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The term &#;biodegradable&#; when used for marketing purposes includes a time component regarding the length of time it takes for the plastic to fully degrade. According to the Federal Trade Commission&#;s &#;Green Guides&#;: &#;It is deceptive to make an unqualified degradable claim for items entering the solid waste stream if the items do not completely decompose within one year after customary disposal. Unqualified degradable claims for items that are customarily disposed in landfills, incinerators, and recycling facilities are deceptive because these locations do not present conditions in which complete decomposition will occur within one year."
Plastics are derived from organic products. The materials used in the production of plastics are natural products such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt and, of course, crude oil. Crude oil is a complex mixture of thousands of compounds. To become useful, it must be processed.
The production of plastic begins with a distillation process in an oil refinery involving the separation of heavy crude oil into lighter groups called fractions. Each fraction is a mixture of hydrocarbon chains (chemical compounds made up of carbon and hydrogen), which differ in terms of the size and structure of their molecules. One of these fractions, naphtha, is the crucial element for the production of plastics.1
Most petroleum-based plastic is not readily biodegradable; ie. it is not consumed by microorganisms and returned to compounds found in nature. What this means is that unless the petroleum-based plastic has been specifically designed to biodegrade, and although it may partially degrade, the plastic may last in the environment for tens to potentially hundreds of years, depending on the type of plastic and its disposal environment. The two major processes used to produce plastics are called polymerisation and polycondensation, and they both require specific catalysts. In a polymerisation reactor, monomers like ethylene and propylene are linked together to form long polymers chains. Each polymer has its own properties, structure and size depending on the various types of basic monomers used and that influence properties such as moldability and rigidity.
Plastic that is compostable is biodegradable, but not every plastic that is biodegradable is compostable. Whereas biodegradable plastic may be engineered to biodegrade in soil or water, compostable plastic refers to biodegradation into soil conditioning material (i.e., compost) under a certain set of conditions. In order for a plastic to be labeled as commercially &#;compostable&#; it must able to be broken down by biological treatment at a commercial or industrial composting facility. Composting utilizes microorganisms, heat and humidity to yield carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass that is similar in characteristic to the rest of the finished compost product. Decomposition of the plastic must occur at a rate similar to the other elements of the material being composted (within 6 months) and leave no toxic residue that would adversely impact the ability of the finished compost to support plant growth. ASTM Standards D and D outline the specifications that must be met in order to label a plastic as commercially &#;compostable&#;. There are currently no ASTM standard test methods in place for evaluating the ability of a plastic to compost in a home environment.
Biobased plastics are manufactured from plant materials instead of being made from oil or natural gas. Because they are plant based, there is a tendency to assume that this type of plastic must be biodegradable. However, biobased plastics can be designed to be structurally identical to petroleum based plastics, and if designed in this way, they can last in the environment for the same period of time as petroleum based plastic. Just as with petroleum-based plastics, biobased plastic can be engineered to be biodegradable or to be compostable.
The ability of biobased plastics to be recycled varies. Some forms of biobased plastic cannot be recycled together with petroleum-based plastics due to chemical structure incompatibility, while other biobased plastics may have compatible chemical structures that allow for recycling together with petroleum-based plastics. In order to determine what waste disposal options are available for a biobased plastic item, it is necessary to read the product&#;s label as to its compostability and recyclability.
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM International) sets definitions and standards, while the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for enforcement against false or deceptive product labeling.
No. Unless the label indicates that the product is okay for home composting, you should not try to compost it at home. Plastic that is labeled as compostable is generally intended to be sent to an industrial or commercial composting facility which has higher temperatures and different breakdown conditions than those found in a typical homeowner&#;s compost bin. If your community has a residential compost collection program, check with your local government or recycling company to find out if they will accept compostable plastic under this program.
No. Compostable plastics are not intended for recycling and can contaminate and disrupt the recycling stream if intermixed with petroleum-based plastics that are non-compostable. If your community does not have a composting recycling pick-up program that accepts compostable plastic, contact your garbage/recycling company or local government to find out if there are any drop-off locations for your compostable plastic items.
Until recently, many consumers were advised to take the caps off and dispose of them in the garbage can before placing the bottle in the recycling bin. However, processing technology has improved to the extent that the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers now recommends that plastic lids be left on the containers as they are placed in the recycling bins. At facilities with newer processing technology, the bottles (with caps on) will be ground into flakes before being washed and the cap flakes separated from the bottle flakes during a water bath float/sink process and then both types of plastic can then be captured and recycled. Note, however, that due to the fact that not all recyclers may have equipment that enables processing of the bottles with caps left on, that you should check with your local recycling facility to see what their policy is with regard to disposal of the bottle caps.
Contact your local government or recycling company to find out whether this practice is allowed, as policies on this vary. Loose plastic bags are difficult to handle in the recycling stream and can clog equipment. Some recycling companies allow recycling of single use bags if they are bundled together in a tight, tied package. Many supermarkets and &#;big box&#; stores have recycling bins for the collection of single-use plastic bags.
The Pollution Prevention Act establishes a national objective for environmental protection: &#;[T]hat pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible.&#; Similarly, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act sets the order of preference for managing materials as: source reduction, reuse, recycling, and disposal.
With these objectives in mind, a number of communities are initiating bans of plastic bags that are intended for single use, such as those commonly provided in grocery stores. The rationale behind the bag bans includes the following:
The various bag bans differ but typically contain many of the same elements:
Don't see an answer to your question? Contact us using the link below.
In this weeks blog we're going to be covering the answers to some of the most common questions our Craft Resin Customer Service Team have recently received.
There are many questions you may have when you first start out using Craft Resin or any other brands epoxy resin. We have lots of guidance available on the following channels that may help:
Craft Resin Blogs
Craft Resin YouTube
Craft Resin Courses
If you have a question that's not on our list below, then check out those locations for the answer first, and if you still can't find it then please use our websites contact us form to chat to a member of our team. Our team is only small behind the scenes, and so out of normal UK working hours, there might be a delay in response from our team, but we will always get back in touch as soon as we do return to the office again.
All of our messages on all our platforms come through to a central messaging platform. Please try to only send us one message through as it can take us longer to get through our messages if we have 3/4 messages from the same person about the same query.
Let's look at the questions we'll be going through in today's blog:
1 - Why is my resin cloudy/misty?
2 - How can I stop getting bubbles?
3 - Why are my projects not curing?
4 - Is Craft Resin Food Safe?
5 - Can I use Craft Resin for deep pours?
6 - Can I use Craft Resin on Countertops?
7 - Will Craft Resin yellow over time?
8 - Can I use Craft Resin on outside projects?
9 - Is Craft Resin safe to use?
10 - Is Craft Resin cruelty free/ethical?
The answers we'll be giving in this blog work for our brands epoxy resin. If you are using a different brand please research there specific guidance, as every epoxy resin is formulated differently and therefore might need different guidance and techniques.
So let's dive in...
Craft Resin's epoxy resin loves the warmth - In the colder months when your resin kits are delivered or stored, they might not have been kept in a space where the temperature is between 70-75F or 21-24C.
When the resin gets cold hundreds of micro bubbles form in the liquid, making it look cloudy/misty, it's also thicker and harder to pour and mix. When it's warmer it is crystal clear resin and hardener and it flows like a runny honey consistency.
To warm your resin/hardener up so that these issues don&#;t occur simply place them next to a radiator for a few hours before use, or place them in a sink of warm water. Please leave the lids on if you use this method, any moisture that gets into your bottles can cause issues, leaving the lids on and filling the sink below lid level will stop this from happening.
The temperature of the water shouldn&#;t be boiling, warm water will do, and then leave them to sit for about 10-15 minutes, depending on how warm your water is. You might want to experiment to get the perfect water temperature and length of time for yourself.
Make sure you dry the bottles with a towel after they have been in the water. If you don&#;t water can get into the bottles when you open the lids.
You can read more about how the cold affects Craft Resin and things you can do to increase the temperature while working with the crystal clear epoxy resin in the blog below:
Temperatures when working with Craft Resin
We've already talked about micro bubbles in the last question, but what about larger bubbles that are forming. Well these are due to either:
Mixing your resin and hardener too fast.
Pouring too much resin mix at once and from height.
Your project is releasing trapped air.
To stop bubbles from happening in the first place make sure when you're mixing your resin/hardener you're mixing in a slow and controlled way for 3-5 minutes. And then when you pour your resin mix pour as close to the mold/your project as you can do and pour slowly.
Bubbles may still occur even when the steps above are followed, some projects release trapped air and so bubbles will still surface. If they do this is where extra steps like using a heat torch or alcohol spray can be beneficial to get rid of them once you're project has been poured and is left curing. Please don't use a heat torch and alcohol spray together, for obvious reasons!
We have more guidance for bubbles on our YouTube channel:
How to avoid bubbles video
Want more information on biodegradable resin? Feel free to contact us.
If your project has been left for 24 hours and isn't hardening up, curing, then you might have to leave it longer, or you may have got one of the basic techniques slightly wrong.
First of all check the temperature in your workspace, is it 70-75F or 21-24C or above? If not crank up the heating! Then leave the project for another 24 hours. If the issue was the temperature being too cold, then your project should be ok after that extra time in the heat.
If your temperature is already between those levels, then go over and revise your basic techniques:
Did you measure your resin/ hardener by equal volume? for example 50 ml of resin and 50 ml of hardener.
Did you mix them for between 3-5 minutes? The mixing stage is where the exothermic reaction begins which is the chemical reaction that warms the mixture up so it cures. If you mixed for less than 5 minutes and your resin and hardener were cold to start with, you probably haven't got the temperature of the mixture warm enough to cure.
How thick/thin is your project? When it comes to thin projects like bookmarks these can take longer to cure. Likewise if a project has been created in multiple layers and is really thick it can take longer too. So you might just need to wait longer than 24 hours to de-mold.
If you have got any of the techniques wrong at the start and your projects haven't cured, even if you've increased the temperature, then you might need to throw away your current project and start again. There is no way to save a project that hasn't cured if it's not a temperature issue.
Once Craft Resin is cured, and has fully hardened, your resin project can be used safely as a food contact surface.
Craft Resin has been tested by a third party for leaching and migration across worldwide standards and passed all testing: When you use Craft Resin as directed, the fully cured resin will not leach any substances into food that comes into contact with it.
We have further guidance like this in our SDS:
Safety Data Sheets
The original Craft Resin is designed as a coating resin, which is a resin that is used to coat a thin layer to things like artwork. However you can also use Craft Resin for other projects and pouring in one layer if your project is below 1/4 inch, which is the depth at which Craft Resin self levels.
You can still create thicker projects using Craft Resin, but you will have to change your techniques slightly and create thicker projects by layering. We have more information on how to do this in the blog below:
How to use Craft Resin for thicker projects
We have recently launched a Deeper Pouring Resin which we are very excited about. We know so many artists create larger, deeper projects and so we've added this to our product line. Visit our website to purchase the Deep Pour resin and visit our Blog on Deep Pour Resin to learn how to use it.
You can use Craft Resin on kitchen countertops and work surfaces, because our original resin is designed as a coating resin and it has a high heat resistance it can be perfect for replicating expensive kitchen countertops.
Craft Resin's heat resistance
However, if this is your first time using epoxy resin we would suggest trying the substance out on a smaller project first so you can see how the very basic techniques work and how the colour will turn out, before coating your entire kitchen surface with the liquids!
Epoxy resin can go wrong when you first start using it, there are things you need to perfect first, so practice before hand and research more. We do have a blog below which explains how to create countertops as a good place to start:
How to use Craft Resin on a countertop
Craft Resin is a clear substance, in fact it creates results that are some of the clearest epoxy resin on the market. Craft Resin contains two properties that help keep the epoxy resin crystal clear for decades.
UV Stabiliser
Advanced Additive Hindered Amine Light Stabiliser
Both of these help to stop any yellowing in the resin mix before it can even begin. This means that the resin and hardener will stay both clear in the bottles whilst being stored, once you mix them together and after years of being fully cured.
Please note, to enable your Craft Resin projects to stay crystal clear for years to come please do not leave them in direct sunlight if possible. When you add other reflective items to your resin projects such as yellow flowers, or golf leaf, this can leave a yellow reflection in the clear resin, this is not the resin yellowing, this is simply a reflection of the colour additions you have used.
You can use Craft Resin on outside projects it is very durable when fully cured. However please note the last point in the question above about yellowing, please do not leave outside projects in direct sunlight, even during the winter months. They will last longer if kept in shady areas.
Craft Resin is one of the safest resin's on the market, that being said people can react differently to substances like epoxy resin, so please take some basic safety precautions.
You can read more about the safety of Craft Resin in our safety blog, the blog gives you a comprehensive overview of the safety guidance, which will help put your mind at ease that you're keeping yourself as safe as possible:
Craft Resin's safety guidance
We have tried to be as ethically responsible as possible when working with our manufacturers to formulate and make Craft Resin. We've also done our best to source ingredients that are cruelty free in our formulations.
However, we haven't got any certification to prove this currently. We are a relatively new company in the business world and we haven't had the resources to gain these certifications just yet. We are unsure at the moment when or if we will move to get these certifications in the future.
Most of the artists who use our brands resin take their own steps to be more ethical when using our brands epoxy resin. If you would like to learn more about what steps they take to do this, please join our Facebook Community Group and search or ask the question in there, lots of artists will be happy to share their tips and tricks to keep as ethical and environmentally friendly as possible while using epoxy resin.
Our epoxy resin is not biodegradable, and will need to be disposed of in certain ways, which we explain how to do in our How To Use guide that comes with all kits, or is available to scan and read online with smaller kits.
We hope this answers some questions that you may have about our brands resin. Like we said at the beginning of this blog, please use the contact us form to get in touch with us if you have any queries that you can't find the answers to online. Our team will always do their best to answer and give you the best advice possible.
We have attached a giveaway to these Topic Of The Week announcements on our Instagram platform, this is helping us to spread the knowledge of how to use epoxy resin further, but also enabling anyone who helps us share this information to win free resin and mica powders.
To enter the weekly giveaway please see the latest post #CRWEEK13 on our Instagram feed/highlights and follow the instructions to enter:
@craft.resin
Team Craft Resin
Contact us to discuss your requirements of custom compostable bags. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.