On a secondary test, I have seen Oxo Degradable product that did decompose while in a corrugated box. This happened in a 6 month span of time and did not even permit the product to pass through its normal life cycle or make it out of the box for its intended use.

As you can see, we are not advocates of degradability. We are bent on the benefits of recycling, reducing and reusing wherever possible. Degrading plastic simply contaminates those recycle streams that currently exist and promotes the mass production of greater amounts of plastic. In my home today we are amassing a great amount of reusable bags with which we go to the grocery store. These bags are not recyclable and are often found to contain lead in them, or have just about anything from thread to animal hair used in the sewing process. In lieu of using all the past plastic bags we had collected for garbage, we are now forced to go out and buy garbage bags. Though the expense is not a great deal, we are increasing the demand for garbage bags 10 fold around the world with every smaller grocery bag we pull out of the system.

I find that the entire degradable movement is one founded on very little forethought and will probably in time, be recognized as a great step backward in the movement to create a sustainable planet. Plastic is a great renewable source of energy as it can be burned for heat etc, as well as recycled for various products. No trees are cut down to produce plastic, and no bleaches or chemicals are polluting our rivers in manufacturing it. There are even plastic resins coming out today that are algae based and perform in the exact same manner as any oil or natural gas based plastic. Algae can be grown in a month in a desert environment. How much more renewable can you get than that??