More bad news for plastic bags

A recent study published in Environmental Science and Technology has found certain plastic bags believed to be biodegradable can still carry a full load of shopping three years after disposal.

The researchers studied biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable, compostable, and standard plastic bags in three natural environments: left in open-air, buried in soil, and submersed in seawater. Most disintegrated into fragments eventually, however the worst culprits were high-density polyethylene (that’s your regular shopping bag), as well as what’s known as oxo-biodegradable. Both were still able to carry shopping after spending three years in the ground or covered in seawater.