Biodegradable and oxo-degradable plastics: the new study from OWS
Bioplas Australia
Biodegradable plastics were originally developed in order to solve specific waste issues related either to agricultural films or collection and separation of food waste. Oxo-degradable plastics are claim to provide a potential solution to littering issues.
This complex topic touches on various issues such as raw materials, application sector, and end-of-life. In order to avoid confusion of the terms “biodegradable” and “oxo-degradable”, Organic Waste System lab – commissioned by Plastics Europe, the trade association representing the Plastic Industry in Europe– recently published a comparative literature study on the “benefits and challenges of biodegradable and oxo-degradable plastics”.
The main results of the study can be summarised as follows:
- The majority of biodegradable plastics meet the requirements of recognised standards in industrial composting.
- Certified corresponding proof of biodegradation is available for biodegradable and compostable plastics from accredited laboratories and institutes.
- By way of contrast, the very few positive biodegradation results for oxo-degradable plastics were achieved in unrealistic testing environments and could not be repeated.
- Consequently, oxo-degradable plastics do not meet the requirements of International standard for biodegradable and compostable plastics (EN13432, AS4736) and ultimate biodegradability of oxodegradable plastics have not been demonstrated.
If oxo-fragmentable plastics end up in the soil (e.g.: agricultural mulch film) they will start disintegrating due to the effect of the additives able to trigger conventional polymers breakdown but won't completely be converted by micro-organisms in water, biomass and CO2 , hence a substantial risk of accumulation of plastic fragments in the soil.
Executive summary of the study's final report is available here