Green Technologies: More Education Required

It’s great to see that environmental awareness and ‘green’ technologies continue to grow. In just a few years I’ve seen in an increase in the use and availability of reusable shopping bags, biodegradable plastics, energy efficient products, reusable water bottles and coffee mugs, to name a few. But, with the emergence of new products and technologies, some confusion exists. Products and services are being advertised to the public as a way for them to “go green”, but they are not informed of the whole truth. Some information isn’t disclosed about these products and this information is beneficial to get the environmental benefit out of the product or service; specifically with biodegradable plastics/products and recycling.

Biodegradable products and plastics are becoming very popular. Take-out containers, disposable flatware, and coffee cups are a few examples of the many biodegradable products becoming available at businesses and events. These products are usually made from corn starch and will break down with exposure to sunlight, air, water, and microorganisms. Since these products need the elements to break down, it is unlikely they will ever degrade if they are thrown into the landfill. Landfills are anaerobic, so bioplastics are no better than regular plastics once they arrive in the landfill. These products should actually be composted so they can react with the necessary elements to properly degrade. Since this information is not well known, events or businesses that choose this green option usually don’t provide compost bins for customers, thus adding these products to the landfill forever.

Recycling is another tricky technology. Even those that aren’t into the green movement can still manage to recycle since it has been made easy and convenient. But, one should take the time to familiarize themselves with what items are actually recyclable and which are not. Each recycling center has its own guidelines as to what products it accepts, but many of the acceptance policies for plastic are the same across the board. The ‘chasing arrows’ on the bottom of containers have become misleading. They do not indicate if a product is recyclable, the number in the arrows represents what the product is made from. For example, plastics #1 and #2 are widely accepted as long as they don’t have any added material or dyes. Plastics #3, #5, and #7 are almost never accepted due to their content. Also, any plastic caps on a bottle or jug cannot be recycled. They are made from different materials than the bottle and will cause contamination in the recycling process.

Doing a quick Google search can prove to be beneficial when trying to live green. One can learn a lot of information about all these new green products and technologies to become better educated on how to save the planet, properly.