alt Hacker News> I can literally just buy compostable bags for organic waste made of corn starch on Amazon.
They compost, but they don't biodegrade. The difference is whether it breaks into microplastics or dissolves/is digested in the ocean.
> I can literally just buy compostable bags for organic waste made of corn starch on Amazon.
They compost, but they don't biodegrade. The difference is whether it breaks into microplastics or dissolves/is digested in the ocean.
My understanding is that cellophane generally does biodegrade in most settings. Polylactic acid (those cornstarch-derived bags) mostly biodegrades in hot enough compost or (after several years) in ambient-temperature soil, but not very well in cooler water (One study: "The half-life period of degradation [of polylactic acid in artificial seawater] is 12 [days at 90° C] or 468 days [at 60° C]").