A (long) note on "GREENWASHING"

I just have to stop here and say something about the new "green" and "eco-whatever" movement that is really annoying those of us that know better.   Much like the "Lite" craze with foods before it FINALLY was legally defined, green terminology is taking over the market place.   In many cases, it means NOTHING.   Like the Lite version of the sugar-coated pork rinds--they are only "lite" as compared to the high-calorie version of the same product.

When I saw a commercial for a gas-guzzling car with "Eco-boost turbo charge" I knew things had gotten out of hand.

While we wait for (and push for) rules about claims of earth-friendly goodies, here are my tips on ferreting out some of those green-washed (not really green) claims.

Terms that are thrown around like biodegradable and renewable are often true.   But, "Green For Real" (GFR, my made up acronym) is a matter of degree.

For example, ALL trees are "renewable."   Cut down a tree and plant one in its place and eventually, you'll be back where you started.   RAPIDLY renewable (defined as "within 10 years" by USBGC) is GFR.   The more rapid, the better.   For instance, cork grows back on the cork oak tree in about 10 years.  Incidentally, it does not harm the tree's ability to clean the air with its leaves.   Bamboo grows back, in about 7 years, to the diameter which it was cut, to make floors, textiles, and furniture.   Grasses like sisal and jute grow back even faster.   In comparison, according to the Arbor Day Foundation, a fast-growing oak tree will take about 30 years from acorn to 30 feet, when it is generally cut for milling.   Simply "renewable" is NOT necessarily GFR.   Find out how soon the actual "renewing" happens so you know what you are buying.

Even the most biodegradable products (paper, for instance) take decades and need air, enzymes, microbes (found in dirt), and often sunlight to decompose back to the basic components from which they were derived.   This is not happening in a landfill, where things are purposely packed as tight as possible to make room for ever more trash.   There are some things, are preferably not allowed to biodegrade because they introduce harmful chemicals or heavy metals into the environment as they break down.

"Compostable" means that the material is rapidly decomposing vegetable matter that can then be used as a great mulch or fertilizer and truly sent back to the Earth's "cradle."   As with biodegradable materials, composting needs to be deliberately attended to in order for the process to take place.   A "Compostable" label doesn't matter if it's not deliberately composted.   Usually, throwing it in your own compost pile is not enough.

Plastic made from corn starch (PLA) seems like a great idea.   It turns out that the only good thing about them is that they do not directly leach nasty chemicals into the environment.   They are labeled "compostable."   However, they are ONLY compostable in an industrial facility that can cook them to over 140 degrees for 10 consecutive days with industrial strength enzymes.   (See Smithsonian's article on PLA)   There are about 30 such facilities in the entire country and they won't accept "residential" waste.   The industry claims that products made from PLA turn into carbon dioxide and water in 90 days.   Hmmm.   How drinkable is the water, and do we really need MORE carbon dioxide?   There has been a PLA "compostable" plate in my compost barrel for about a year now.   It remains completely unchanged.

Perhaps President Obama's push for green jobs will lead to more industrial composting facilities run by municipalities to employ more people.   In the meantime, changing the composition of our trash in a throw away culture is not the answer.   PLA can't be recycled with "regular" recyclable plastic as they will not combine.   There is already an ethanol controversy where we are using 12% of the world's corn to create non-food products.  Now, PLA is further depleting animal feed made from corn.   Do we REALLY need plastic plates worse than the starving people of the world need food?

Plastic made from petroleum (PET) is neither compostable nor is it biodegradable.   For that matter, neither is glass.   The difference is that plastic leaches toxic chemicals into the environment as it sits waiting to be washed to sea.  Much of it, in fact ends up in the middle of our oceans in ever growing islands of toxic slime, where occasionally huge goopy chunks break off and wash back onto the shores, killing everything in their path.   Yummy.   Try googling "ocean trash big as Texas" and see what you find. I now think carefully, and at least feel adequately guilty, before buying anything with plastic--let alone tossing it back out in to the "vortex."

Our trash, no matter how it's labeled, will NOT simply disintegrate magically into nothingness as we like to imagine.   There is no "away" in which to throw this stuff.

Seems like we can't win?   It's truly not hopeless, people.   We just have to keep the three R's in mind:   Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Reduce:  Use less stuff in the first place.   Think if you really need that [whatever] before you buy.   When you do buy, get products with reduced packaging.

Reuse:  Whenever possible, buy in bulk and reuse the container.   I do this with cat litter and we save about 250 pounds of plastic from needing to be manufactured, disposed of, or even recycled.  Bringing your own bag to the grocery store is common these days, as is bringing your own coffee cup for refills.

Recycle:  This is the last resort as compared to reducing and reusing materials.  On the other hand, it is a necessary evil for fossil-fuel items made from plastic.   We need to keep them from polluting the environment directly. In addition, the day will come when the raw materials to create petroleum-based plastics will have been depleted.   If we keep them in a closed loop and out of the environment, we can then focus on making the process healthy by using solar and wind power while cleaning the water for the product life cycle.

The point is to not take these idioms at face value.   Dig a little deeper and find out EXACTLY what they mean.  Question the words used and look at who is using them.   Look for carefully worded "pledges" in the sustainability section of the manufacturer's website.  A pledge to do something awesome in the future doesn't mean anything if they are continuing with bad practices now.

It stands to reason that the same material used to make the liner for the landfill (polyurethane), is probably NOT biodegradable within any time soon.