Q. What does BioGreen Products Co. sell?
A. BioGreen Products Co. sells Earth Nurture biodegradable plastic disposable products.
Q. What are Earth Nurture products made out of?
A. 98.9% conventional plastics, such as polypropylene, and 1.1% of our proprietary additive, which makes them biodegradable.
Q. Are these products the same as PLA, spudware, corn plastic, etc.?
A. No, these products are not PLA, (corn plastic, PolyLactic Acid, or spudware,) and they are not similar to PLA in their properties. They do not droop at hot food temperatures, for example.
Q. Are these products recyclable?
A. Yes, if the location in which they are disposed of have a program for recycling the plastic of which they are made. Most Earth Nurture products are made of plastics for which there are currently limited recycling facilities. Earth Nurture’s cold cups, cutlery, and straws, for example, are made of polypropylene, coded as resin number 5 – the same material that they are usually made out of. Polypropylene is familiar as the slightly flexible plastic of which many food containers, such as yogurt containers, are made.
Q. Are Earth Nurture products oxo-biodegradable, like “Perf Go Green” garbage bags?
A. No. Oxo-biodegradable plastics require oxygen and UV light or heat to biodegrade, and so will not biodegrade deep in landfills. Earth Nurture products do not require either UV light or oxygen to biodegrade, and will biodegrade at any depth in landfills.
Q. Do these products have a limited shelf life?
A. No, unlike both PLA and oxo-biodegradable plastic products, these products have an unlimited shelf life.
Q. Does BioGreen have proof of the biodegradability of their products’ biodegradability done by a third party laboratory?
A. Yes, available by request to companies that sign BioGreen’s NDA.
Q. Are these products expensive?
A. These products are priced competitively with conventional plastic products, at about 1/4 the price of competing PLA products.
Q. Are these products ‘compostable?’
A. These products are not sold as compostable, because they don't biodegrade as quickly as compostable products. (The bags cannot be labeled as biodegradable in California, which equates biodegradable with compostable in plastic bags and food containers, but not in service ware, such as cups, straws, and cutlery.) Earth Nurture service ware can be labeled ‘biodegradable’ in all US jurisdictions.
Q. How do these products biodegrade?
A. The biodegradation mechanism is micro-biobiodegradation, which means that the additive attracts soil micro-organisms, which degrade the plastic through the excretion of enzymes and acids which break down the plastic into humus, biogas, and water.
Q. How long does it take these products to biodegrade in landfills?
A. 9 months to 5 years, which gives the landfill in which they are placed time to be capped with clay and tapped for biogas, which is burned as an industrial heat source.
Q. Are the additive’s ingredients harmful to people or to the environment?
A. No, our products are made with all ingredients listed on the FDA’s GRAS list, and extensive testing has proven the additive harmless to plant and animal life. Full details are available to prospective customers who sign BioGreen’s NDA.
Q. Why haven't I heard of this technology before? Isn't it new and unproven?
A. There are three brands of disposable plastic products using this technology currently that are being sold in the US, but they are all much more expensive than the Earth Nurture line.
Q. What micro-biodegradable products are available for private label (ie. store-branded packaging?)
A. BioGreen’s Earth Nurture product line offers all of the plastic disposable products usually sold in retail outlets: Polypropylene cutlery, polypropylene cold cups, polypropylene straws, polypropylene dishes, and LDPE self-closing sandwich freezer, sandwich, and garbage bags in the usual sizes-all made with the biodegrading additive that makes it legal to label them as biodegradable. HDPE t-shirt bags and LDPE produce bags are also available for front end use.
Q. Where can I learn more about BioGreen Products Co. products?
A. Start with our website’s homepage, BioGreen Products Co. Homepage , for a fuller introduction to the technology, and use the contact information on that website if you have further questions. You may also call Tim Dunn, at 360-652-4703 during West Coast business hours, or e-mail him at sales@biogreenproducts.biz .