Are biodegradable plastics the answer? Some may say it’s a step in the right direction, but with a serious problem such as this perhaps we don’t have time for baby steps and we can just go right to choosing natural alternatives, such as glass, metal, and paper.
The truth about these biodegradable plastics is that they are still plastic. Animals do not know the difference when they eat them. It may “break down” in one or two years instead of ten or a hundred, but that doesn’t make a difference to an animal who picks it up today.
Many of these “compostable” plastics need to be processed in an industrial facility, but the marketing suggests you could just throw it in your backyard compost pile. If you take a look at most places that do use them, many of them just go right in the trash can with the rest of the garbage.