The editors of GreenWorld365 recently came across a company named Perf selling biodegradable plastic trash bags. The Perf representative stated that the bags are high quality, extremely strong, supplied through a unique dispensing system and completely biodegradable. GreenWorld365 purchased a few boxes of their Extra Large, Tall Kitchen Bags for a test run.
Perf claims their GO GREEN trash bags to be a 100% Back To Nature product. Their literature states that their biodegradable plastic trash bags are,
…the first truly green disposable plastics to gain mass distribution across America.
Three of us here at GreenWorld365 tested the tall kitchen bags in our households. Each of us was immediately impressed with the strength of these bags. We also discovered that the bags are fairly difficult to tear, can handle an unbelievable amount of weight, and don’t seem to leak. None of us took advantage of the dispensing system, which is essentially a heavy-duty tape strip on the bottom of the box. This allows you to store the bags on the bottom of your trash can and remove one bag at a time via the dispense system as they pop up like tissues.
Overall we were very impressed with the performance of the Perf GO GREEN biodegradable plastic kitchen bags. These bags worked as well or better than most common non-biodegradable plastic bags we’ve all used.
We learned from the box that the product is made in Indonesia from recycled plastics and the box is made from recycled paperboard. Naturally we wanted to know more. Such as the manufacturing process and what causes these plastic bags to become biodegradable. Further, we were also interested in how green the entire manufacturing, shipping and delivery process is. We checked their website seeking additional information and were unable to find specific answers to our questions. The site states,
Perf Go Green uses a proprietary oxo-biodegradable application method to produce the film for its bags. When discarded in soil in the presence of microorganisms, moisture and oxygen, Perf Go Green’s products decompose into simple materials found in nature. Through this process as well as the use of recycled plastics, the company effectively removes plastic waste from the environment.
Perf Go Green Bags will completely break down in a landfill environment within 2 years leaving no residue or harmful toxins and have a shelf life of 2 years.
I’m not too alarmed by the limited manufacturing information. That is to be expected from companies wishing to protect their proprietary process. I would have liked to have found some results of tests by independent third party sources verifying their claims or insight into how green the process is. However, this is not to infer I have reason to doubt their claims.
Some statistics have shown, in 2006, U.S. residents, businesses, and institutions produced more than 251 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste, which is approximately 4.6 pounds of waste per person per day. So it is imperative that each of us do our share to reduce the waste we are producing each year.
Reducing waste must be the first step if we are going to have a positive impact and truly reduce the size of landfills. I understand the importance of using biodegradable bags and believe small steps to be extremely important. But in a perfect situation to maximize the process of lessening the harmful effects our waste has on the planet the items within the trash bags should be biodegradable also. Perf GO GREEN Biodegradable bags are a fantastic first step. When using them let it be a reminder and an encouragement to take your next step in greening your life. Identify a next step to reduce waste such as composting, recycling, reusing or anything you can accomplish one day at a time.
Perf GO GREEN Products
- Perf Go Green 13 Gallon Tall Kitchen Trash Bags
- Perf Go Green 30 Gallon Lawn & Leaf Bags
- Perf Go Green Plastic Drop Cloths
- Perf Go Green Commercial Trash Bags
- Perf Go Green Kitty Litter Bags
- Perf Go Green Doggie Duty Bags
All of the products are available at Amazon.com, CVS, Wal-Mart, Office Max, Drugstore.com, and Walgreen’s.
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An oxy degradable does not completely break down in landfill- it breaks down into little pieces. It is degradable and needs heat and UVI or mechanical stress to break down, none of which are available in landfills. (Check out the EPI website and the ASTM standard it meets.)They usually leave heavy metals behind also. The German Plastics Assoc. has declared oxy degradables as NOT to be considered true biodegradables and exempt from taxes.Tests done in Australia showed they did not break down any faster than normal plastics and at least normal plastics don’t leave heavy chemicals behind.Google oxy’s and learn more.They are not an good option . Only a product that is certified ASTM 5511 will degrade in landfills.
Leslie, thank you for your comments. I agree with you that there are some strong concerns regarding Oxy’s. However Perf uses an Oxo-Biodegradable process. I checked several sources including the EPI website all of which have concluded that the oxo-biodegradable process does meet ASTM standards. It is our goal to provide the most accurate information and we appreciate thoughtful discourse on our site and always welcome comments.
Yes, it does meet an ASTM standard.However, that standard is not for a plastic biodegrading in landfill conditions (ASTM 5511). Landfills are layers upon layers where no oxygen gets in . (see Dr. William Rathje’s studies on landfills. He found carrots 20 yrs old are still orange, papers readable, etc.)So for a plastic to biodegrade in a landfill, it needs to do so anaerobically- w/o oxygen. Oxy’s need heat and/or UVI rays from the sun, and oxidation. Their ASTM standard is ASTM 6954-04. They CANNOT break down w/o oxygen. So to claim they will break down in a landfill is incorrect.
It is true that oxo materials do not degrade in the absence of oxygen, hence the term “oxo”. Depending on the landfill and the level of compaction, there will be oxygen in the upper layers and the oxo will degrade until it receives no oxygen. It is probably safer to conclude that the product will not completely degrade in landfill but will degrade more than non-oxo plastics. Where oxo shines is when the plastic escapes the waste stream and ends up in the environment. With oxygen and sunlight it goes away rather quickly. I personally think that is a significant advantage over conventional plastics that stay around hundreds or thousands of years.
Since oxo films are cost competitive with conventional plastics and perform just as well, what’s not to like?
The key componenets to make an “oxy” degrade are heat, sunlight, and mechanical stress. When garbage is dumped into a landfill, it is done so layer upon layer. The little heat that is in landfill will be there for a max. time of 2 weeks. That is not enough time to break it down. Oxygen is not the key factor in making it break down. Please check the website for EPI and see this for yourself.The bad thing is that oxy degradables use cadmium and cobalt to trigger the degradation. All are heavy metals left in the soil and not good for the environment. At least normal plastic does not do so.In fact a study done in Australia shows they do not break down any faster than normal plastic. You have to remember that they were created as mulch films for commercial farmers. They would be degraded by the sunlight by the end of the growing season.The German Packaging Assoc. has stated that oxy and UVI plastics are non-biodegradables.They are leaders in biodegradables- 20 years ahead of us in the US.Also not there have been lawsuits in Europe and Australia against oxy’s for making claims that are untrue (their ability to biodegrade).When the oxy’s are tested for ASTM cert. they first bake the film in ovens. As that does not happen in real life, the entire premise of degradtion is mute.
I agree with some of your points. I don’t think much of anything happens in a landfill. They are built specifically to keep anything from happening. The larger additive suppliers certify that their products contain no heavy metals including cadmium, chromium, lead, etc. That is very easily verified so I doubt they are lying about that. My customers require third party CONEG studies to verify that there are no heavy metals in the plastic. It’s just not there. Therefore I consider oxoplastic made with their additives to be no worse than conventional plastics in an airtight landfill. It may not go away, but it’s not leaching anything either.
I have seen oxomaterials break down. I have had some film exposed to sunlight on an aging board for two years and it is practically dust now. If it were not contained in a non-oxo plastic envelope, it would have blown away months ago. I’ve had another roll of the same material in my cool dark garage during the same time and it looks fine. I’m sorry they didn’t break down in Australia. Having also lived there, I doubt they had it sitting in the sun during the summer. However, if it was buried in a landfill, I will grant that you would probably not see much difference in a year or two.
The thing with all the claims, on both sides, is that you hardly ever get the full story. The starch based guys have a very strong marketing machine that has spent as much on hurting oxo as they have on promoting pla.
Salesmen sometime overstate what the product will do. When the product doesn’t live up to the expectations, it’s easy to jump on board and say the technology doesn’t work.
I’ve been in the plastic industry for over 25 years and I remember when adding starch to plastic was supposed to be the great way to make it biodegradable. All it did was make confetti out of it. Now I see the starch guys saying the same thing about oxo. It’s not the same technology at all.
I found this article which is a good reference to note, this is from the Recycling Council of British Columbia, Single‐Use Bags Policy:
http://agenda.rdffg.bc.ca/Feb09/e020964A.pdf
…These results suggest that not all oxo-biodegradable bags are created equal and offers additional support for developing clear standards and third-party verification as discussed above. Clearly, more research will be required on the recyclability of oxo-biodgradable bags available in the B.C. marketplace if they are expected to enter the conventional plastic recycling stream.
Use of Non‐Renewable Resources without Recovery -
A final concern about oxo-biodegradable bags is that the product is composed of non-renewable, fossil fuel-based inputs and there is little difference in regards to energy-and
resource-use when compared with conventional disposable plastic grocery bags.
If oxo-biodegradable bags are meant to break down in a landfill environment, as they are largely promoted as doing, the products will not be recovered through recycling,
resulting in a loss of resources in the same way these resources are lost through the currently used disposable plastic bags.
*In a nutshell oxo bags and disposable bags are manufactured using the same non-renewable fossil fuel based machinery and the oxo bags can not be recovered through recycling.
I flush my dog’s poop down the toilet with a flushable doggy waste bag. Most eco-friendly way to get ride of dog poop.
The company is called Flush Doggy.
There are flushable dog poop bags. The best answer probably because dog poop can get treated just as your poop is.
FlushDoggy, is a fully biodegradable, flushable(water soluble) dog waste bag that is very eco-friendly.
Dog doodies are best to be flushed down the toilet and degrade naturally , just as our own doodies. Stop destroying our earth and start educating the public, one poop at a time. Be a responsible owner and go green for our pets.
So Keith…instead of regurgitating bogus claims from EPI and Perf Go Green…have you finally figured out these bags are not biodegradeable. They are the SAME as the ones run off market 20 years ago, PGOG has NO proprietary info, formula or anything…actually in their SEC filings they state they have no responsibility for ANY claims they make.
I noticed all your comments are from 2009 although the article itself is dated November 2011. I am assuming the article also originated in 2009, which explains why it’s still posted–the company ran into financial troubles in 2010 and no longer exists. This affects the credibility of your website, so it would be worth an update.