{"id":22149,"date":"2018-03-05T18:42:09","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T15:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/biodegradable-compostable-recyclable-whats-the-difference\/"},"modified":"2018-03-05T18:42:21","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T15:42:21","slug":"biodegradable-compostable-recyclable-whats-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/biodegradable-compostable-recyclable-whats-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Biodegradable, Compostable & Recyclable – What’s The Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following up on our blog post from last week – What is Sustainability?<\/strong> (read it here<\/a>), this week we look at the difference between biodegradable, compostable and recyclable. It is all a bit confusing really. Yes, you're welcome.<\/p>\n

—————<\/p>\n

First things first. In order to know the difference between something and another, we first need to define the terms. Therefore, and according to our beloved Wikipedia:<\/p>\n

Biodegradation is the disintegration of materials by bacteria, fungi, or other biological means. The term is often used in relation to: biomedicine, waste management, ecology, and the bioremediation of the natural environment. It is now commonly associated with environmentally-friendly products, capable of decomposing back into natural elements. But there is actually no reference to the time needed for degradation, or the type of physical and chemical quality attributes of the end product.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So a material that is inorganic can be<\/em> biodegradable, whereas compostable material are only organic ones, such as leaves and food waste, wood products such as bamboo etc. A compostable material leaves NO visible, distinguishable or toxic waste.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a big difference there.<\/p>\n

On to the third one. In the strictest sense, recycling<\/strong> of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material\u2014for example, used office paper would be converted into new office paper or used polystyrene foam into new polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so "recycling" of many products or materials involves their reuse in producing different materials (for example, paperboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex products, either due to their intrinsic value (such as lead from car batteries, or gold from circuit boards), or due to their hazardous nature.<\/p>\n

One of the most common household waste is polythene – mostly used in bags for shopping and carrying light things. Since they are cheap, they are used by almost everyone- from the local vegetable seller to the supermarket bread shelf. These bags are neither biodegradable, compostable, only at best recyclable or upcyclable (also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value.).<\/p>\n

However, one aspect to keep in mind when talking about plastic is that NOT ALL PLASTIC IS BAD! Yes, you heard me right. I actually claim that plastic is one of the most fantastic materials that man has ever produced! It is durable and can withstand lots of really harsh conditions without loosing the ability to do what it was set out to do. <\/p>\n

The problem with much of the plastic we use today really lays in that it doesn't break down, it breaks up..<\/p>\n

\n

Plastic doesn't break down, it breaks up<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Plastic bought and used over and over again, and for what it was meant for, is actually not too bad. Here I am talking about sturdy plastic bins for storage or household use, some plastic containers, used over and over and over for years to store things in. What we are STRONGLY opposed to though is the insane use of single use plastic. The kind of plastic that ends up in our oceans and inside the animals that live there. Why? Because it doesn't break down, it breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces, which eventually gets ingested by animals. That kind of plastic needs to be stopped, and that is right now<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Have a look at this chart to see estimated decomposition times for the most common debris found in our oceans. Mindblowing!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Infographic source credit: https:\/\/futurism.com\/plastic-decomposition<\/p>\n

Did you know for example that every single plastic toothbrush ever made, still<\/em> exists?!<\/p>\n

\n

Every single plastic toothbrush ever<\/em> made still<\/em> exists! <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But not everything is gloom and doom. Did you see for example our post on Facebook last week about the government of Taiwan announcing that they will ban All Plastic Bags, Straws, and Utensils! All single-use plastic must be phased out by 2030.<\/p>\n

Taiwan\u2019s ban will be phased in over time and builds on existing regulations like an expanded recycling program and extra charges for plastic bags. The first part of the regulation includes banning chain restaurants from giving straws to customers in 2019, and then an overall ban on straws in dining outlets by 2020.<\/p>\n

Retail stores will be charged for providing free plastic bags, disposable food containers, and utensils in 2020 and additional fees will be added in 2025.<\/p>\n

\n

This will culminate in a flat-out ban on single-use bags, utensils, straws, and containers in Taiwan by 2030<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Read the full article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What it all comes down to is that we need to change our behaviour<\/em>.<\/strong>
\nBiodegradable, compostable or recyclable, what we need to do is to make and use less <\/em>of it to begin with.
\nOnly when we change our behaviour<\/em> can we start making a change in the future of our planet.Original Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following up on our blog post from last week – What is Sustainability? (read it here), this week we look at the difference between biodegradable, compostable and recyclable. It is all a bit confusing really. Yes, you're welcome.<\/p>\n

—————<\/p>\n

First things first. In order to know the difference between something and another, we first need to define the terms. Therefore, and according to our beloved Wikipedia:<\/p>\n

Biodegradation is the disintegration of materials by bacteria, fungi, or other biological means. The term is often used in relation to: biomedicine, waste management, ecology, and the bioremediation of the natural environment. It is now commonly associated with environmentally-friendly products, capable of decomposing back into natural elements. But there is actually no reference to the time needed for degradation, or the type of physical and chemical quality attributes of the end product.<\/p>\n

So a material that is inorganic can be biodegradable, whereas compostable material are only organic ones, such as leaves and food waste, wood products such as bamboo etc. A compostable material leaves NO visible, distinguishable or toxic waste.<\/p>\n

There is a big difference there.<\/p>\n

On to the third one. In the strictest sense, recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material\u2014for example, used office paper would be converted into new office paper or used polystyrene foam into new polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so “recycling” of many products or materials involves their reuse in producing different materials (for example, paperboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex products, either due to their intrinsic value (such as lead from car batteries, or gold from circuit boards), or due to their hazardous nature.<\/p>\n

One of the most common household waste is polythene – mostly used in bags for shopping and carrying light things. Since they are cheap, they are used by almost everyone- from the local vegetable seller to the supermarket bread shelf. These bags are neither biodegradable, compostable, only at best recyclable or upcyclable (also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value.).<\/p>\n

However, one aspect to keep in mind when talking about plastic is that NOT ALL PLASTIC IS BAD! Yes, you heard me right. I actually claim that plastic is one of the most fantastic materials that man has ever produced! It is durable and can withstand lots of really harsh conditions without loosing the ability to do what it was set out to do. <\/p>\n

The problem with much of the plastic we use today really lays in that it doesn't break down, it breaks up..<\/p>\n

Plastic doesn't break down, it breaks up<\/p>\n

Plastic bought and used over and over again, and for what it was meant for, is actually not too bad. Here I am talking about sturdy plastic bins for storage or household use, some plastic containers, used over and over and over for years to store things in. What we are STRONGLY opposed to though is the insane use of single use plastic. The kind of plastic that ends up in our oceans and inside the animals that live there. Why? Because it doesn't break down, it breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces, which eventually gets ingested by animals. That kind of plastic needs to be stopped, and that is right now!<\/p>\n

Have a look at this chart to see estimated decomposition times for the most common debris found in our oceans. Mindblowing!<\/p>\n

Infographic source credit: https:\/\/futurism.com\/plastic-decomposition<\/p>\n

Did you know for example that every single plastic toothbrush ever made, still exists?!<\/p>\n

Every single plastic toothbrush ever made still exists! <\/p>\n

But not everything is gloom and doom. Did you see for example our post on Facebook last week about the government of Taiwan announcing that they will ban All Plastic Bags, Straws, and Utensils! All single-use plastic must be phased out by 2030.<\/p>\n

Taiwan\u2019s ban will be phased in over time and builds on existing regulations like an expanded recycling program and extra charges for plastic bags. The first part of the regulation includes banning chain restaurants from giving straws to customers in 2019, and then an overall ban on straws in dining outlets by 2020.<\/p>\n

Retail stores will be charged for providing free plastic bags, disposable food containers, and utensils in 2020 and additional fees will be added in 2025.<\/p>\n

This will culminate in a flat-out ban on single-use bags, utensils, straws, and containers in Taiwan by 2030<\/p>\n

Read the full article here.<\/p>\n

What it all comes down to is that we need to change our behaviour.
\nBiodegradable, compostable or recyclable, what we need to do is to make and use less of it to begin with.
\nOnly when we change our behaviour can we start making a change in the future of our planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tie-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}