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Plastic – miracle material or dangerous litter?

When plastic was first invented in the late 19^th century, it was celebrated as a miracle material. It has helped us preserve and transport food; it has reduced the spread of disease; and it has brought us light-weight, more fuel efficient transport.

But the problem isn’t the material itself. It’s the way we use it. We waste finite fossil fuels to produce items that are used just once, sometimes for a few minutes – or just seconds.

When these items end up in the environment – whether in oceans or in landfill – they leach harmful chemicals and cause further damage to our ecosystem.

It’s no surprise that plastic is at the top of the sustainability agenda. With mounting pressure from consumers, conscious competitors and environmental groups, companies are scrambling for alternatives.

Biodegradable plastics are plastics that can be decomposed by the action of living organisms, usually microbes, into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. Biodegradable plastics are commonly produced with renewable raw materials, micro-organisms, petrochemicals, or combinations of all three.

While the words "bioplastic" and "biodegradable plastic" are similar, they are not synonymous. Not all bioplastics (plastics derived partly or entirely from biomass) are biodegradable, and some biodegradable plastics are fully petroleum based. As more companies are keen to be seen as having "Green" credentials, solutions such as using bioplastics are being investigated and implemented more.

Biodegradable

End of Life Terminology

Biodegradation is the property of a material that can be completely converted into water, CO₂, and biomass through the action of microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria. Biodegradable plastics have the ability to be degraded by microorganisms present in the environment by entering the microbial food chain.

Biodegradable polymers are not defined in terms of their raw-material basis

This property is not dependent on the origin of the raw materials, but only on the chemical composition of the polymers.

As disposal conditions vary dramatically from one place to another, biodegradation of plastics is not a uniform process. Biodegradation of polymers can be tailored specifically for controlled degradation under the inherent environmental stress in biological systems either unaided or by enzyme assisted mechanisms.

Type of Biodegradable Plastics

There are two main types of biodegradable plastics:

Oxo-biodegradable
Hydro-biodegradable

In both cases, degradation begins with a chemical process (oxidation and hydrolysis respectively), followed by a biological process. Both types emit CO₂ as they degrade, but hydro-biodegradable plastics can also emit methane.

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