As our world increases its environmental stewardship, consumers are becoming keenly aware of the problem that plastics present.

There is no denying their benefit, but how do we manage persistent plastic waste at the point of production? While it only takes 12 minutes to create a plastic bag, it takes 500 years, or more, for the plastic to completely biodegrade in a landfill. At the very least, that’s over five normal human life spans. 

The abundance of plastic production in the past 40 years has created a host of landfill problems. Burning plastics is not a viable alternative as it generates harmful toxins and recycling efforts often do not match the demand of plastics for consumers. As a result, plastics continue to fill up landfills.

The solution is EcoPure®. Our end of life organic additive is the tested way biodegrade* complex polymers into organic biomass and energy for recapture. In an actively managed landfill, designed to meet new EPA specifications, methane gas is captured and used as an energy source. In addition to hastening the biodegradation* process, the EcoPure® additive allows plastic to biodegrade* into inert biomass and methane.

* Biodegradation rates of EcoPure®-treated plastic materials measured according to the ASTM D5511 test method. Tests are generally conducted using 20% to 30% solids content; solids content in naturally wetter landfills range from 55% to 65%, while the driest landfills may reach 93%. Actual biodegradation rates will vary in biologically-active landfills according to the type of plastic used, the product configuration, and the solid content, temperature and moisture levels of the landfill.