What does biodegradable really mean?

Biodegrading, or the breaking down of complex organic materials into inert byproducts, is a process critical to the successful cycling of nutrients and biomass in nature. Decomposition is probably a more widely recognized term for the process of biodegradation, and everyone who’s left a stalk of celery in the back of the refrigerator for too long knows what it looks (and smells) like – rotting organic material is the basis for life as we know it, and here’s how. Biodegradation in nature takes place when a series of chemical reactions occur that convert unusable, inorganic forms of important nutrients (like nitrogen and carbon) into usable, organic forms that can then be used by plants and other organisms at the bottom of the food chain. These usable forms of organic nutrients ascend upwards through these food chains until top predators, like humans, consume and assimilate them into our systems. As carbon-based creatures, one can imagine how important the process of biodegradation can be for the growth and maintenance of our body’s many, many functions.
Biodegradation, however, is not strictly reserved for functional breaking down of important life-building nutrients – everything will break down eventually. When we speak about biodegradation in terms of materials – like, paper, plastic and metals – we speak in terms of a scale of relativity that has been established to predict how long a material will take to break down into non-recognizable form, given certain environmental conditions. Non-recognizable form generally means that the material has been broken down into biologically inert byproducts – another way of saying that the component chemicals and compounds will not harm the environment in which they are being broken down. The environmental conditions take into consideration factors like temperature, pH (or, acidity) of the soil, moisture level, amount of oxygen and other gases necessary for decomposition and the amount of pressure influencing the materials being decomposed. Think about a landfill – layers of garbage are compressed together and covered with plastic liners that drastically reduce exposure to both oxygen and water, and also act to regulate the temperature relative to the outside air. The decomposition of many materials typically found in American landfills produce acids that help to further degrade other materials and mix with moisture being released from decomposition. This composite liquid is called leachate, and can be very harmful if allowed to seep into non-lined soils or, worse yet, local waterways. But not all biodegradation takes place in landfills, or even on land. Chemicals in water, both natural and synthetic, undergo chemical changes and cycling regularly, the products of which depend on many of the same environmental conditions already discussed. Some chemicals, like certain pharmaceutical compounds or commercial solvents, are considered to be non-biodegradable because of both the amount of time it takes for them to become biologically inert, and the amount of damage they inflict on the environment into which they are introduced. This has a couple of significant implications for humans, as we are both introducing many non-biodegradable chemicals into our environment, and still solely dependent on the healthy functioning of that same environment for our survival. The first way in which the biodegradability of the things we consume becomes a significant factor in the health of our environment is relatively intuitive – the more products and materials we use that are biodegradable, the more we lessen the strain on our environment to render these (sometimes impossible) chemicals benign. Another way in which biodegradability can impact our consumption is by taking a good, hard look at the reasons why we need products with non-biodegradable ingredients in the first place. There are very few instances in which one cannot find a biodegradable (or at least more sustainable) alternative for every product and material we use. This is not always a reasonable allocation of time, however, and certainly not one that has taken off in our mainstream culture. Another consideration in finding and using biodegradable alternatives is costs – an environmentalists ‘catch 22’: the most effective biodegradable products and materials cost more than mainstream counterparts, which decrease their demand among the majority of people and prevent them from being used and/or widely known, which leaves little means and incentive for green manufacturers to expand their production and target markets, which keeps their products expensive and obscure. This is not always the case, and there are a number of quality manufacturers who are committed to using biodegradable alternatives as ingredients and packaging materials in the interest of both the health of the environment, and the health of the people who rely on it. For this, and many other reasons, it can be significantly beneficial to both your lifestyle and the environment to find a company, or couple of companies, that you can trust not to use non-biodegradable ingredients of materials unless absolutely necessary. I invite you to do some research into the companies you support, and the alternatives you have available to you. As consumers in an often unregulated marketplace, with a track record of less-than-optimal resource usage, it is our privilege to use our dollars as a way to change things. When it comes to the environment, everyone supports one of two pretty distinct sides – the problem side, and the solution side. While not all solutions are definite, and there will always be room for improvements, the problems are clearly marked for those who choose to look closely enough. I challenge you to find out where your support lies, and to embrace the power you wield to actively participate in being part of the solution.