Page 57 - Plastics News February 2025
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IN THE NEWS




          requires extensive water usage along with sub-        environments. These materials survive extended
          stantial energy. Loosely derived biodegradable        periods because seawater conditions remain
          plastic raw materials sourced from crops like         too cold for industrial compost processing to
          sugarcane and corn affect land management             occur and therefore threaten ocean organisms.
          practices  and  create  competition  for  agricul-    Marine biodegradable promises are frequently
          tural food production. All environmental impacts      exaggerated or misunderstood by consumers.
          caused by these products need comprehensive
          evaluation.                                           Myth 5: Biodegradable and Compostable Are
                                                                the Same
          Myth 3: Biodegradable Plastics Solve the Plastic
          Waste Problem                                         Fact: Carbon-based materials labeled biode-
                                                                gradable and compostable constitute different
          Fact: The sustainability potential of biodegrada-     waste degradation types. Plastics designed for
          ble plastics remains limited because they provide     composting  need  to  decompose  into  discrete
          solutions to address just a few aspects of the        natural components that meet specifications for
          wider plastics waste problem. At landfills the ab-    both industrial and home composting systems.
          sence of composting conditions prevents these         The decomposition process of biodegradable
          plastics from breaking down effectively despite       plastics extends beyond standard times yet
          inadequate waste management systems. Any              generates leftovers that might create health
          successful sustainable waste management ap-           problems after decomposition.
          proach requires both plastic recycling systems
          and decreased plastic product usage.                  The Role of Biodegradable Plastics in the Future


          Myth 4: Biodegradable Plastics Decompose in           Biodegradable  plastics  possess moderate  po-
          Oceans                                                tential for ecological waste management sys-
                                                                tems although they fail to act unambiguously as
                                                                a definitive solution. Here are key areas where
                                                                their future impact can be realized:

                                                                1. Innovations and Research

                                                                The biodegradable plastics shows growing mo-
                                                                mentum as scientists together with companies
                                                                embrace evolving materials and technological
                                                                improvements. Innovations include:

                                                                ♦   Algae-Based  Plastics: Plastics derived from
                                                                    renewable resources show higher speed of
                                                                    breakdown and lower CO2 impact than tra-
                                                                    ditional petroleum-based products.

                                                                ♦   Microbial Solutions: Science has created en-
          Fact: Very few biodegradable plastics exhibit ef-         gineered bacteria which produce environ-
          fective degradation when submerged in marine




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