Have you ever wondered if you could make a product from plastic, yet have the plastic item biodegrade when disposed of? This was not thought possible in a practical and economic sense, until Biogone introduced its technology into the Australian market.
Biogone, which will be exhibiting at AUSPACK 2022, is a supplier of everyday plastic items that have been made to be biodegradable when disposed to a modern landfill, using technology developed in the USA around 2010.
The addition of the small amount of Biogone’s proprietary organic supplement to the plastic, at the time of product production, allows naturally occurring microbes in landfills to digest the plastic and break it down into its constituents of a biogas and a sludge (humus), according to founder of Biogone, Dr Ross Headifen.
“An added benefit of the Biogone technology is that it does not impact the recyclability of the plastic material, fitting nicely into the country’s circular economy ambitions,” Headifen said, noting that Biogone plastics are also approved by REDcycle.
Equally important for environmental considerations, Biogone plastics do not have a limited shelf life, and they do not fragment into microplastics over time.
“A plastic made with Biogone technology will perform and look just the same as a conventional plastic. Only when it is disposed to a landfill, will any differences become apparent,” Headifen said. “The technology that Biogone employs allows a plastic to biodegrade, it can produce energy to displace coal, and is fully recyclable without the requirement for any special disposal methods."
Visit Biogone at AUSPACK on Stand H195 to find out more about meeting the 2025 National Packaging Targets.
