Polypak bioproducts are biodegradable. It means that at some point they break down to simple chemical substances including water, carbon dioxide, and biomass.
Home and Industrial compostable BIO bags comply with the European Standard EN 13432, according to which degradation to biogenic substances by composting mustn’t take more than 90 days. The specific breakdown times depend on the thickness of the film and environmental conditions: intensity of heat and humidity, presence of bacteria and fungi.
Let’t take a Polypak bag for keeping fresh foods as an illustrative example.
❇️ Industrial compost facilities provide ideal conditions for decomposition by keeping the temperature at 60 degrees and due to the presence of multiple bacteria and fungi that are capable of breaking down organic materials. Moreover, they are designed to maintain optimal ventilation. All that reduces the decomposition time of a Polypak bag down to 3 to 5 days.
❇️ In an agricultural compost pile which is regularly turned, the degradation of biopolymers takes 9 to 12 weeks in warm weather.
❇️ If a BIO bag has been left on the side of the road or in the forest, the nature gets to work. Exposed to wind, sunlight, rain, and natural bacteria, the bag will decompose within about a year.
This is quite a long time, that’s why even biopolymers must be properly disposed of. However, it’s obvious that biomaterials are much more environmentally friendly, because they can degrade to natural elements. At the same time, regular plastic only breaks down to small parts that keep polluting the soil, water and cause deaths of animals.