The Question of Biodgradability

The term "biodegradable" as applied to the plastics industry is unexpectedly controversial, stemming from the marketability of plastics perceived to be friendly to the environment. The debate over what a truely biodegradable plastic really means still rages on today, despite efforts by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) to standardize the definition. According to the ASTM, "biodegradable plastic" referes specifically to "A degradable plastic in which the degradation results from the action of naturally-occurring micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi and algae." While this definition may sound clear cut, the testing standards established by the ASTM to evaluate the biodegradability of plastics are designed to mimick specific waste processing conditions, such as garbage dumps, composts, and sewege sludge. For plastics not subject to these conditions upon disposal, "biodegradable" becomes a partial description at best. Additionally, BBs manufactured outside of the US do not need to conform to the same testing conditions in order to claim biodegradability, and this leaves significant room for unsubstantiated claims. These compounding factors make determination of the true biodegradability of airsoft BBs difficult to attain, and even more so when the long time frames for plastic degradation are taken into consideration. As such, we elect to defer to the excellent work already performed by the Swedish airsoft forum as stated in this thread in their measurement of the chemical make-up of biodegradable BBs and subsequent conclusions on the relative biodegradability of the test candidates. As quoted from the VastSvenska AirsoftForeningen in the link above, "The conducted tests show that the sample called Biotech is the most environmentally friendly of the samples tested. Biotech contain(sic), from a environmental perspective, relatively easily degradable components. The samples containing styrene should be recycled. " Unfortunately, VastSvenska did not test the Ultimate BB along with their candidates, and this leaves us with somewhat of a hole in this review. Regardless, the main objective for determining BB physical consistency and its related range performance remains valuable for those determined to use BBs labeled "biodegradable", however effective the reference may actually be.

*ASTM D-20.96 committee on biodegradable plastics.