Biodegradable Vs Compostable: What Is The Difference?

Anybody familiar with eco-friendly products, such as sustainable food packaging, is probably familiar with the terms ‘biodegradable’ and ‘compostable’. The thing is that while many businesses interchange between the two terms, they are distinctively different.

What categorises the product as either compostable or biodegradable are the following:

  • What it breaks down into

  • The required process to break down

  • The material(s) used

 

Defining eco-friendly terms 

It is vital to fully understand the terms used by companies when they produce sustainable products and manufacturing to prevent being deceived by corporate greenwashing. Greenwashing happens when a service or product is created to seem more sustainable than it actually is. 

For instance, degradable plastics were promoted as eco-friendly and sustainable despite them breaking down into microplastics that are actually not environmentally friendly.

 

What does biodegradability refer to?

Any materials or items are biodegradable if they can be broken down by living organisms, such as fungi, microbes, or bacteria. The materials or items may be synthetic or natural originally.

 

What does compostable refer to? 

If the material or item is marketed as compostable, it must be certified to be made up of only organic or natural materials and proven to be capable of breaking down without producing any harmless by-product. The only by-products of its breaking down process should contain the following:

  • Carbon dioxide

  • Water

  • Non-toxic biomass

 

Are biodegradable and compostable products more sustainable and eco-friendly? 

There is currently a Singapore Green Label certification that businesses can apply for in order to certify their products or services as eco-friendly or biodegradable. However, in certain situations, biodegradable materials can lead to adverse effects on the environment. 

In fact, there are many biodegradable utensils in Singapore that are marketed as biodegradable, but in fact, they are oxo-degradable. What they are essentially is that they mimic the biodegrading process. However, they break down into microplastics that remain in the environment as inorganic pollutants.

In other instances, there are biodegradable organic materials that are eco-friendly, but because they take a long time to break down or need certain microorganisms or requirements that are not present locally, they are not being able to be certified as compostable.

 

The criticalness of understanding sustainable terms

The fundamentals in eco-friendly terminology and certification are vital, especially during the disposal of the products or items. Efficient and sustainable waste management is only possible when we understand sustainable terms and know where and how to dispose of the item correctly, helping us to reduce the burden on recycling plants and landfills, which are becoming scarce in a land-starved nation like Singapore.

 

Can we recycle biodegradable and compostable items? 

Biodegradable and compostable products are not currently recyclable and may end up contaminating the recycling process. However, with SKP’s EcoVue range, they can be recycled if cleaned properly. The thing about EcoVue plastic is that they are essentially plastic products consisting of a special blend of polypropylene with a unique biodegradable additive, allowing the plastic to break down faster than conventional plastics. 

Hence, even if you throw them together with your general waste, they are completely biodegradable, breaking down into organic materials, such as water, biomass, and natural gases, that are absorbed by the environment. The breaking down process only happens in landfills.

 

Conclusion

At SKP, we are always looking to provide our customers and clients with the best product that serves them well as well as being environmentally friendly. If you are looking for eco-friendliness, utility, and quality, then our range of biodegradable and compostable products offers the reliability, durability, and convenience of traditional products minus the non-eco-friendliness.

Get started with us at https://www.skp.com.sg/!

ADMIN