One of the hottest topics today in business is “being green”. This can involve saving energy, recycling, using recycled materials, or reducing waste products. Showa Best Glove has hit a home run with their latest hand protection product called GREEN-DEX at www.Green-Dex.com. I got to design the web site.
Why is a Biodegradable Disposable Nitrile Glove So Important?
Disposable nitrile gloves get used and thrown away by the millions per year. Imagine a job requiring constant glove changes by a single worker. Now multiply that number by a large workforce over a year’s time, and one can see the result will be staggering mountain of gloves and tons of waste material.
Little things add up to be a lot of space in a land fill… especially if they do not quickly break down when exposed to wind, rain or the tiny organisms that turn a pile of trash into dirt. The chart shows how much faster Green-Dex breaks down compared to standard nitrile which barely moves at all on the scale.
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| GREEN-DEX™ packaging is also made from 100% post-consumer waste and dispensers from 100% recycled material. |
Different Materials Can Take Many Years to Biodegrade in a Landfill
I find it interesting to see how long everyday items take to biodegrade and the chart tells the tale of common things we throw away everyday. If this does not convince people to think more seriously about recycling, I am not sure what will.
| Product | Time to Biodegrade |
|---|---|
| Apple core | 1–2 months |
| General paper | 1–3 months |
| Paper towel | 2–4 weeks |
| Cardboard box | 2 months |
| Cotton cloth | 5 months |
| Plastic coated milk carton | 5 years |
| Wax coated milk carton | 3 months |
| Tin cans | 50–100 years |
| Aluminium cans | 150–200 years |
| Glass bottles | Undetermined (forever) |
| Plastic bags | 10–20 years |
| Soft plastic (bottle) | 100 years |
| Hard plastic (bottle cap) | 400 years |
All this talk about trash reminds me of my favorite commercial from the seventies…