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Oxo biodegradable plastic fragments into small pieces animals mistake for food<\/p><\/div>\n
Consumers have gotten somewhat familiar with what can or cannot be recycled. But few consumers understand what oxo biodegradable plastic<\/a><\/span> is or the impact that it has on the environment.<\/p>\n Oxo Biodegradable Plastic<\/a><\/span> (OBD) is a polyolefin plastic \u2013 a type of transparent plastic<\/a> often with an oily or waxy feel to it \u2013 that\u2019s had small catalytic amounts of metal salts and\/or heavy metals added to it.<\/p>\n According to the Oxo-Biodegradable Plastics Association<\/a>, \u201cuntil the plastic has degraded, it has the same strength, impermeability, printability and other characteristics of normal plastic.\u201d<\/p>\n This statement, however, is misleading. The nature of oxo biodegradable plastic is that it begins to break down almost from the point of its manufacture. This is what gives it a limited shelf life. Manufacturers have tried to combat this by adding anti-oxygen components to the plastic. This, however, weakens the polymer and ends up contaminating the recycling<\/a> stream. Also these salts and metals are inorganic materials and, because they don\u2019t break down, will remain in the soil or environment long after the material itself breaks down.<\/p>\n This type of plastic poses a real hazard to the environment.\u00a0 Its components break down in fragments, small pieces that are often mistaken by animals for food. There\u2019s no real scientific evidence that small microbes are breaking the plastic down to its natural elements.<\/p>\n ENSO bottles won't contaminiate the recycling stream or the environment<\/p><\/div>\n ENSO<\/a> plastic bottles are more environmentally-friendly.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ensobottles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/ENSO-Bottles1.jpg\")