Rather than start a new thread, I am resurrecting this old thread and updated the title to be more generic than the original that focused on IGA. I was recently introduced to cassava base plastic bags. I am not an expert so there could be + / - education about the reality but here goes. There is an earlier post referencing alternative bags as ‘greenwash’ and enumerated reasons for that statement, including linking a 2009 Guardian item, but cassava bags seem to be an evolution as well as a significant improvement over the status quo and appear to have started coming into their own mid-this decade.
From a corporate web site (OK, these are what they are, but):
100% made from renewable bio-based, not oil
Compostable and biodegradable
Safe to consume for land and marine animals
Can be recycled along with paper
Customizable shape and design
Can be dissolved in a matter of less than 150 days when discarded in bodies of water.
It appears if the manufacturers’ claims stand scrutiny this time, one use plastics based bags could be legislatively ‘retired’ except for the economic and political power of vested interests. There are a number of companies that can be found by googling ‘cassava bags’.
Has their time arrived or are these products over-hyped?
