Biodegradable Garbage Bags: What Are They, Do They Work, When Should You Use Them...

Let's talk trash.
There’s been an explosion of biodegradable and compostable trash bags on the market recently.
But, just as all “trash” isn’t equal, we shouldn’t view all eco-friendly garbage bags as equal either.
So here we break down what biodegradable garbage bags are, should you use them, when should you use them, and which ones should you use.
Resources mentioned:
www.sustainablejungle.com/sus...
www.sustainablejungle.com/zer...
www.sustainablejungle.com/sus...
www.sustainablejungle.com/sus...
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www.findacomposter.com/

[@CC-nw9yl]

Bioplastic like PLA only work on industrial composting facility. How many of those facility in US that is a big question. We should look for materials that can biodegradable in landfill.

[@sustainablejungle]

There are some which are certified home compostable but not many!

[@user-zv6el9iv2r]

I noticed Unni's bag you have there is 18 microns and the others were about 0.85mils or 21 microns. So to answer why that Unni bag broke down faster, it's because it is thinner than the others.

[@sustainablejungle]

Yup I think that one is the thinnest but the speed of which it brokedown as compared to the others I don't think can simply be attributed to a 3 micro difference in thickness.

[@Jolansodan]

Great video! As you mention it's important about where they are going but for many of us we will just be using the landfills. Do you think using these kinds of bags are still better than traditional plastic ones when they both go into the same landfill?

[@sustainablejungle]

Thanks - glad you found some value :) regular plastic is actually better (from an environmental p.o.v) than these biodegradable bags IF they're going to landfill - simply because they'll aenerobically breakdown and produce methane.

[@dianet1659]

😂

[@andreaescobar5818]

So much information 😂 so bio degradable or bio plastic? Which one do I get

[@sustainablejungle]

Bioplastics is where it's at!

[@andreaescobar5818]

@@sustainablejungle thank you so much for responding! Just recently started this journey so I have much to learn

[@sustainablejungle]

I know it's a lot! Just one small change at a time! 🙂@@andreaescobar5818

[@gianni7397]

Promo*SM 😢

[@Murderbot2000]

What if I have a really, really big dog that eats a vegan diet?

[@sustainablejungle]

Great that you're able to feed your dog a low impact diet! From a doggie doo disposal pov - you have 2 options. Landfill or an at home composting solution specifically for doggie doo. If it's going to landfill then don't use any biodegradable / compostable bags, as this will just create methane breaking down anaerobically as it is organic matter. Opt for newspaper or recycled plastic, i.e. a low impact material you can send to the landfill.