The Nature of Trash

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Biodegradable Trash: An Explanation

RECYCLING means using an item several times, rather than just once. When something is BIODEGRADABLE, it can be recycled by natural methods.

Bio = Life

Degradable = Something that can be reduced to smaller components.

When a piece of trash is BIODEGRADABLE, it can be reduced into smaller components by living creatures!

Every creature in nature has to eat. There are as many different kinds of creatures as there are different kinds of things to eat. Some creatures eat plants, some eat other animals, some eat wood, and some even eat minerals and metal!

When BIODEGRADABLE trash is thrown away, it is trash that can be eaten by some kind of natural creature or process.

The most common natural creatures that eat our trash are: Bacteria, Molds, Fungi, Worms, and Insects.

Sometimes sunlight, water, and oxygen are required to allow the living creatures to eat the BIODEGRADABLE trash.

To find out if an item is biodegradable, we have to know what it is made of. If the item is made from natural materials that are consumed by bacteria or fungus, it is probably BIODEGRADABLE.

However, sometimes even an item that is BIODEGRADABLE can be processed in such a way that it becomes NON-BIODEGRADABLE. Plastics and oils are commonly added to paper products, which makes them NON-BIODEGRADABLE.

You can see some examples of BIODEGRADABLE and NON-BIODEGRADABLE trash on the next page.

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