– If you’re thinking, “How can plastic reduce carbon?” We’re glad you asked! In both the creation and degradation phases, standard plastics require a significant amount of energy and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) expenditure. ErthCycle is different in that it reduces the amount of actual fossil fuels needed per pound in the creation phase by replacing standard resins with a proprietary blend of patented resins, which include calcium carbonate, better known as limestone. Then, in ErthCycle’s end-of-life phase, our products are organically biodegrading, putting off less carbon over time. So, what does all that actually mean? Because ErthCycle products require less energy, less petroleum, and less GHGs at the beginning of life and emit less carbon during the biodegradation process, this naturally leads to less carbon produced overall!

– ErthCycle has been awarded a Carbon Credit Reduction Certification. 

– One of the biggest issues with plastic pollution is that standard plastics can take hundreds of years to degrade. Even when they do, they can leave behind microplastics. Now, the term “microplastics” is pretty vague, but the general understanding is what standard plastics create as they degrade: minuscule particles that are popping up everywhere – in sushi, in bloodstreams, in the sand, you get the point.

– Where standard plastics degrade into infinitely smaller pieces, ErthCycle products are biodegrading at a highly accelerated rate, being consumed by microbes until no plastic particles are left. According to ASTMD5511 testing (which measures biodegradation in a simulated landfill environment), ErthCycle biodegraded over 75% in less than two years. And the absolute cherry on top? Since ErthCycle products organically biodegrade,
ErthCycle enhances the biodegradation of plastic into methane (which can be converted to energy), carbon dioxide, and inert humus (which makes soil richer).
Isn’t that amazing?!

– Learn more here.

– We all know about recycling. According to the EPA, the U.S. plastic recycling system accounts for only 8.7% of all plastic waste (that’s 30 million tons per year that end up in a landfill!). And while there are curbside, pre-, and post-consumer recycling options, it is simply not enough.

– Thankfully, ErthCycle can be recycled, and it does much, much more. We take into consideration each part of our product’s lifecycle, using less plastic during manufacturing and organically biodegrading the remaining plastics to a gaseous state which can contribute to alternative energies in a Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP). ErthCycle checks every end-of-life box: our products can be recycled or thrown away, but either way, they won’t be here to pollute our planet for 500 years. ツ

– Learn more here.