Italcom Biodegradabile

Main menu:

During the past 25 years, plastic materials have gained widespread use in the food, clothing, shelter, transportation, construction, medical, and leisure industries. Plastics offer a number of advantages over alternative materials - they are lightweight, extremely durable, and relatively unbreakable. However, plastic materials also have several disadvantages, one of the largest being that plastic does not break down in the environment. Materials such as wood and paper are subject to breakdown from microorganisms (biodegradation). Plastics are composed of petroleum-based materials called resins (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene) - materials that are resistant to biodegradation. Because of this resistance, plastics that are disposed of in landfills will remain in their original form in perpetuity. Every year, large volumes of plastics are disposed of in landfills - in 1995 alone, an estimated 20 million tons of plastic products were disposed of in landfills. This burden can be limited through the development of biodegradable plastics.In the past 10 years, several biodegradable plastics have been introduced into the market. These products are composed of starch-base products (e.g., corn) combined with resins. Since sunlight is required for the degradation of these products, they will not degrade in landfills and can only be used for composting purposes. While these products are useful for the collection of yard waste, their use will not help to abate the quantity of plastics placed in landfills each year. In order to produce plastics that will degrade in a landfill setting, another approach must be taken.