When does a biodegradable product not degrade? It seems that when the product crosses a border there are different levels of biodegradable. And it is causing trouble. It seems that the new wipes designed to replace toilet paper from companies such as Kimberly-Clark and SC Johnson are promoted as being biodegradable. Now it seems there is a rising chorus of municipal waste water plants that say “Not so!” This is causing concerns.
We Canadians have come a long way since we used to use dried corn cobs, Eaton’s catalogue pages or handy icicles in winter to finish the job out in the out house. We were just kids when mother first found out about flush toilets and paper actually designed to be flushed down the toilet. It was a big day. Mother explained that for safety sake, we should always use at least two layers to prevent the embarrassment of our fingers going through the paper while wiping.
When the idea of baby wipes was introduced, most new parents knew that the wipes went in the garbage and not the toilet. The roto-rooter experience easily convinced many parents that cloth diapers definitely did not go into the toilet.
But it hardly answers the problem of the wet wipes. While not subjecting these innocent looking wipes to analysis or serious microscopic attention, they appear to be polymer rather than paper. That would seem to be the reason that they can stay wet in the box as it sits on a store shelf. It can still be biodegradable—just not as fast as cellular paper.
Paper fibres are actually good for water treatment plants because the fibres degrade quickly and assist in the production of methane. The methane produced from sewage enables the plant to produce electricity and heat used in the treatment process. Polymer wipes would act like plastic bags from the grocery store. If you put grocery store bags in your garden compost, they would probably still promote Loblaw a year later.
The conundrum for the wipes manufacturers is that if the wipes are to stay wet in the box, they are obviously not able to biodegrade overnight. You have to use the garbage for them, not the toilet.
And if you are wondering why a political commentator would get off on this subject, you just need to understand how people feel about Canadian politics these days.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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