Sometimes I read really deep into really specific things. Although I don’t use wax paper at all, somehow I ended up spending a week or two emailing companies that manufacture it to ask what theirs is made of.
Soybean wax or paraffin? Is the paraffin derived from vegetable oil or petroleum?
Every company I heard from used paraffin derived from petroleum, not vegetable oil. Of the 7 companies I received a reply from, 5 used paraffin from petroleum and the other 2 used soybean wax (The companies that haven’t answered at all are Norpak and Marcal).
Of the replies I received, If You Care had a thorough explanation as to why they use soybean wax instead of petroleum. More appealing than that was that their product is chlorine and bleach free, which I found was common in the other brands.
The only commentary I received from the other side, was that soybean wax is GMO while petroleum based paraffin is not. The Natural Value brand has the added bonus that its waxed paper is unbleached.
So which is the better alternative, and does it really matter? Does petroleum biodegrade? I believe that it does, just not as easily as soybeans would. Either way, wax repels moisture- it’ll be around for a little while.
I found an EPA study from 1997 showing success using compost to bioremediate soil contaminated with high levels of petroleum. This was attributed to a fungi present in compost that releases a substance that breaks down petroleum, enabling bacteria to metabolize it. I also found another EPA study that was supportive of contaminants degrading rapidly when compost was applied.
One of my favorite tests for composting stuff is to see how my worms like it. They’re currently confronting a super old blueberry muffin wrapped in a piece of waxed paper. Let’s see what happens there.
So here’s the results:
Waxed Paper Containing Paraffin:
Natural Value
Reynolds
Staples
Uline
Dixie Kabnet Wax
Waxed Paper Containing Soybean Wax:
If You Care
Ecocraft Dry Wax Deli Paper
My last point of curiosity was to look at how these companies rank on my favorite website, betterworldshopper.com . Natural Value ranks highest amongst the paraffin users, while both If You Care and Bagcraft (Ecocraft) take their social and environmental responsibility quite seriously while sticking with soybean wax.
Well that was fun. What are your thoughts on the topic? Great companies produce the product on either side, so that’s good to know. Which waxed paper type do you prefer?
What else can you compost? My top tips and tricks guide will show you exactly what you can compost, and how to compost in less than 5 minutes per week- seriously!
Thanks for the thorough research!
So, did your worms like the wax paper?
Nope! Mostly cardboard and minimal shredded white paper are enough for them, I think.
huh? I just skimmed and you said oil or petroleum you believe biodegrade just not as fast, if it doesn’t happen in your life time or even 1000 life times does it really make it biodegradable doesn’t some one have to see the degradation happen to know it does. Destroy all plastics Cheers =)
Cedar Grove, a commercial compost facility, accepts wax-coated paper cups.
Thank you so much for your through research! I appreciate how you broke it all down into groups.
Thanks. That’s just what I wanted to know. I was about to put a waxed If You Care sandwich bag in the worm bin. I’ll send it to Cedar Grove to deal with instead. 🙂
Thanks a lot. This is useful! I’m looking for the best cups to hold my transplanted seedlings for a few weeks before they go into the garden. I was wondering about waxed cups, and this gives me a start.
Paper egg cartons work awesome for seed starters if you score bottom you can plant the whole thing