Frequently Asked Questions
Bagasse (Sugarcane)
QUESTION:
What is Bagasse?
ANSWER:
Bagasse is sugar cane fiber pulp, left after the juice has
been extracted from the sugar cane stalk.
Bagasse is normally seen as a waste product, and is often
burned thereby causing air pollution.
Making tableware out of the sugar cane pulp solves the
problem of waste and as well creates a value added product from a
material, which is treated as a waste product.
QUESTION:
What are the benefits of using bagasse?
QUESTION:
How long does Bagasse take to biodegrade?
ANSWER:
The rate of decomposition depends on the composting
conditions – the temperature, turnover rate, moisture, etc.
Just like other compostable material, products will
biodegrade much faster if they are broken into smaller pieces.
Bagasse tableware will biodegrade at the same rate as garden
waste in a home composting system, which, depending on the home
composting system, can be approximately 90 days.
They will degrade faster in a commercial composting facility.
QUESTION:
How well does bagasse handle heat?
ANSWER:
Bagasse tableware will handle hot food and beverages up
to 212 degrees. It is
also microwave safe.
However, the tableware does “sweat” with hot foods and some
condensation will form at the bottom of the tableware with hot
foods. Bagasse is both
microwave and freezer safe.
QUESTION:
How is Bagasse tableware manufactured?
ANSWER:
Sugar cane fiber bagasse
tableware is made by pressing the pulp at high pressure and
temperatures to a mold form.
It is sterilized and sanitized and conforms to FDA
Administration guidelines.
PLA (Corn
Starch)
QUESTION:
What are Bioplastics?
ANSWER:
Bioplastics are a new generation of compostable &
biodegradable plastics which are made from readily renewable
resources such as corn, soybeans, potato, etc.
QUESTION:
What is PLA?
ANSWER:
PLA is PolyLactic Acid and is a product made from
corn-starch, with a look and feel like petroleum based plastic.
PLA is the most commonly used bioplastics for making
products.
QUESTION:
How are the bioplastics products manufactured?
ANSWER:
They are made by processes which are similar to how
plastic products are made – they are thermal formed.
QUESTION:
How long will the PLA take to decompose or compost?
ANSWER:
Certified compostable PLA by ASTM are required to degrade
within 180 days in a commercial composting facility.
Home composting systems may take more than 180 days to
biodegrade. Based on the
thickness, kind of resins, the PLA can have varying rates of
decomposition. The corn
cutlery, cold cups, drinking straws and the biobags can take up to
180 days in a commercial composting facility.
The potato cutlery will also take 180 days or more to degrade
in a commercial facility.
Biodegradation will be faster if the products are broken down
to small pieces or ground up.
QUESTION:
What if I throw PLA into the trash?
ANSWER:
PLA cutlery is designed to return to the soil through
composting. If thrown
into the trash it will be collected and end up in a landfill.
Landfills are sealed which means little biodegradation occurs
below the surface, so what is thrown away may not degrade for a long
time. However, it is
still environmentally better than plastic, as eventually the
bioplastics will still biodegrade, while petroleum based plastic
will stay around for hundreds of years.
QUESTION:
What if I throw my PLA into the recycling bin?
ANSWER:
If PLA products are thrown into the recycling bin, they
will not be recycled into other plastic products.
PLA is currently not manufactured to be recycled, but to be
composted. (Keep in mind
that after the sorting process, a low percentage of plastic is
actually recycled.)
QUESTION:
How does PLA handle heat and cold?
ANSWER:
The PLA products are heat resistant to 104 degrees .
PLA can be used only for cold and warm foods and are freezer
safe.
GENERAL
QUESTIONS
QUESTION:
What’s the difference between biodegradable and compostable
products?
ANSWER:
Biodegradable
plastic is a degradable plastic in which the degradation must result
from the action of naturally occurring microorganisms, such as fungi
or bacteria. Compostable
plastic is a plastic that undergoes biological degradation during
composting to yield carbon dioxide, water, inorganic
compounds and biomass at a
rate consistent with other known compostable materials, such as
cellulose, leaving no visually distinguishable or toxic residues.
Biodegradability does not necessarily mean compostability but
is one of the components of compostability.
In addition, compostability requires disintegration of 90% of
the material to a size less than 2mm, and also mandates that the
compostable material does not create any eco-toxicity in the soil.
QUESTION:
Is composting a feasible alternative to landfills?
ANSWER:
By composting
biodegradable plastic along with the other biodegradable waste, we
can generate much needed carbon-rich soil (humus) instead of filling
up our valuable land with waste.
Compost amended soil can have beneficial effects by
increasing water & nutrient retention in soil, reducing chemical
inputs, (toxins, pesticides, etc.) and suppressing plant diseases.
Many communities have large-scale centralized collection of
yard waste and compostable material.
Through composting the problem of waste disposal could
become the solution for low-input sustainable agriculture.