gosfield |
Role
Packaging DistributorComments
* indicates an article that was submitted directly to this Web site by the supplier, and was not handled by the Greener Package editorial staff.
Greener Package may share your contact information with our sponsors, as detailed in our Privacy Policy. Greener Package will not share your information with a sponsor whose content you have not reviewed. The members of the Advisory Board and Expert Network do not review, approve or endorse advertisements on this Web site.











Oxo-degradable Film
We produce a consumer product with anapproximate 8 - 12 month life cycle. It is thrown away by consumers when they are finished with it. It would be extramely rare for a consumer to have more than 10 of these items in a year so the volume is extremely small per consumer and the waste product is dirty. Recyclers have no way to pick it up and generally don't want it because it's dirty (not oil, but dirt). It's made of LDPE film. We now produce it as Oxo-Degradable with an approximate 2 year breakdown time after it it hits the landfill. So, we have a product that is small volume and not of interest to recyclers and will be thrown in the garbage when it's use ful life is finished. Is it not better to produce it as Oxo-degradable rather than standard film where the breakdown is only two years vs centuries? Is it not better to have it breakdown rather than place in a home composter where food growing may be the end use of the compost? I don't really care whether it's "compostable" or "bio-degradable". We just want to reduce landfill volumes and offer an alternative to standard film. I don't think PLA is our answer due to cost. I also wonder about PLA getting into the recycle stream. So OPA's last post seems to make sense to me and in fact, is what I was told by our supplier and other sources when we we're doing our research o what to do with our film. No, I'm not married to Oxo. Some posters here seem married to "their" concept and I'm not convinced the final answers are out there yet. I'm no expert though. It seems better to me to have a product that safely breaks down than not breakdown, whatever that product is. I'm interested in comments on the positive uses of Oxo, if indeed there are any here. Thanks.