La preocupación por el medio ambiente es algo que llega a toda la sociedad y se hace evidente en el día a día reciclando y en la preocupación por los productos que se compran, por ejemplo, eligiendo aquellos productos que tengan un envase adecuado.
Currently, the difference between degradable, biodegradable products and how to make zero waste with environmentally friendly disposable products arouses curiosity. A product is biodegradable when after use, it decomposes naturally by organism or microorganism without the need to use other chemical elements. These products manage to degrade completely in just a few months, but their time depends on oxygen, humidity and temperature.
On the other hand, the degradables, have their origin in petroleum and are made up of polyethylene and chemical additives. They take up to 1,000 years to disappear completely. These, not being made of organic derivatives, when degraded into microscopic particles, pollute the environment. Therefore, the difference between one and the other is that something degradable is something that breaks down and something biodegradable is something that breaks down with the environment.
The best thing for the environment would be to stop using disposable products as much as possible, since everything has an impact on the environment. The first step would be to look at reusable options and only when there is no other option to use biodegradable products.
How long does it take for some products and materials to break down?
- – Organic waste: organic waste and residues take only 4 weeks to degrade and, in addition, serve as fertilizer for many plants.
- – Paper and coal: these products, being composed of cellulose, do not pose a big problem for nature. Its decomposition time is one year. Its biodegradation accelerates if the environment is rainy.
- – Aluminum degradation: Aluminum takes approximately 10 years to degrade. Aluminum products are coated with materials such as tin or varnish, and they need a lot of moisture to start their decomposition process.
- – Plastic: Plastic bags can take up to more than a century to fully decompose. The good part is that plastic bags can be recycled or reused.
- – Glass: it can take up to 4,000 years to decompose. This can be fully recycled for use as ecological insulation for construction.
Now that we know how long it takes some products and materials to biodegrade, we must opt for the most responsible solution, which is to recycle.
