In order to clarify the public's confusion about the meaning of biodegradability, the British Standards Institute recently promulgated the first biodegradable plastic standard PAS 9017. According to the new BSI standard, 90% of the organic carbon contained in plastics must be converted into carbon dioxide within 730 days to meet the standard.
The PAS 9017 standard covers polyolefin plastics, which are a series of thermoplastics including polyethylene and polypropylene, which constitute half of all plastic pollution in the environment. Polyolefin is widely used in the manufacture of handbags, fruit and vegetable packaging and beverage bottles.
Scott Steedman, director of the BSI Standards Agency, said: “To meet the global plastic waste challenge requires imagination and innovation.” He added: “New ideas need agreed, common and independent standards to enable the industry to deliver reliable solutions. "The new standard is described as "the first industry consensus to assess the biodegradability of polyolefins and will accelerate the technical verification of the biodegradability of plastics."
The standard only applies to terrestrial plastic polluting the environment
The PAS 9017 standard is called "Assessment of the Biodegradability of Polyolefins in the Open Terrestrial Environment", which involves testing plastics to prove that they can be decomposed into harmless paraffin in the open environment.
This standard only applies to plastic pollution in the terrestrial environment. According to BSI statistics, terrestrial waste plastic pollution accounts for three-quarters of the overall plastic pollution.
This standard cannot cover waste plastics in the ocean. According to researchers, in the marine environment, biodegradable plastic bags still fail to degrade after three years of existence.
BSI stated that if at the end of the test period, 90% or more of the organic carbon in paraffin wax is converted to carbon dioxide, the sample is considered biodegradable. The longest test period should be 730 days.
The purpose of setting standards: to prevent businesses from misleading the public
Last year, due to concerns that manufacturers would mislead the public when using terms such as "biodegradable", "bioplastic" and "compostable", the British government called on experts to help them develop plastic standards.
The term "biodegradable" means that a certain material will decompose harmlessly in the environment, although it may take hundreds of years.
"Bioplastics" refers to plastics made of plant or animal materials, which are not necessarily biodegradable. "Compostable plastic" can only be decomposed harmlessly when placed in a special composting environment.
The PAS 9017 standard was initiated by the plastics expert steering group and supported by the British company Polymateria, which has developed an additive that can biodegrade petrochemical-based plastics.
New process for biodegradation of petroleum-based plastics
Polymateria's additives can biodegrade highly resistant thermoplastics without producing potentially harmful microplastics. The condition is to expose the plastic to air, light and water within a specified time. Many plastics are converted into carbon dioxide during this process.
Polymateria said that their new technology has designed multiple comprehensive triggers to ensure the degradability of the activated plastic, not just one factor.
"Therefore, time, ultraviolet light, temperature, humidity and air will all play a role in different stages to enable the technology to chemically convert plastics into biocompatible materials." Polymateria CEO Niall Dunne said.
"Independent third-party laboratory tests have shown that in actual scenarios, our technology can achieve 100% biodegradation of rigid plastic containers in 336 days, and 100% biodegradation of film materials in 226 days. During this process , To achieve zero plastic residue, and does not cause any harm to the environment. Niall Dunne added.
