Biodegradability of Plastics Challenges and Misconceptions
Biodegradability of Plastics Challenges and Misconceptions
Biodegradability of Plastics Challenges and Misconceptions
ABSTRACT: Plastics are one of the most widely used materials and, in most cases, they are designed to have long life times.
Thus, plastics contain a complex blend of stabilizers that prevent them from degrading too quickly. Unfortunately, many of the
most advantageous properties of plastics such as their chemical, physical and biological inertness and durability present challenges
when plastic is released into the environment. Common plastics such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene
(PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are extremely persistent in the environment, where they undergo very slow
fragmentation (projected to take centuries) into small particles through photo-, physical, and biological degradation processes1.
The fragmentation of the material into increasingly smaller pieces is an unavoidable stage of the degradation process. Ultimately,
plastic materials degrade to micron-sized particles (microplastics), which are persistent in the environment and present a
potential source of harm for organisms.
environmental matrices (e.g., marine, soils, or wastewater be sufficiently high to make this economically viable.
treatment plants). Standard specifications and test methods Furthermore, biodegradable plastics are considered an un-
(e.g., ASTM D6400, EN 13432, ASTM D5338, ASTM D5929) desired contaminant within the recycling streams of conven-
also exist for assessing the biodegradability of plastics under tional plastics. While conventional plastics may also be present
optimized industrial and municipal composting conditions.5 in the composting stream of biodegradable plastics, they do not
Plastics that fully mineralize over reasonable timeframes under significantly impact the composting process. They can simply
the high temperatures and controlled conditions created within be removed through sieving, together with other non-
industrial composting facilities can accurately be classified as compostable items, after the composting process is complete.
biodegradable or compostable. In addition, the fragmentation Like other dedicated waste and recycling streams, compostable
occurs quickly in an industrial composter and poses little risk waste needs to be separated at source from normal household
for exposure of microplastics to the environment as the or industrial waste. However, unless collection systems and
degradation happens within a closed and controlled system. composting facilities are available to consumers, biodegradable
However, there currently appears to be no global data available plastic is most likely to end up in conventional waste streams
on the proportion of biodegradable plastics that are composted (e.g., incineration, landfill).
rather than entering general waste streams. Ultimately, many of the same challenges appear to exist for
Although individual polymers and plastics can be classified as biodegradable plastics as for conventional plastics. They need
biodegradable according to test methods designed to assess to be contained in existing waste streams to prevent release to
biodegradability under optimized industrial composting con- the environment and they need to be separated from all other
ditions, there is limited control or regulation over how the data waste materials (including plastics). Importantly, when they are
is utilized. In recent years, the term “biodegradable” has mineralized in industrial composting facilities this represents
become an appealing marketing term that is very misleading; in the loss of a potentially useful resource that fails to meet
most cases, the biodegradability was tested only under very societal goals for a circular economy. A circular economy aims
specific conditions and does not represent a generic property of to keep products, components, and materials at their highest
the material. When plastic materials are promoted as utility and value at all times, emphasizing the benefits of
biodegradable or “compostable” it suggests to consumers and recycling residual waste materials and byproducts.10 The
companies that they biodegrade in the same way under many development of recycling approaches for biodegradable
different end-of-life scenarios. Yet in the natural environment, materials is therefore going to be necessary if they become
these same materials will take much longer to fully biodegrade high volume production materials.
(often taking decades), and the degradation process still
generates large quantities of potentially harmful small particles.6
It is therefore recommended that stronger legislation regarding
■ AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
use of the terms biodegradable and compostable on consumer *E-mail: [email protected].
goods be established. Clearer guidance and terminology for ORCID
consumers and companies purchasing plastic materials is Andy M. Booth: 0000-0002-4702-2210
needed to aid in the selection of the appropriate materials for
Notes
their respective end-of-life conditions. Plastic recycling
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
■
represents a successful example of such an approach, where
there is legislation regarding minimum recycled content ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
mandates and procurement policies, combined with recycled
product labeling.7 This manuscript has been written as part of the Research
As demand for biodegradable plastic materials by consumers Council of Norway (RCN) funded project “MICROFIBRE”
is increasing rapidly, we believe a key research need is an (Grant Agreement number 268404). We thank the RCN for
their financial support.
■
evaluation of their environmental and societal benefits. In the
2000s, for example, there was a shift toward the use of oxo-
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