BIODEGRADATION OF PLASTICS FROM RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Plastic wastes from packaging, fast-food restaurants, horticulture and toiletries are becoming a major issue in the discussion of environmen tal protection, because their recycling is difficult and expensive and sooner or later they have to be disposed. These problems can be avoid ed by using biodegradable plastics that can be degraded together with the organic fraction of household wastes in composting or anaerobic tr eatment plants. This paper describes the present state and the latest developments in this field and the different tests for determining bio degradability. Special attention is paid to methods for determining th e degradability in anaerobic environments, because anaerobic digestion is getting increasing importance for the treatment of municipal organ ic wastes. A simple method for determining the anaerobic degradation b ehaviour and the most important parameters that influence the degradat ion is presented.