biodegradable plastic

Over recent years the use of biodegradable and bioplastic products have significantly increased.  The ban of single-use plastic by the EU commission by 2020 and the significant changes in consumer’s habits have made these even more popular.  In fact, the production of bioplastics is expected to grow by as much as 20% by 2022 (Greendotbioplastics.com, European-bioplastics.org).

It is the prominent increase of the bioplastics and biodegradable materials that also increase the confusion about these products and raise questions such as when, how and under which conditions these materials are likely to biodegrade?  It should be stressed that there are various types of biodegradables. The two most common categories are the following:

1. Bio-based biodegradables
2. Photo-degradable or Oxo-biodegradables

Both types of biodegradable materials are expected to decompose, break down in down small fragments and eventually completely decompose.  But, the mechanism and time of biodegradation differ according to the formulation of the materials and the conditions of the landfill and the end-of-life disposal process. As a result, a series of tests are required in a Laboratory environment in order to assess the biodegradability of the materials and under which conditions they are likely to go through full decomposition.