(NOTE: You might also like this more recent post about #7 PLA plastics.) The plastics industry has been working at a fevered pace to develop new resins with environmental benefits. Older polymers can have degradation rates spanning 1,000 years or more. Recycling traditional resins has long been a part of the waste management landscape. But the introduction of various “degradable” resins is relatively recent. Only 9 percent of the 32 million tons of plastic waste generated in the U.S. in 2012 was recovered for recycling. Obviously, there is plenty of room for improvement. (FACTOID: 32 million tons is equal to 1,218,208,000,000 20-ounce PET water bottles.) Much of the industrial world is pushing toward zero waste goals. Manufacturers have designed resins that disintegrate over a more reasonable period time. They need exposure to light, oxy...

Instead of using plastic made from petrochemicals and fossil fuels, compostable plastics are derived from renewable materials like corn, potato, and tapioca starches, cellulose, soy protein, and lactic acid. Compostable plastics are non-toxic and decompose back into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass when composted. Don’t get confused- compostable plastics are not the same as biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable, or bio-based conventional plastics. Some of the first alternative plastics were hybrid plastics made of both petroleum-based and plant-based resins. These hybrid plastics were not truly compostable because they contained petroleum. Read more about the differences between biodegradable and compostable plastics here. What is compostable plastic made out of? World Centric® compostable plastics are made from polylactic acid (PLA). PlAis made from dextro...