Trash with Style

by Delia Montgomery August 5, 2008, 12:52 am 47 Views 5 Comments

Just tested new eco poly bags from The Finer Liner.com and I’m impressed. Both business and home owners who simultaneously care about tasteful decor and being green have a solution.

Company owner Annette Savio offers lovely white biodegradable trash liners with shimmering gold ferns printed on them. The scalloped edge is unique and stylish. As pictured, simply fold the liner edge over for a fashionable wastebasket.

Each liner fits up to a 36 inch perimeter, which is your typical basket size for decorated living, bed and bathrooms. A pack of 12 liners is $9 or retailers can place minimum orders for 36 packages.

Annette’s No. 8 liners are made of polyethylene, which is a polymerized ethylene resin. They’re also fully biodegradable, either anaerobically or aerobically, within six to 90 months. This means they degrade in landfills when composted, buried in the ground, or littered. The bags do not require heat or mechanical means to break them down and do not require special handling like PLA and oxo-degradable products. Unlike most other oxo-degradable items, they do not contain heavy metals.

The manufacturer claims that these liners break down once they’re in a natural environment — such as a compost or landfill. Technically, the biodegradable plastic bags meet the ASTM 1991 definition for degradable plastics. Annette can supply more component details by request.

For tips about conscious trashing, visit The Ecology Center site operated from Berkeley. The Center promotes environmentally and socially responsible practices through programs that educate, demonstrate, and provide direct services. Consider surfing the site and read the Seven Misconceptions about Plastic and Plastic Recycling.

In summary, first reduce the amount of plastic you acquire. Reuse what you do get. Then when you want to throw your plastics away, remember that there are good reasons for most of it to go straight to the landfill.

Written by Delia Montgomery

I am Delia, d/b/a Chic Eco on www.ChicEco.com, and established myself as an eco fashion guru by learning "who makes what in the world of environmental fashion and design."

Enjoy reading some of my freelance writing about environmental design, fashion and art -- from both consumer and supplier perspectives. You may notice I focus most on individual eco designers, movers and shakers.

From sustainable fashion apparel to paint and flooring, discoveries are a rush. I get my kicks this way. I also offer sales representation of earth-friendly designed products for wholesale buyers. Retailers may take advantage of my services with factory-direct pricing. Spend less time sourcing and prevent green-washed purchases!

My other forte is connecting suppliers with business-to-business tools. Aspects of my business vary with consulting services while I'm proud to be the aide that embraces unique and innovative gigs.

I'm originally a Kentucky Blue Grass gal who relocated to Maui early 2006 and the tropical Puna District of Big Island, Hawaii late 2007. Walk the talk is my motto here.

Early 2009 I constructed a yurt home office in a semi-urban setting on a tiny lot. My water comes from the sky, contained in a catchment that's not likely to dry in this rain forest. The electric is designed for solar conversion. I grow about 30% of my food organically, compost, and recycle to the hilt. Permaculture with a full eco system is my gardening style.

In fact, gardening is my ultimate joy. I seek gigs like design, weeding and planting between other jobs. My love is Hawai'i which has more climate zones than any state. There are frequent earthquakes here, typically under a 3.0 magnitude, and I happen to dig the vibrations. It's a wonderful simple life in paradise. As I grow older and wiser, I become more and more grateful.