Why is it that the holiday’s are the hardest time to stay green? Easter is tomorrow and I have such fond memories of Easter when I was a kid. Maybe that’s one reason why it’s so hard for me to change my ways. For this year I did make a few minor changes but nothing dramatic.
He already has a basket from last year so we’re reusing that. No need to buy a new one each year. Afterall, when I was a kid that was the one thing my mom was good at, reusing items. We always used the same basket from year to year. I bet if I did deep enough in their storage shed that my parents still have those baskets somewhere. Another item my mom always reused was the grass. Trust me by the time we were 10 that stuff was so old I’m surprized it didn’t just disappear. However, since I didn’t get into the habit of saving that stuff this year I tried something new.
Wal-Mart had some OxoBiodegradeable Plastic grass. Now…I know I should have just gotten the paper grass but I was curious. Now after reading the back I’m not so sure I made the best decision. It says…”made from polypropylene containing an additive that accelerates the degradation of the plastic when exposed to unfiltered sunlight and to the oxygen in the air. The resulting degradation products are amendable to conversion by naturally occurring micro-organisms into carbon dioxide and water; thereby returning the plastic to the ecosystem. This product is not designed for compost applications.” So it will degrade but it’s not compostable? I’m so confused. If I sent the item to the landfill it wouldn’t degrade inside of a plastic garbage bag. However, if I just throw it in the yard (not composted) it will degrade? I guess I’m going to have to test this one.
**I just looked up the Oxobiodegardable Plastics Institute and read up on this stuff. There is no reference to the Easter grass however it does talk about the science behind the plastic. It doesn’t sound all bad. I’m not quite sure what the additive is that makes it speed up the degradation process but it says that this type of plastic typically degrades in 6mo – 2 years. So from a little perspective it’s actually a neat thing. If you’ve ever been to a landfill the one item that causes the most litter problem is plastic grocery bags. They are littered all around the landfill and the wind blows them everywhere. Thinking about Easter this doesn’t sound like a bad thing. When I was little Easter was always inside. However, we tend to hide my sons eggs outside. As you may know this grass does blow out of the basket so in theory the Easter grass that ‘gets away’ should degrade into the earth in very little time. Since it is already shredded it should degrade quicker than a grocery bag. Now I really have to test this out and see how it reacts in my compost bin. The web site says they are compostable; not sure why the bag said it shouldn’t be composted.
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