Over the last week, and probably for that matter, a while longer, Charlie kept seeing cartons and various items that his mom was purchasing with the word “Biodegradable” on them.

“Mom, what does biodegradable mean?—I keep seeing that word on a lot of the items you buy,” Charlie questioned with a puzzled look on his face.

“You sure are observant, and that’s a great question,” she said in return.

She continued, “You see, Charlie, something that is biodegradable will break down into a more natural state over a short period of time. How this breaking down of material occurs is by bacteria that can decompose it. This biological activity that occurs thanks to bacteria, is natural and is very helpful to everyone and the natural world,” she said.

“What do you mean by helpful, mom? Charlie asked.

“Well, if we did not have this bacteria that helped to decompose things, our streets would be filled with garbage and our planet would be a mess. Being able to have an object broken down into a more natural state is essential to maintaining our natural world and it’s a part of our Earth’s cycle of life,” she responded.

“But, what is a natural state, and aren’t there items that don’t biodegrade?” little Charlie asked.

“Hmmm, a natural state refers to something that exists in, or that has been formed by, our natural world, such as soil, or water.  If an item is biodegradable, it means that item will eventually be able to be decomposed back to a more natural state over time.  And, yes Charlie, there are items that are not biodegradable,” she noted.

“Ha, but then what items don’t biodegrade,” he asked, moving his index finger to his little cheek.

“Well, the most prominent objects that don’t biodegrade are those items that are made with plastic.  The bacteria just can’t recognize plastic and therefore plastic bottles and containers may be around for a very, very long time,” she said sighing.

“Ah, so that’s why we don’t have very much plastic around then, mom. Got it,” he said, while still thinking this new information over.

“So, right now, Charlie, we do our part by Reducing, Reusing and Recycling,” she said.

“Yep, we are reducing our garbage by reusing our glass containers, and we are recycling our biodegradable material we buy. Cool, mom,” he said, smiling.

Now, let’s go feed Mariah and get our morning milk, shall we?” she said, holding out her hand.

© 2011 Crystal Buchan