Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

VANCOUVER - With standard plastic bags now considered the enemy of environmentally conscious consumers, alternatives to polyethylene are becoming increasingly popular including biodegradable bags that look similar, but claim to break down much quicker.

BioBag Canada Inc. was the first company to introduce "certified" compostable and biodegradable bags to the country almost 10 years ago, and now sells everything from dog and household waste bags to film used in diapers and bed linen.

The Vancouver-based company, the Canadian distributor of the global BioBag brand, sells bags and packaging made from a material called Mater-Bi, produced by Italian research company Novamont.

Mater-Bi uses corn instead of polyethylene and claims to be the "first completely biodegradable and compostable bio-polymer ever invented."

Greg Beresford, president of BioBag Canada, said he has seen a "double-digit increases in sales" every year for the past five years and that awareness is greater than ever.

BioBag products are made in three production plants in Europe, and a fourth plant is opening in California soon to help meet North American demand.

"We weren't able to make product quick enough awhile back," said Beresford of why capacity is being increased.

"We are in an immature market and I think we have about 10 years before we become a mature market. In 10 years from now it will be a norm to have an environmentally friendly bag," he said. "The future is very green."

When his company started in 1999, Beresford said the market was slow. Business picked up about five years ago when Canadian municipalities started looking a separating compost materials in garbage collection.

BioBag products promise to biodegrade and compost when disposed of, within 10 to 45 days, depending on the methods used.

Beresford said micro organisms in the compost "eat" the bag, which is made of "GMO-free" corn starch and vegetable oils. GMO stands for genetically modified organism, which means they are grown naturally and haven't been altered by chemicals or other methods.

Mountain Equipment Co-op was the first North American retailer to hand out BioBags to its customers three years ago. The bags include a message which says: "You can compost this bag. It's 100 per cent biodegradable. But the best bag is no bag."

For each transaction where the customer doesn't take a bag, the company donates five cents to an environmental cause.

"The emphasis in this messaging, and in our shopping bag program, is on bag reduction," said MEC spokesman Harry Henderson.

Anthony Lau, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at the University of British Columbia, has tested BioBags in composters and said they do work.

While he has not tested them in a landfill, Lau is skeptical of how they would break down in that environment which lacks air and moisture, which are needed to decompose.

Some retailers claim that is part of the reason they don't use BioBags for their customers' purchases.

Safeway Canada spokesman David Ryzebol said the company has looked at using biodegradable bags for its customers, but isn't convinced they are the best route to reduce waste.

"We encourage the use of reusable bags, which is the way to go," said Ryzebol, who added that Safeway also recycles plastic bags.

Many retailers, including Safeway and dozens more, now sell or give away their own reusable tote bags made of canvas or other materials.

Not unlike many environmentally friendly products, BioBag products are more expensive - about four times the cost of a regular plastic bag.

It's for that reason BioBag Canada's Beresford said some retailers have balked at adopting the product for their customers.

Beresford also believes in the use of reusable bags, but disagrees with claims his product does not break down in a landfill.

"It takes time as they will naturally become brittle over time," said Beresford.

"In landfills there is approximately 20 per cent micro organism activity , so the bags can be eventually digested by them."

Beresford also said how long it takes for a BioBag product to break down in landfill depends on location, because they are all different.

However, Beresford said the idea beyond BioBags is to encourage composting and avoid landfills altogether.