Eco-conscious businesses around the globe are on the hunt for sustainable alternatives in an effort to curb the plastic epidemic that is destroying our planet, and the marketplace of packaging solutions reflects this. Each day, more and more biodegradable packaging options come out, but narrowing down which ones actually fulfill the claims they make can be difficult.
Many of these so-called green choices are not completely honest about the effectiveness of their products’ biodegradability. For example, PLA resin has been picking up steam as the next leading plastic alternative, but in reality, it’s only compostable within an industrial composting center. If they end up in the ocean or in a landfill, they are not able to compost. Other options that do actually break down do not have the same durability as plastic, so they typically fall apart before you are done using them.
BIOLO Standard Mailer
BIOLO has partnered with Danimer Scientific to bring businesses a range of packaging solutions made from their innovative PHA resin. PHA, long name polyhydroxyalkanoates, is a substrate made from plants that performs the same (sometimes even better) than traditional petroleum-based plastics. The real difference between PHA and plastic comes when it is discarded. As long as the PHA product enters a bioactive environment, meaning one with live microbes, it will begin the biodegradation process.
Once these microbes come into contact with the PHA, they begin to consume it and break down the PHA, since the substrate is actually a natural source of fuel for them. Once 80-100 days have passed, not a single trace of the PHA is left behind. Examples of bioactive environments where this can take place would be home compost bins, industrial composting facilities, landfills, and even bodies of freshwater or saltwater. This is what sets BIOLO bags apart from the rest – when it comes to composting, their flexibility allows for many different end-of-life scenarios to occur without impeding the biodegradation process.
BIOLO Standard Handle Bag
Baer & Associates is excited to connect their network of eco-conscious businesses with BIOLO and their PHA products. These U.S. manufactured plastic-alternative products range from standard product bags, standard mailers, and standard handle bags, as well as bags with customizable options and roll stock. BIOLO can print up to 8 colors and uses solvent ink, which is also biodegradable and fade-resistant. PHA is hydrophobic and thermophobic, meaning it has a very stable shelf-life and can be stored for long periods of time without degrading either.