Yes. The Boise Co-op has recently started using environmentally friendly oxo-biodegradable plastic bags at the check out counter that are better for the environment than paper bags in several ways.

Regular plastic bags take somewhere between 200 and 1,000 years to degrade in a landfill while paper grocery bags take 25 to 100 years. Oxo-biodegradable plastic bags fully degrade in a landfill in two years.

The additional benefits of oxo-biodegradable bags stem from the manufacturing process. Many people do not realize the large amount of chemicals involved in the paper bag making process. Compared to the new oxo-biodegradable bags, paper bags take four times as much energy to produce and generate 70% more air and 50 times more water pollutants.

Additionally, new research indicates that using oxo-biodegradable bags compared to regular plastic bags can help reduce greenhouse gasses.

The oxo-biodegradable bags are fully reusable and recyclable (plastic type # 2) within 18 months and are as strong as their counterparts made of regular plastic. Please reuse them again and again.

How does it work?

Plastic bags are made out of polyethylene. Polyethylene molecules are far too large for microorganisms to digest. However, the bags have an additive to the film that causes oxo-biodegration. Oxo-biodegration is a two step process.

• First, triggered by heat, sunlight, or mechanical stress, the additive causes the bag to oxidize. The oxidative degradation breaks the polyethylene molecules into smaller sizes.
• Second, once the oxidation process gets to the point that the molecules are small enough, microorganisms (fungi, bacteria, etc.) digest the molecules leaving only water, carbon-dioxide, and biomass which are natural elements of nature