FAQ

Yes, our products utilize Symphony Environmental’ s innovative
d2w® technology, which facilitates the breakdown of plastic
materials more efficiently than traditional plastics. d2w®
ensures the plastic completely degrades in open outdoor
conditions, leaving no harmful microplastics. This makes our
products an eco-friendly and safe solution for the environment.

We ship to most locations across the U.S., with the exception of
California, which has specific regulations on biodegradable
products. There may also be restrictions on certain products
depending on local regulations, and some remote areas may
experience longer shipping times. During checkout, we’ll
provide clear guidance on where we can and cannot ship.

Yes! We offer customizable branding options for businesses. If
you’re ordering in bulk, we can add your logo or custom
designs to our biodegradable products. Please contact us to
discuss your specific branding needs, pricing, and minimum order quantities.

You may return most new, unopened items within 10 days of delivery for a full
refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of
our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks
of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in
many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time
period includes the transit time for us to receive your return
from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us
to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My
Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button.
We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Yes. Oxo-biodegradable plastic has been certified by RAPRA Technology Analytical Laboratories as safe for long-term contact with any food type at temperatures up to 40°C according to European regulations. RAPRA is accredited by the United Kingdom accreditation authorities as meeting the requirements of International Standards Organisation norm no.17025. Oxo-biodegradable plastics are also certified as compliant with FDA requirements in the US.

Because thousands of tons of plastic waste are entering the world’s environment every day, and will remain there for decades. In no country is it possible to collect all the plastic for recycling or other forms of responsible disposal.

A very small amount of prodegradant additive is put into the manufacturing process. This breaks the molecular chains in the polymer, and at the end of its useful life the product degrades. It will be consumed by bacteria and fungi after the additive has reduced the molecular weight to a level which permits them access to the carbon and hydrogen.

Oxo-biodegradable plastic does just what it says, the clue is in the name – It is called oxo-biodegradable plastic because it is biodegradable. Oxo-biodegradable technology converts plastic products into biodegradable materials at the end of their useful life, and it does this by oxidation in the presence of oxygen. There is nothing misleading about it. There are some scientists who are not experts in oxo-biodegradable technology and there are mischievous individuals or companies who are spreading misinformation because they wish to give their own product an advantage in the marketplace that it does not deserve on merit. A scientific team from Blaise Pascal University (France’s leading research center into degradable plastics) took issue with the erroneous ‘not very expert reports’ and misinformation by which the EU has been misled on this issue oxo-biodegradable plasticbiodegrade Oxo-biodegradable plastic degrades and biodegrades in the open environment in the same way as nature’s wastes, only quicker. What’s more, it does so without leaving any toxic residues or fragments of plastic behind. If oxo-biodegradable plastic merely fragmented without biodegrading, CEN (European Committee for Standardization)would not have defined oxo-biodegradability as ““degradation resulting from oxidative and cell-mediated phenomena, either simultaneously or successively” and the American, British and French standards organizations would not have included tests for biodegradability in ASTM D6954, BS8472 and ACT51-808. Oxo-biodegradable plastic has been studied by scientists for many years http://www.biodeg.org/bibliography.html most recently at the Technical Research Institute of Sweden and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and a peer-reviewed report of the work was published in Vol 96 of the journal of Polymer Degradation & Stability (2011) at page 919-928. They found 91% biodegradation within 24 months. Furthermore, ten governments in the world have examined this technology very carefully and realized that oxo-biodegradable plastic offers a solution to plastic waste that escapes into the open environment and cannot realistically be collected. They have legislated to make oxo-biodegradable plastic mandatory, because it does not just fragment. It biodegrades. The process continues until the material has biodegraded to nothing more than CO2, water, and humus. It does not leave fragments of petro-polymers in the soil.

Yes, and one of the benefits of oxo-biodegradable plastic is that it can be recycled as part of a normal plastic waste stream (see Recycling However, if the plastic is not collected it cannot of course be recycled, so it needs to degrade instead of accumulating in the environment.

No. It contains metal salts, which are trace elements required in the human diet. They should not be confused with toxic heavy metals such as Lead, Mercury, Cadmium and Chromium, which are never used in oxo-biodegradable plastics.

Yes. Oxo-biodegradable plastics are currently made from a by-product of oil or natural gas. These are of course finite resources, but the by-product arises because the world needs fuels, and would arise whether or not the by-product were used to make plastic goods. Until other fuels and lubricants have been developed for engines, it makes good environmental sense to use the by-product, instead of using agricultural resources to make plastics. Recently, interest has been shown, especially in Brazil, in manufacturing sugar-derived polyethylenes. These, like oil-derived PE, are not biodegradable, but they can be made oxo-biodegradable in the same way, by the addition of a prodegradant additive.

No. Oxo-biodegradable plastic passes all the usual ecotoxicity tests, including seed germination, plant growth and organism survival (daphnia, earthworms) tests carried out in accordance with OECD standards.

No. The process of making paper bags causes 70% more atmospheric pollution than plastic bags. Paper bags use 300% more energy to produce, and the process uses huge amounts of water and creates very unpleasant organic waste. When they degrade they emit methane and carbon dioxide. A stack of 1000 new plastic carrier bags would be around 2 inches high, but a stack of 1000 new paper grocery bags could be around 2 feet high. It would take at least seven times the number of trucks to deliver the same number of bags, creating seven times more transport pollution and road congestion. Also, because paper bags are not as strong as plastic, people may use two or three bags inside each other. Paper bags cannot normally be reused, and will disintegrate if wet.