Is “Degradable” Plastic Truly Eco-Friendly or Just an Illusion?

It is fair to say that the invention of plastic is regarded as one of the great innovations in human history. From the 19th century to the 20th century, the emergence of “Paxine” to “nylon” laid the foundation for the invention and production of various plastics. In the Second World War, the petrochemical industry developed rapidly, and since then, all kinds of plastic products have been widely used in People’s Daily life.

With the passage of time, in the 21st century, people gradually paid attention to the environmental problems caused by plastic products. Relevant laws on plastic restriction and plastic ban were introduced, forcing the “great initiative” of plastic to withdraw from the stage of history. Then a variety of “environmental protection products” appeared in people’s attention, among which “degradable” plastic is widely praised.

But is “biodegradable” plastic the best solution or an illusion? Under what circumstances can so-called “biodegradable” plastics be degraded, and what impact will that have on current waste disposal systems?

The conditions for degradability include many things — temperature, humidity, oxygen, microbial community, etc., all have to be considered. In addition, the time factor is critical. Ordinary fossil-based plastics, such as the common plastic bottle, can take 450-500 years to degrade in the natural environment, but that doesn’t make sense for the environment we’re talking about right now.

Common degradation modes are photooxygen degradation and biodegradation, among which photooxygen degradation is not used in practice because there is no evidence that photooxygen degradation can be completely degraded. Biodegradation, on the other hand, is when a material is completely converted into carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms in a given environment. Microbes that can turn short strands of polyester into carbon dioxide include bacteria, fungi and protists, which secrete an enzyme that breaks down the polyester bonds.

At present, the most familiar biodegradable material is PLA material. In terms of straw field, PLA straw is also an “environmental protection product” respected by straw market at the present stage.

However, PLA, these biodegradable materials, can only achieve purer degradation in theory, but in practice, it may not reach our expectations. Because biodegradability requires a lot of recycling and processing.

Experts believe that China does not have the ability to recycle and dispose of biodegradable plastics at present. The degradation conditions required for biodegradable materials are industrial composting, and there are not many industrial composting plants in China. According to the national data, there are 142 domestic waste composting plants in 2019, but most of them use straw and animal manure as raw materials and do not support the disposal of biodegradable plastics. What about in the natural environment?

Foreign research institutions have reported that if a PLA bottle is thrown into the sea, it may take hundreds of years to decompose. Before that, a German university also put PLA in seawater and fresh water. After 400 days of experiments, the mass loss of PLA was only about 0.5%. The degradation of natural conditions is difficult, which is also a dilemma faced by biodegradable plastics. The degradation conditions are only theoretical, but it is difficult to achieve expectations in real life.

Therefore, even if the theoretical expectation is reached, in the case of fuzzy garbage classification and lack of treatment conditions, PLA and other biodegradable materials can only be incinerated, which loses its original significance.

However, in terms of straws, the new generation of paper straws developed by the HE team adopts food-grade single-layer paper forming, which is not as good as the traditional paper straws in terms of experience. In terms of environmental protection, HE straws are 100% recyclable, and the recycled paper straws do not need to be composted, and can be directly recycled into other paper products without any waste. Greatly reduce the cost of recycling, sorting, reprocessing expenditure!

It is fair to say that the invention of plastic is regarded as one of the great innovations in human history. From the 19th century to the 20th century, the emergence of “Paxine” to “nylon” laid the foundation for the invention and production of various plastics. In the Second World War, the petrochemical industry developed rapidly, and since then, all kinds of plastic products have been widely used in People’s Daily life.

With the passage of time, in the 21st century, people gradually paid attention to the environmental problems caused by plastic products. Relevant laws on plastic restriction and plastic ban were introduced, forcing the “great initiative” of plastic to withdraw from the stage of history. Then a variety of “environmental protection products” appeared in people’s attention, among which “degradable” plastic is widely praised.

But is “biodegradable” plastic the best solution or an illusion? Under what circumstances can so-called “biodegradable” plastics be degraded, and what impact will that have on current waste disposal systems?

The conditions for degradability include many things — temperature, humidity, oxygen, microbial community, etc., all have to be considered. In addition, the time factor is critical. Ordinary fossil-based plastics, such as the common plastic bottle, can take 450-500 years to degrade in the natural environment, but that doesn’t make sense for the environment we’re talking about right now.

Common degradation modes are photooxygen degradation and biodegradation, among which photooxygen degradation is not used in practice because there is no evidence that photooxygen degradation can be completely degraded. Biodegradation, on the other hand, is when a material is completely converted into carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms in a given environment. Microbes that can turn short strands of polyester into carbon dioxide include bacteria, fungi and protists, which secrete an enzyme that breaks down the polyester bonds.

At present, the most familiar biodegradable material is PLA material. In terms of straw field, PLA straw is also an “environmental protection product” respected by straw market at the present stage.

However, PLA, these biodegradable materials, can only achieve purer degradation in theory, but in practice, it may not reach our expectations. Because biodegradability requires a lot of recycling and processing.

Experts believe that China does not have the ability to recycle and dispose of biodegradable plastics at present. The degradation conditions required for biodegradable materials are industrial composting, and there are not many industrial composting plants in China. According to the national data, there are 142 domestic waste composting plants in 2019, but most of them use straw and animal manure as raw materials and do not support the disposal of biodegradable plastics. What about in the natural environment?

Foreign research institutions have reported that if a PLA bottle is thrown into the sea, it may take hundreds of years to decompose. Before that, a German university also put PLA in seawater and fresh water. After 400 days of experiments, the mass loss of PLA was only about 0.5%. The degradation of natural conditions is difficult, which is also a dilemma faced by biodegradable plastics. The degradation conditions are only theoretical, but it is difficult to achieve expectations in real life.

Therefore, even if the theoretical expectation is reached, in the case of fuzzy garbage classification and lack of treatment conditions, PLA and other biodegradable materials can only be incinerated, which loses its original significance.

However, in terms of straws, the new generation of paper straws developed by the HE team adopts food-grade single-layer paper forming, which is not as good as the traditional paper straws in terms of experience. In terms of environmental protection, HE straws are 100% recyclable, and the recycled paper straws do not need to be composted, and can be directly recycled into other paper products without any waste. Greatly reduce the cost of recycling, sorting, reprocessing expenditure!