Your Library is thrilled to announce that from October 2022, all new books purchased for the collection will be protected with Bioguard 80®, the world’s first fully biodegradable book covering!
Your Library is the first library service in Victoria and Australia to commit to having environmentally sustainable book covering.
Approximately 30,000 new books are purchased by Your Library annually; until recently, in order to ensure longevity of these items so they can be borrowed by multiple users, they were covered in protective plastic. Working with our suppliers, Your Library has adopted a biodegradable book covering, which breaks down in landfill without leaving microplastics.
About Bioguard 80®
Bioguard 80® is a specially formulated film with an “active biodegradable ingredient” that enables Bioguard 80® to fully biodegrade when placed in the right compostable environment (landfill or compost) without leaving microplastics. Bioguard 80® will not begin to biodegrade during normal library use.
Note: The active biodegradable ingredient can produce a slight grain/texture, so a difference in ‘feel’ may be noted.
Library board members Cr Kylie Spears (chair), Cr Susan Laukens, Cr Marcia Timmers-Leitch, Cr Yvonne Aldred and Cr Tasa Damante, with Rod Riley from James Bennett, Trevor McCann and Chhaya Patel from Raeco, and Your Library CEO Joseph Cullen, celebrate the launch of Bioguard 80®.
No microplastics here!
Bioplastics may be promoted as “environmentally friendly” or plant based. However, they are not fully biodegradable. Instead of truly degrading, these materials merely fragment into bite-sized microplastics. Microplastics are incredibly dangerous toxins and remain in the environment. They build up in oceans, contaminate soil and waterways, and accumulate inside countless animals and marine life.
Bioguard 80® is the world’s first FULLY biodegradable book covering. It breaks down completely in compost or landfill environments. Worms eat it, leaving only compost!