SOLON, OHIO—According to the EPA, 8.5 percent of plastic material in the U.S. is recycled. Another 15.8 percent is combusted for energy, leaving more than 75 percent that is sent to landfills. According to MultiPlast Systems Inc., a hotel room uses approximately 25 pounds of plastic annually, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you take 25 pounds times 300,000 rooms in a hospitality market segment you get more than 7,500,000 pounds of plastic waste, of which about 75 percent (5,625,000 pounds) ends up in landfills. Buried in a landfill, those items can take up to hundreds of years to degrade.
Getting those bags to degrade faster is a challenge MultiPlast Systems has taken on. It owns the formula called BEDA (Bio-Enhanced Degradable Additive) that enables plastics to break down in closed system landfills. The plastic needs to have only 1 percent BEDA to do this. BEDA infused plastic initiates the degradation process by naturally attracting microorganisms (microbes) that flourish in landfills. The degradation does not begin until the product is placed in a landfill. Products with BEDA will not break down above ground. No toxic elements, heavy metals, or residue is left at the end of the degradation process.
At MultiPlast Systems, products such as wastebasket liners, ice bucket liners, generic or custom print laundry bags, coffee amenity packaging, plastic hangers, pen casings and tops, textiles, coffee cups and lids, drinking cups and lids, key cards and card sleeves, and lobby trash liners can be made for hotels with the BEDA additive. So too can amenity bottles, combs, razors, bathmats, shower curtains, bar soap wrappers, and even the textile pillow cases and sheeting guests sleep on. MultiPlast Systems is currently developing cutlery with BEDA.
Available Direct or Through a Distributor
Products can be purchased through MultiPlast Systems or a distributor. “We are working with the top distribution companies in the industry,” says Jeff Apisdorf, the owner, and President of MultiPlast Systems since 1998, and who has worked in the packaging industry since 1984.
According to Apisdorf, other products such as oxo-degradable plastics or plastics made with PLA (Polylactic Acid) are problematic when it comes to complete degradability. Oxo-degradable products are made from conventional plastics and supplemented with specific additives that need oxygen and sunlight to break down plastics. Buried in a landfill, the degradation process stops due to the absence of oxygen and sunlight. Plastics made with PLA must be composted at commercial compost facilities. Currently, the U.S. has only 218 such facilities. “One wonders how easily or cost effectively it is to find and send product to one of these facilities,” Apisdorf says.
Third party testing by ASTM has demonstrated that degradation of BEDA material is accelerated versus traditional material and positively impacts the environment versus traditional plastic.
“Recent research shows the trend is to be sustainable and that plastic, as a whole, is not going away but increasing in demand, despite trends to eliminate single use plastics from high volume supermarkets and such,” Apisdorf says. “At MultiPlast Systems, we believe in Packaging with a Conscience, which is why we go the extra mile to provide great packaging solutions for our planet.”
Glenn Hasek can be reached at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.
