. eg. kitchen cloths and scrubbing brushes or refillable, compostable dental floss vs. plastic packaged and nylon floss. Shop for naked (plastic packaging free) fruits and vegetables at your local farmers market. Don't forget your reusable grocery and produce bags. Don't leave home without your reusable water bottle. When out and about find your nearest refill station and ditch the bottled water habit.
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Biodegradable or Compostable - What's the Difference?
With so many “green” terms and labels on the market it’s hard for the general consumer to keep up with what they all mean. Even the most “eco-friendly” consumers are confused about the different terms. We’ve done the research to break down the eco-lingo to be clear on what materials will “break down” back into nature and what materials simply “break apart” into smaller plastics. Let’s start with the biggest greenwashing term of all them all — degradable. Degradable Degradable is a word often found on the outside of a plastic bag stating how earth friendly it is. It’s easy for the regular “non-eco” consumer to associate degradable with biodegradable and that’s exactly why the term is used — word association or quite simply put it's greenwashing. There is absolutely nothing eco-friendly about degradable plastics, they’re not biodegradable nor are they compostable. They will however eventually degrade (break apart), just like other plastics do, however they're designed to break apart faster than regular plastic items. Degradable items will break apart into smaller pieces of plastic. Take away: Pass on these single use plastic items. Biodegradable Biodegradable is a term that's often associated with nature. An apple core for example when discarded into the natural environment will biodegrade. We’re taught in science lessons at school that this is what biodegradability looks like, and therefore our mindset becomes “if this biodegradable [plastic item] gets thrown on the ground then it will eventually fade back into nature and be gone forever—just like an apple.” While partly true — that is the way biodegradability works — however biodegradable as a term has no timeframe. The time it takes to decompose depends on a range of factors, including location and climate. An oak tree leaf for example is 100% natural and 100% biodegradable, however the estimated time it takes for an oak leaf to fully biodegrade is up to four years. An apple can take around 1-2 months, banana skins 3-4 weeks and an orange peel can take up to 2 years to fully biodegrade. A biodegradable straw on the other hand is manufactured product and may have to be placed into an industrial composting facility in order to fully biodegrade. How long it will take to break down in nature is unknown, but it won’t be as quick as an apple core and it certainly won’t biodegrade when added to landfill. Take away: Biodegradable has no timeframe. Avoid biodegradable plastics and seek out compostable plastics instead. Compostable vs. Biodegradable Biodegradable and compostable are terms that are often confused. Although an item may be considered "biodegradable" this does not mean it can be composted. Biodegradable plastics may, over time, break down with the aid of micro-organisms, however that doesn't mean these items can be composted. When stating a product is certified compostable it also needs to acknowledge if that item is required to be sent to an industrial compost or if the item can be composted in a home composting system. When an item is considered biodegradable or compostable, it relies on temperature, humidity, soil, worms or mico-organisms and moisture to aid in the decomposition. The speed at which it breaks down will be determined on those factors. Certified Compostable - Industrial Certified compostable plastics are either home certified or industrial certified. The difference is mostly related to heat. An industrial facility will reach temperatures of 55 degrees plus – and it will take bioplastics several weeks to break down at those temperatures. Home composting environments don't reach the those temperatures. We decided to run a non-scientific test to see if a plastic straw that was certified for industrial composts would actually break down in a home compost. We thought perhaps that as our home compost was located in a tropical environment, that compost might get hot enough to break down a plastic straw. It did not break down in our home compost. In fact after checking it several times for over a year we found the straw perfectly intact, just the way it was when we initially added it to the compost pile. After a year of waiting, we gave up and the plastic straw was headed for landfill. We also added one of the same straws to our "bio-test patch" it's also still perfectly intact. What can we take away from this home based experiment? Plastics certified for industrial composts may biodegrade over time however depending on the thickness of the plastic it's unlikely they will breakdown in a home composting system. These plastics need to be sent to an industrial facility to be returned back to nature. It should be noted that in Australia very few industrial composting facilities exist. Further to that most industrial composting facilities do not want compostable plastics in their facilities — they take far longer to break down then regular organic matter does, or they simply don't have the technology required to break down the bioplastic material. Finally, if compostable plastics are added to the regular plastic recycling system they will contaminate the recycling stream. Take away: Plastics that are certified for industrial composting are not as green as we are lead to believe. They are unlikely to make it to an industrial composting facility to be composted, and they will not break down when they end up in a landfill. Take a pass on single use plastics certified for industrial composts. Aust. Industrial Compost Euro Industrial Compost Aust. Home Compost Euro Home Compost Certified Compostable - Home Our final certification for bioplastics is the home compostable certification. The two logos that you want to look out for are the OK Home Compost logo and the Seedling Logo. Belgian certifier TÜV Austria Belgium developed the OK Compost Home Certification scheme this is the European Standard for a Home Composting Certification. The Seedling Logo was launched by the Australian Bioplastics Association and is used throughout Australia and New Zealand. The Seedling logo is a registered trademark of TÜV Austria and requires slightly higher standards than the OK Home Compost Logo. The most notable of the differences is that the certification tests for toxicity to worms. The Home Compostable Verification and the Seedling logo clearly identifies and differentiates packaging materials as certified biodegradable and compostable. This endorsement only applies to the packaging and not to the contents of the packaging. Be sure to check that your home compostable plastic bag, does in fact have a home compostable logo printed on the bag itself. Take away: When purchasing compostable plastics be sure to check the label. Home compostable is the logo that can be placed into your home compost.
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Bamboo Toothbrush: Biodegradability Test
In Australia alone it's estimated that over 30 million plastic toothbrushes are used annually. While that may seem like a needle in a haystack when it comes to annual household waste, those 30 million toothbrushes add up to 1,000 tonnes of plastic waste ending up in Australian landfills each year. Now imagine over six billion people discarding their plastic toothbrush every few months. The visual becomes very clear—it's a lot of unnecessary plastic waste. The very simple solution? Stop purchasing plastic toothbrushes. It really is that simple. Bamboo and other biodegradable toothbrushes are becoming more common in the mainstream market today. But don't be fooled by the greenwash. While it's great to see the big box stores providing more eco-friendly alternatives, selling a plastic free product that's packaged in plastic is not taking the plastic pollution situation seriously enough. Take a pass on these brands and opt for a toothbrush that's plastic packaging free. Before we delve into into how eco-friendly or biodegradable a bamboo toothbrush is, it's very important to note that 99% of bamboo or otherwise biodegradable toothbrushes on the market today still contain a small amount of plastic. While the handle may be biodegradable, the bristles are typically made from a nylon material. Although it may be a little disheartening to learn most bamboo toothbrushes are not 100% plastic free, it's definitely better than purchasing a toothbrush that's made from 100% plastic brush, knowing that the brush will will end up in the landfill. Now that we've got the issue of the plastic bristles out of the way. Let's take a look at how eco-friendly the rest of the brush is. Bamboo is a sustainable material. It requires no fertilisers, is not only easy to grow but is also fast growing. Added to that, a bamboo toothbrush handle will biodegrade naturally if simply tossed into a patch of dirt or added to your compost. When your bamboo toothbrush starts to loose it's bristles it's time for a new brush. Prior to discarding your old bamboo toothbrush, it's important to remove the bristles first. If the brush has already started loosing its bristles removing the rest of the bristles from the bamboo handle won't be too difficult. If the bristles are not easy to remove with your fingers, you can pull them out with a pair of pliers. Alternatively, leave the bristles intact and instead use the brush as a cleaning brush — just as you would a plastic toothbrush. Over time the bamboo will eventually start to break down and release the plastic bristles. Once your bristles have been removed from the brush there are many options for discarding the bamboo handle. The handle of your brush is perfect to use as a herb or vegetable marker. It's a great looking marker that will naturally break down in your garden. Don't have a vegetable patch? The bamboo handle can be pushed into the ground in any part of your garden. If the handle is hidden from view no-one will be the wiser that you're discarding your old toothbrushes in your yard, allowing them to fade back into nature. And finally, if you're composting your waste, the bamboo toothbrush can be thrown in with your compost. Throwing it into general waste should be your very last option. If you've been following EORTH's completely unscientific compostability tests you would be aware of the results of our Compostable Straw test, which did not go very well, currently not receiving any marks on the home compostability test. Next up in EORTH's biodegradability test lab is the Bamboo Toothbrush. How quickly does bamboo toothbrush biodegrade? Over the past few years we've added a few bamboo handles to our bio-test patch, used them as garden markers and added them to our compost bin. And we can happily report that these bamboo toothbrushes do indeed break down naturally, no matter where they are placed. Another 10/10 result! As you can see from the images the above, the bamboo toothbrush was placed into the ground with the (animal hair) bristles exposed. The bamboo brush handle that was in direct contact with the ground has broken down quicker than when left in the open air. Now over six months later the only part of the toothbrush remaining is the head, which was the part sticking out of the ground. Please note: The bristles were left in the bamboo toothbrush illustration above as they were made from animal hair. Although there are many biodegradable brushes available on the market today, EORTH recommends selecting a bush with a bamboo handle. These brushes will break down naturally, simply by placing them into the ground. There are other options for toothbrushes such as bioplastic brushes made from cornstarch, however these will not break down in your compost, nor will the breakdown in landfill, so essentially they are no different then a regular toothbrush made with petroleum based plastic. We have been testing a bioplastic toothbrush for both compostability (did not compost after three months), as well we have placed it into our biotest patch, it's been sitting in the patch for over a year now - just hanging out with it's friend the "compostable straw" neither are giving back to nature anytime soon. Are you ready to make the switch to a biodegradable bamboo toothbrush?
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How long do compostable straws take to break down?
We put compostable straws to the test. Several years ago there wasn’t a lot of noise about how devastating plastic straws were for the environment. This all changed when a video of a turtle with a plastic straw stuck up its nostril made its rounds on social media. People started paying attention, and those who had been campaigning about straws for years prior, finally had thousands of vocal allies. Straws are a staple behind almost every bar and restaurant you visit, with bartenders happily placing straws in every drink that crosses their bar. It’s an automatic motion, drink=straw. While it’s been great to see plastic straws being replaced with more environmentally friendly options, there are still a few misconceptions about what constitutes an environmentally friendly straw. When visiting my local beachside cafe* I noticed they’d switched their plastic straws to a new “compostable” straw. While this was well intentioned—these compostable straws really were not much different then their plastic counterparts. * Like many food outlets in the Cairns region this beachside bar and restaurant has now switched to paper straws. When people say their compostable plastic item is “environmentally friendly, because it’s compostable,” my reply is always: “that’s great, but are you going to compost it?” Compostable straws, and other compostable plastics won’t compost themselves, and the majority of them require industrial composting in order to break down. Furthermore, most industrial facilities don't accept compostable plastics as they take too long to break down. Therefore, I knew these compostable straws were headed to the same place as regular plastic straws — off to landfill. Although the outside of the box of compostable straws at the above mentioned bar clearly stated “industrial composting,” we decided to see how it would fair in a backyard compost. We do live in Far North Queensland after all, and it’s been pretty darn hot for the last few months, so surely our compost heap gets hot enough to break down a compostable straw! The compostable straw experiment [Experiment findings starting June 16, 2018] 16 June, 2018 25 Aug, 2018 4 Jan, 2018 Result: This straw is not returning back to nature anytime soon. A few months after placing the compostable straw in our home compost pile, we were digging around, preparing to add a fresh load of compostable waste to the area. We then found the compostable straw straw that had been taken from the restaurant and placed into the compost pile a few months prior. As you can see (June 16, 2018) the straw is perfectly intact. So much so that you could still drink from it, (we didn’t). The straw was then placed back in the pile. We checked back in a few months to see if it had started to break down. After digging up the compost there it was again, perfectly intact. We decided to give up on the compost experiment. After several months, of composting the straw had not changed its structure one bit. We noted that an "industrial compost" straw does not easily break down in a home compost — not even in the hot tropics. 25 August, 2018, we placed the compostable straw in our “bio test patch,” to watch it break down in a natural environment. The idea of the bio test patch is to replicate someone “accidentally” throwing it on the ground (or littering). Where we would monitor it and watch its progress (test results below). What can we learn from these experiments? Many people's (mis)understanding of compostable or biodegradable plastics is that they won't cause any environmental harm should they "accidentally" end up in nature or in landfill, as they will simply break down eventually. The fact is these items will exist far longer in the environment than most people would assume. Not all straws are equal. If you’re a restauranteur or bar owner, don’t get “sucked in” by the greenwash. Compostable straws won’t compost unless you place them in a compost, and in a lot of cases they will need to be industrially composted. The best option is to choose a reusable straw or no straw at all! If a straw is required for medical purposes, then make the best choice that is right for your situation. If you simply prefer to sip on a straw rather than use your lips, then choose a paper straw or a reusable straw. That way you can happily sip away knowing that your straw isn't going to end up lodged in the nostril of a turtle. [update January 6, 2020] 16 Jan, 2020 18 Feb, 2020 8 June, 220 We waited and watched. Initially the straw started to split apart. Many months later we noticed the straw had started to break down into strips. While it's great to see that the straw is eventually starting to break down, it's now been two years since the experiment began, and it still hasn't fully broken down. [update April 18, 2021] Almost three years have passed since we first started testing and we are happy to see . . . the straw is almost a straw no more! Three years is a better result than expected! However, it should be noted that this straw was left in an area that is fully exposed to the Far North Queensland elements. The bio-test patch is in full sunlight for most of the day and is fully exposed to (heavy tropical) rain. Both of these factors can aid in a faster biodegradability process than other environments. It also (fortunately) did not make its way to a drain that leads to the ocean or a nearby creek. Had the straw been placed in seawater for a period of three years I expect we would have seen different results — likely being no degradation at all. The straw is not completely broken down yet, we'll be back with an update once it truly is a "straw no more".
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