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Feathers and film

“Feathers are an incredible natural material, and we were thinking about how we could harness some of the existing properties and use them for useful things in our societies and economies. They could be used in the fight to avoid the use of plastic” CEO and co-founder of Aeropowder Ryan Robinson explains.

“We started with a practical mindset. The big picture question was initially: can we make a feather-based product, and will it insulate? To be honest, at the beginning the outer lining was not as critical. The insulation performance was the main thing we needed to understand. So, at first, we used a standard polyethylene liner – conventional and commonly used all around the world for many applications.”

Once Aeropowder figured those first questions out, they asked themselves: How do we move away from the traditional plastic material and move on to better alternatives?  “This is when we came across the film from Biobag” Ryan says. “We wanted a fully compostable product.”

How can bioplastic contribute to healthy soil?

We think it is essential that the EU, in its Soil Strategy, includes compostable plastic as an important factor in the restoration and maintenance of healthy soil. Collecting and composting the huge amounts of organic waste that we humans generate is a sustainable, good, and meaningful way to improve our soil. Giving all this organic material back to the soil will improve the soil quality. It will give back valuable nutrients and microorganisms, so that the soil becomes healthier and more resistant to, for example, drought and heavy rain. It will also maintain the soil fertile for growing food in a healthy and valuable circular economy. When sorting and collecting food waste, studies in several EU countries show that if sorted food waste is collected in bio bags, the quantity as well as the quality of the collected food waste is increased. The more food waste collected and used to improve our soil, the better.

The report of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations assessed the sustainability of agricultural plastic products. In this report the United Nations recommends the replacement of non-biodegradable, conventional plastic with biodegradable and bio-based plastic which is an important recognition of the environmental benefits of bioplastic products.

The study was done by a qualitative risk assessment focusing on 13 specific agricultural products used in a range of different value chains. The study recommends the use of biodegradable, bio-based plastics instead of traditional plastic for mulch films, fishing gear, polymer coated fertilizers, tree guards and shelters, plant support twines, and pesticide impregnated fruit protection bags. Read the full report here.

With mulch filming representing the largest part of agricultural plastic applications, the questions arise why? Mulching films has several benefits. It increases the soil temperatures, enhance weed control, and

An other recent study published in the journal, Environmental Science and Technology, concludes that an average person eats approx. 50,000 particles of microplastics a year and breathes in about the same amount. The harm caused to humans by inhaling microplastics is not yet known. But experts say that the particularly harmful aspect of microplastics is that they can carry other airborne pollutants into our lungs and blood streams. These microplastic particles can cause cardiovascular disease, cancer and affect the immune and nervous systems.

We must all make an effort to minimize plastic in nature

The most obvious action is, of course, to not throw plastic away in the countryside, but there are also other ways to avoid both plastic and microplastic pollution. We can think about minimizing the use of unnecessary plastics such as straws, shopping bags, cosmetics with plastic bits and water bottles, etc.

At the same time, we must replace conventional plastic products with more environmentally

A clear advantage is the significant increase in the quality and quantity of separately collected organic waste and a corresponding increase in the amount of compost produced. Due to misunderstandings, there are different opinions and misconceptions are unfortunately quite common - both within municipalities as well as among consumers.

The study highlights some of the many scientifically proven benefits that certified industrial compostable organic waste bags offer to municipalities, citizens and to the environment.  They significantly reduce the amount of conventional plastic in compost, as shown by a study published by the Wizenhausen Institute and University of Bayreyth.

Large scale experiments in Berlin, Milan, Munich and other cities showed that the amount of separately collected organix waste increased significantly by using the industrial compostable organic waste bags. Ventilated food waste containers remove odours and mold and minimize condensation, while reducing the weight

Plastic fractions highly contaminated with food waste cannot be recycled and are often therefore incinerated or, in worst cases, in some countries sent to landfill. By using compostable bioplastic to package food, the packaging can be composted together with the food waste.

Several studies indicate that when food waste is collected using certified biodegradable waste bags, the amount of food waste collected increases, and the food waste fraction is cleaner. All factors that make the collection and treatment of food waste even more sustainable. Moreover, it ensures no fossil microplastic is spread on the fields because bio bags decompose entirely. Read more about the role of bioplastics in the circular economy here.

Biobag Ireland UK is the first retail range of compostable bags to be certified for use in Irish food waste (brown) bins. Certification is awarded by Cré IRELAND which operates the only Irish scheme providing third party, independent assessment of compostable products in Ireland.

Only products like Biobag which have been assessed and certified by the scheme will be entitled to display the Irish ‘Cré Tick’ symbol. The scheme is great news for Irish consumers. It offers confidence that a product is accepted in domestic, food waste bins for processing locally in Ireland. This will increase public awareness and acceptance, leading to increased use of food bins and composting. Biobags are certified already by every major international body including OK Compost HOME and INDUSTRIAL and EN13432.

Adding a recognisably Irish certification to Biobag means that Irish consumers, waste collectors and composting facilities are assured that Biobag products are trustworthy, designed for Irish conditions

Novamont has expanded considerably in the past decade, in particular through internal growth, by acquiring and regenerating obsolete industrial sites. This transaction will allow Novamont to further expand its compostable bioplastics business into Northern/Eastern Europe, North America and Australia. Biobag will continue to operate as an independent organization, with the same leadership team who has achieved excellent results over the past few years.

“Soil is not renewable and it takes more than 2000 years to form a 10 cm layer of soil. But our lives depend on the soil – all production of food begins in the soil and soil binds enormous quantities of CO2 that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. But in spite of this, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation assesses that 33% of the planet’s soil is degraded and damaged by chemical contamination, acidification, nutrient imbalance and more,” says Novamont CEO, Catia Bastioli.

“If everyone knew that soil fertility, which is the basis of our food supply, was not renewable it would be a lot easier to create a sense of individual and collective responsibility.” “The combined effects of climate change and an exhausted soil can, over the course of the next 30 years, reduce agricultural output by half in some drought-affected regions. Globally, we need much more organic material and a comprehensive separation of food waste and organic materials can help contribute to that,” says

Four sets of Biobags were tested - one in a backyard compost box for 6 months, a second for 12 months, and the last for 2 years. The composting environment was an open-air box, with the items placed in clay flower pots, and then buried 6 inches and left untouched in the composting bed until recovered. This served as a stand-in “best case” scenario for if that product was littered on land and was in contact with soil. It was not meant to simulate an actively managed and turned home compost system or an industrial compost environment. The fourth set was submerged under a dock in the ocean for 2 years.