Microsoft's Procurement Sustainability Assurance Guidance
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In this article, we’ll explain what Microsoft’s Procurement Sustainability Assurance Guidance is, how it works, the benefits, and challenges of this sustainability initiative.
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What is Biodegradable Plastic?
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In 2025, shifting to the use of more sustainable packing materials and attempting to go green are all ways that the average person and business take a step forward to fighting against climate change – such as by employing the use of biodegradable plastic.
Biodegradable and compostable plastic are becoming increasingly common, as several businesses decide to revamp their packaging to offer more eco-friendly products – but how beneficial is biodegradable plastic, truly?
In this article, we’ll explain what biodegradable plastic is, the pros and cons, and better alternatives to help the environment.
What is the definition of biodegradable plastic?
Biodegradable plastic refers to the ability for plastic to break down into substances, such as bacteria, fungi, and algae – in a short amount of time.
💡 The main goal of biodegradable plastic is to speed up the process of plastic breaking down, as traditional plastics can take hundreds of years to fully decompose – biodegradable plastic can be broken down into natural elements such as water, carbon dioxide, and biomass.
“ If a technology is elegant, biodegradable, made from renewable materials and employs a minimum of muscular, water or wind energy, is responsive, beautiful in its way, and challenging to the user in that it develops the user's senses and strength - it may comport with nature. – (Stephanie Mills from from Counterpunch). ”
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How does biodegradable plastic decompose?
Biodegradable plastic decomposes as microorganisms will use the plastic as a food source, which will then break it down into simpler substances to be absorbed into the surrounding environment, such as a nearby body of water.
👉 However, it is important to note that environmental factors also play a role – as humidity, sunlight, and temperature can have an impact on how fast biodegradable plastic decomposes.
Types of Biodegradable Plastics
There are two main types of biodegradable plastics: plant-based biodegradable plastic and petroleum based biodegradable plastic.
- Plant-Based Plastics (Hydro-Biodegradable) – Also referred to as bioplastics, this type of biodegradable plastic can be made from renewable sources such as sugarcane, corn starch, and potato starch. Examples of this kind of biodegradable plastic include Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA).
- Petroleum-Based Biodegradable Plastics (Oxo-Biodegradable) – This type of biodegradable plastic is made from conventional finite resources, but manufactured to degrade faster than ordinary plastics – such as with Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT).
👉 Biodegradable plastic is often used for packaging materials, agricultural films, and even for dissolvable stitches – demonstrating the versatility of biodegradable plastics and the opportunity it has to help reduce plastic waste across multiple industries.
What is the difference between biodegradable and compostable plastic?
While both biodegradable and compostable plastics can break down into their surrounding environment, the two types of plastic are not one and the same.
💡 Biodegradable plastic is defined by its ability to break down, but may not always prove successful – whereas compostable plastic is developed and tested to ensure it will work when it undergoes processing in a composting facility.
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Overall, the main difference between biodegradable and compostable plastic is their ability to break down into the environment.
Here’s a breakdown of the differences between the these two types of plastics:
- Ability to Break Down – Biodegradable plastic will often breakdown into smaller components with the help of water, carbon dioxide, and microorganisms – whereas compostable plastic is designed to breakdown into organic matter under a specific timeframe.
- How the Plastics Break Down – Both biodegradable and compostable plastic require heat, moisture, and time to be decomposed – but biodegradable plastics can take years to fully degrade in natural surroundings, whereas compostable plastic can break down faster, although it requires an industrial setting to properly decompose.
- Necessary Certifications – Biodegradable plastic is not required to be certified to the same extent as compostable plastic, which is often required to meet industry standards such as EN 13432 in Europe and ASTM D6400 in the United States.
- Challenges of Each Plastic – Biodegradable plastics may leave harmful residue and not degrade entirely in landfills or oceans, whereas compostable plastics can end up in landfills if not decomposed properly.
The table below will compare and contrast the differences between biodegradable and compostable plastic:
| Feature | Biodegradable Plastic | Compostable Plastic |
|---|---|---|
| Breakdown Time | Varies (weeks to years) | Typically faster (weeks to months) |
| Breakdown Residue | Possible microplastics | No toxic residues, turns into compost |
| Conditions Needed | May break down in natural settings | Requires specific composting conditions |
| Certification | Not always certified | Must meet strict standards |
| Environmental Impact | Can be unclear (if not fully degraded) | More environmentally friendly |
👉 Ultimately, compostable plastics are a better choice for the circular economy as they can completely break down without leaving behind any residue – whereas biodegradable plastics may still contribute to plastic pollution as they do not undergo the same approval process as compostable plastics.
What are the pros and cons of biodegradable plastic?
There are several benefits and drawbacks to the use of biodegradable plastic, such as how it can help to mitigate excessive plastic pollution – but it also requires specific conditions and could exacerbate the danger of misleading eco-labels.
💡Although biodegradable plastic can help to avoid the negative effects of plastic lingering in our oceans and surrounding environment, it is important to note that at the end of the day – biodegradable plastic is still a type of plastic, meaning that it isn’t the most sustainable material or resource to be using in the midst of climate change.
This was demonstrated in a study conducted by Imogen Napper, where it was found that biodegradable plastic shopping bags were still present in soil a whopping 27 months after being buried – illustrating how biodegradable plastic still remains present in our environment despite being able to break down faster than traditional plastic.
“ After three years, I was really amazed that any of the bags could still hold a load of shopping. For biodegradable bags to be able to do that was the most surprising. When you see something labelled in that way, I think you automatically assume it will degrade more quickly than conventional bags. But, after three years at least, our research shows that might not be the case. – (Imogen Napper). ”
All of this being said, there are still reasons to opt for the use of biodegradable plastic while keeping the disadvantages in mind.
Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of biodegradable plastic:
Advantages of Biodegradable Plastic
- Reduce Plastic Pollution – As traditional plastic is currently responsible for a total of 3.3% of GHG emissions worldwide, biodegradable plastic, while slow at decomposing, can still help to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases created from traditional plastics burning in our landfills.
- Decrease Dependency on Fossil Fuels – Since biodegradable plastics can be made from renewable resources, it can ultimately help to reduce the carbon footprint created by fossil fuels.
- Mitigate the Use of Traditional Plastic – While biodegradable plastic still comes with its caveats, it can still help to reduce the impact created by conventional plastics – meaning that businesses and households alike could reduce their environmental impact if they were to switch to the use of biodegradable plastic.
Disadvantages of Biodegradable Plastic
- Necessary Specific Conditions Needed – While biodegradable plastic can decompose faster than traditional plastic, it still requires specific conditions – such as increased heat and select types of bacteria, in order to properly break down in natural environments.
- Expensive – As biodegradable plastic is more expensive to produce than traditional plastic, as the average cost can be anywhere from $2 to $7 USD per kilogram – it can prove more difficult for companies to procure biodegradable plastic and ultimately provide customers with this more eco-friendly option when shopping.
- Misleading Labels – Since “biodegradable" may not always mean that the plastic will break down in all environments, people may be under the impression that if they opt for this material – they are helping to reduce their own environmental impact, when there could be more successful ways of accomplishing this goal.
- Risk of Microplastics – A we’ve discussed previously on our blog, microplastics can severely impact our oceans and even be accidentally ingested by the food we eat or water we drink – and since some biodegradable plastics may break into tiny fragments, it could further contribute to microplastic pollution.
👉 Overall, biodegradable plastic is certainly a more viable alternative to the use of traditional plastics – but it still possesses several potential setbacks, such as by potentially contributing to microplastic pollution or proving to be too expensive for some companies.
Why might biodegradable plastic not be the best choice for the environment?
Biodegradable plastic, while a better alternative than traditional plastic, can still end up in landfills and contribute to the release of methane – ultimately still contributing to GHG emissions.
💡This means that when bioplastics end up in the landfill, of which many do, they can contribute to potent greenhouse gases in the same capacity of PET plastic.
“ Marketing is highly abusive in this area. – (Taylor Weiss, researcher and assistant professor at the Arizona State University discussing the impact that misleading eco-friendly labels can have on our environment.” ”
Unfortunately, this hasn’t stopped big-name companies from insinuating that plastic pollution can be solved with biodegradable plastic – such as with Coca-Cola, from using vague terms to convince customers that their products are not contributing to further environmental harm.
Luckily, to combat the effects of plastic pollution – Coca-Cola has committed themselves to recycle one plastic bottle for every bottle it sells by 2030. While recycling can help, such as in regions of the world like Europe where 41% of plastic was recycled in 2022 – efforts to encourage consumers to recycle plastic, even biodegradable plastic, could prove pointless in countries which value consumerism like the U.S. – where only 8.4% of plastic is recycled.
Additional reasons why biodegradable plastic may not be the best solution include:
- The industrialization process and carbon footprint created from the production of biodegradable plastic;
- Biodegradable plastic could contaminate existing recycling streams and make it more challenging to effectively process other recyclable materials;
- Plant-based biodegradable plastic may use a large amount of finite resources such as water, land, and energy.
👉 As a whole, biodegradable plastic is surely better than traditional plastic as it has a better chance of being decomposed and mitigating excess GHG emissions – but there are still better alternatives than biodegradable plastic.
What are some alternatives to biodegradable plastic?
There are several alternatives to the use of biodegradable plastic, such as:
- Reusable Items – Opting for a reusable water bottle, shopping bag, glass containers, stainless steel, or silicone for food packaging are all more eco-friendly alternatives to biodegradable plastic.
- Compostable Packaging – Materials such as bamboo, paper, or palm leaves will all decompose faster than biodegradable plastic.
- Paper-Based Products – Cardboard, paper bags, and molded fiber packaging are all easier to breakdown than biodegradable plastic.
- Adopting Minimalism – Perhaps the best alternative to biodegradable plastic is to opt for minimalism as a whole – such as by avoiding ordering something unless it’s essential, using reusable items, bulk shopping, purchasing package-free products, and cutting out plastic altogether.
Overall, biodegradable plastic is a type of plastic that can be broken down into the environment faster than traditional plastic – but it still isn’t the most efficient way to support the planet or mitigate climate change.
What about Greenly?
If reading this article on biodegradable plastic has inspired you to consider your company’s own carbon footprint, Greenly can help.
At Greenly we can help you to assess your company’s carbon footprint, and then give you the tools you need to cut down on emissions. We offer a free demo for you to better understand our platform and all that it has to offer – including assistance on how to reduce emissions, optimize energy efficiency, and decarbonize your supply chain to help reduce plastic waste.
Learn more about Greenly’s carbon management platform here.
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