Biodegradable – What does it mean and how does it get implemented in sustainable accommodations?

“Life in plastic, it’s fantastic,” sings Barbie Girl in the Aqua song. But we have to tell you, Barbie, it’s not fantastic. Plastic is a major environmental concern. It is made from a finite resource and does not decompose. The alternatives are products and materials that are biodegradable. Sustainable Green Pearls? hotels and resorts take this into account – from individual products to entire hotel rooms.

What does “biodegradable” mean?

Biodegradable means that microorganisms can degrade the material. This is primarily true of natural materials. These include plant products such as grasses, wood and cotton, and animal materials such as wool and leather.

However, the material must not be mixed with other substances to completely decompose. A leather shoe with chemically tanned leather, plastic impregnation, inner lining and rubber sole is no longer a natural product! For this reason, an old leather shoe should not be composted (of course) and is not even interesting for recycling!

Myth: Biodegradable plastics (bioplastics)

Not only natural products are biodegradable. Synthetic materials can be considered or declared biodegradable as well.

“However, biodegradable synthetics are not necessarily made from renewable plant or animal resources; there are also synthetics made from fossil, non-renewable resources that are biodegradable. – Federal Environmental Agency

As the Federal Environment Agency’s comprehensive report on biodegradable plastics shows, there are:

• Bio-based – non-biodegradable synthetics: These are, for example, wood-based materials. They consist of about 80% wood flour but are mixed with polyethylene or polypropylene and other materials.
• Bio-based, biodegradable synthetics: Bio-based, biodegradable synthetics based on starch (e.g. corn starch) have the largest market share (about 80%). It is used, for example, to make the biodegradable organic plastic bags you can buy at the supermarket.
• Non-biobased, biodegradable synthetics: These include biodegradable polyester. It is based on the fossil raw material crude oil but has a modified chemical structure that allows microorganisms to decompose the material.

“Oxo-degradable synthetics” are now banned due to the fact, that while they break down rapidly, they turn into microplastics.

What are the implications for you as a consumer?

Bio-plastics are not organic – not in the sense of controlled organic agriculture or animal welfare. Bio-plastics are merely “bio-based” and/or “biodegradable”. Consumer advocates and environmental organizations often complain that this is misleading. As if you could just throw your bio-plastic cell phone cover in the bushes or on the compost heap and return it to nature when it turns yellow. But that’s not true.

First, given the varying conditions in nature (as opposed to lab tests), it can take years for bioplastics to decompose. Second, even if the plastic decomposes completely, it adds exactly ZERO nutrients to the soil. Third, some things advertise that they are “compostable”. This implies that you can put bags or the aforementioned cell phone case in your home compost. It will not work. In-home composting, the decomposition process takes far too long (unlike, for example, in industrial composting facilities). In the end, all you will have is a dirty cell phone case in your backyard.

According to BUND, the shift to bioplastics is just a distraction from the real problem. It would be better to avoid plastics altogether and better integrate unavoidable plastics into the recycling system. Within the EU, recycling plastics is a higher priority than switching to bioplastics.

Zero waste and no plastic at the hotel, or Why “biodegradable” isn’t always the best solution

Organic muesli selection from the zero-waste breakfast buffet

The SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA in the beautiful spa town of Bad Herrenalb tries to avoid packaging waste altogether instead of using biodegradable plastics. For example, at the breakfast buffet, there is no portion packaging; instead, jam is served in small jars, and chunks of butter are served from the butter churn. The hotel has even gone so far as to design entire hotel rooms to be fully recyclable according to the Cradle to Cradle? principle.

“The use of recyclable materials and components conserves resources for future generations and reduces process-related CO2 emissions during production.” – SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA

In practice, this means that some materials, such as untreated local wood, are truly biodegradable and environmentally friendly, and other materials, such as plastic, have been selected so that manufacturers will take them back at the end of their shelf life (there are contracts for this). The plastic will then be recycled into new products.

Proper recycling

Proper waste separation is something you can and should take to heart. Even on vacation. A’ Cràpa Mangia, a historic country estate in southern Italy, aids its guests with bins for paper, plastic, garbage, and organic waste in all apartments . Glass bins are also available in the parking lot.

Dont use hotel slippers

Relax naturally without disposable slippers

You can avoid mountains of waste by not offering disposable products. “We haven’t had hotel slippers in our rooms for years. Guests are asked to bring their own,” reports the Naturhotel Outside in East Tyrol. The same goes for the South Tyrolean hotels LA VIMEA and Paradiso Pure.Living. However, in all three of these nature-loving hotels, you can get eco-slippers at the reception if you forgot yours at home. The slippers from the Naturhotel Outside can even be disposed of in the organic waste and consequently in the compost facility, where they will decompose in just a few weeks. However, as the hotels recognize, this is only the second most sustainable solution.

Composting and recycling leftovers

Many of our partners are also ahead of the curve when it comes to composting. But again, the priority is eliminating food waste wherever possible: “Calculating and planning meals in advance and preparing fresh food in front of guests in the evening significantly reduces food waste,” writes STURM from Mellrichstadt. “Leftover food is reused and processed wherever possible, further minimizing the leftovers.” The hotel has its own compost for the unavoidable food waste. “We use a regular compost without any special characteristics,” they report. Every six months or so, the hotel’s organic gardener spreads the resulting humus as a natural fertilizer in the surrounding gardens. STURM sends the food waste not suitable for composting to Refood, where it is converted into energy (electricity and heat) in a biogas plant. The resulting fermentation product is also processed into organic fertilizer for agriculture.

Grow your own and avoid packaging

“Thanks to our own farming, a lot of packaging can be completely eliminated” – My Arbor

Another ideal way to avoid packaging waste is to grow your own produce. Many of the partners do this as well. The My Arbor Hotel near Bressanone/Brixen in South Tyrol has been eliminating disposable packaging for hotel guests since it opened. What they serve instead: Breakfast till noon and unique dinner creations. No waste.

Fresh, home-grown vegetables are part of the sustainable hotel concept

Relying on consumer power

However, it is usually not possible to grow all the food a hotel needs. In addition, hotels need to purchase other things, such as cleaning and hygiene products. Sustainable hotels have strict selection criteria and try to exert influence as customers. “It is a challenge to convince many companies that you don’t need packaging, especially plastic, everywhere,” says the HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio Allgau. Hotel Rübezahl, also located in the Allg?u region, writes that they use very little packaging and bulk packaging.

The Biohotel Bella Vista Zermatt in Switzerland gave us, the readers, and our colleagues in the industry two good pieces of advice:

• Examine all existing products and, if necessary, replace them with an environmentally friendly alternative, preferably plastic-free.
• Demand environmentally friendly solutions from your suppliers as well.

As you can see, you don’t have to give up if it’s “just that”. Ask, write emails or product reviews, and say you want a more sustainable solution. Consumer demand has already changed a lot of things.

Don’t forget: Social aspirations are important as well

What we have also learned from our research into biodegradable products: Sustainable accommodation is not only about the ecological factor in purchasing but also fair production. The Lifestyle Hotel SAND in Timmendorfer Strand on the Baltic Sea consciously supports start-ups and environmentally friendly companies that are socially committed. Furthermore, they are always open to new ideas and partnerships with which they can develop together.

“For us, the selection process for new products has constantly evolved, and in addition to sustainable packaging and the reduction of plastic, the social aspects involved are also extremely important to us.” – Lifestylehotel SAND

As always, this applies to products that claim to be biodegradable as well: Keep your eyes open. But we’re used to it by now. Greenwashing is everywhere. We hope that with this explanation and the examples of our partners, you will be better able to judge whether the “biodegradable” product really is the more sustainable choice. At the very least, we hope that you, like us, will now look more critically at supermarkets and the like.