Why compostable plastics may be no better for the environment

As companies move to get rid of single-use plastic bags and bans on microbeads are coming into force, new biodegradable or compostable plastic products seem to offer an alternative. But they may be no better for the environment.

Single-use biodegradable plastics include claims
that they break down quickly into benign end
 products, but the reality is more complex. 

Recently, European scientists argued that existing international industry standards are insufficient and cannot realistically predict the biodegradability of compostable plastics. New Zealand’s Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE), Simon Upton, weighed into the debate, questioning the merit of biodegradable plastics and urging the New Zealand government to deal with the confusion surrounding their labelling.

The key concerns include the terminology itself, the lack of appropriate recycling or composting infrastructure and toxicity of degradable plastics.

Read the piece from The Conversation by a Professor emeritus from Auckland University of Technology, Thomas Neitzewrt - “Why compostable plastics may be no better for the environment.”

The Paris train has gone and we are left forlornly standing on the platform

(Australia is not among those countries which have signed up to the Paris agreement and The Sydney Morning Herald reported early last month:

“A spokesman for Australia's Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said the government was trying to get it ratified as soon as possible.

“The parliamentary committee was looking at the deal as part of Australia's domestic processes, he said.

“Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop insists Australia wants to ratify the agreement before the end of the year.

"The election is being blamed for the delay in tabling the agreement."

This train has left the station and Australia, one of the worst carbon dioxide emitters per capita, is left standing, forlornly, on the platform – Robert McLean)

 

The Paris train has left and
 Australia is left standing
 forlornly on the platform.

A new chapter in the world's climate talks starts this month as the Paris climate agreement enters into force on November 4, followed by the first round of formal discussions on how to turn its promises into action.

Negotiators, leaders, experts and activists will gather in Marrakech, Morocco to begin the daunting task of implementing the historic accord that seeks to avert the worst impacts of man-made climate change. The 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) will convene from Nov. 7-18, tasked with continuing the momentum of the Paris accord that was negotiated last year and signed into force ahead of schedule.

"The Paris agreement really represents a promise that we've made to ourselves and...to the world," said Mariana Panuncio-Feldman from the World Wildlife Fund. "Now it is time to turn that into action and that's the work we need to do in Morocco."

Read the Inside Climate News story - “Climate Talks in Morocco Aim to Set Paris Agreement in Motion.”