What ‘biodegradable’ packaging really means – and 3 key questions to ask about it

By Martin Zaki, Associate Research Fellow in Biomaterials, Deakin University
Alessandra Sutti, Associate Professor, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University

“Biodegradable” has become one of the most reassuring words in modern packaging. It appears on coffee cups, shopping bags and food containers, implying a promise: this product is better for the environment because nature will eventually take care of it.

However, biodegradability is not a simple yes-or-no property. It exists in shades, which we can measure.

Biodegradation is a complex process. Microbes and molecules present in an environment such as soil attack a material and digest it, much like what happens to food in our gut.

A material is typically defined…

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