Greenpeace and Humus assess whether the bags sold as degradable actually decompose

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They point out that the compost included bags marked “compostable” purchased from the vegetable, fruit and bakery departments of four food chains, as well as from the cash registers. The survey will last 12 months, but during the experiment the two organizations will communicate the results from time to time, they said, adding that the decomposition of the composted bags will be examined first after 45 days, and then after 3, 6, and 12 months. Simon Gergely, Greenpeace Hungary’s chemical expert, stated in the announcement that it is a good practice that more and more supermarket chains are only giving away bags for money, thus reducing the use of disposable plastics. He added: on the other hand, the problem is that most households do not have a home composter, and degradable plastic cannot be recycled as plastic, and if it ends up in the selective waste bin, it also contaminates the plastic to be recycled.

Degradable plastics are not sorted

The expert adds that, according to current experience, degradable plastics mostly end up in the regular trash, and in the worst case, after use, people throw them in the selective waste collection for traditional plastics. György Szabó, head of the zero waste program of the Humus Association, points out in the statement that some of the degradable bags available in stores are labeled “industrial compost”, but this is difficult for the public to understand. This means that when they become waste, they are only composted under industrial conditions, under suitable temperature, pressure and humidity. The program manager points out that compost could be made from the bags if they were placed in the bins specifically intended for industrially degradable plastics and organic waste, then collected and transported, however, currently there are no systems developed for the treatment of degradable plastic waste in Hungary that can satisfy the needs of the public. He adds that if bioplastics end up in landfills, methane is released due to the oxygen-free conditions prevailing there, which is unfavorable from a climate protection point of view.

In their statement, the two green organizations emphasize that if such a bag ends up in nature, it causes similar natural damage in many respects as its counterparts made from petroleum

According to some research, people are more inclined to throw away bioplastics, thinking that they decompose in nature anyway. The report points out that the real solution to the plastic crisis and curbing the flow of waste would be to remove disposable bags and to radically reduce all other single-use packaging materials, and manufacturers and distributors should strive to spread packaging-free, refillable and reusable products as widely as possible. systems. In their statement, the green organizations emphasize that they have repeatedly drawn the attention of decision-makers to the fact that degradable plastics are not a real solution to the waste crisis.

MTI