Have you heard about biodegradable plastic? It's a new kind of plastic that will break down in the environment very quickly, so it doesn't harm animals or our oceans. But is it really good for the environment? Or should we just keep on recycling what we've been doing for years? Let's explore these questions and find out more about how biodegradable plastics work and whether they're really better than what we've got now
Biodegradable plastics are made from natural materials and can be broken down by microorganisms. Biodegradable plastic is also called compostable, which means it can be turned into compost after use.
Biodegradable plastic is made from plant-based resources like cornstarch, sugarcane and potato starch. These plastics are made with ethanol (a type of alcohol), instead of petroleum like regular plastics. They're also used to make disposable utensils, bottles and other products that have been designed to decompose when placed in a home composter or in the wild under certain conditions over time
Biodegradable plastics are a type of material that can decompose when exposed to microorganisms or sunlight. These materials have been around since the 1960s and have helped reduce waste in landfills, but they're still not as widely used as traditional plastics. The most common form of biodegradable plastic is polylactic acid (PLA), which can be derived from corn starch or sugarcane.
Many food products are packaged with PLA-based packaging because these types of plastics break down more quickly than other kinds of plastic. However, it's important to note that "biodegradable" does not mean "compostable." While compostable means that certain items can be safely broken down by soil bacteria necessary for nutrient exchange in natural environments, biodegradable refers specifically to items that will break down into organic matter after being exposed to oxygen and light for an extended period of time (typically several months). In other words: Biodegradables won't end up at your local landfill if you throw them away!
Biodegradable plastic is made from materials such as corn, sugarcane and other organic crops. To make biodegradable plastics we need much more land than we use now.
To gather these resources for making biodegradable plastics we need much more land than we use now. In the future, with a growing population and rising consumption of plastic products, it would be difficult to find new sources of non-renewable resources for producing bioplastic without destroying natural ecosystems and wildlife habitats that provide us with food and clean water.
Biodegradable plastics are made from oil and natural gas — non-renewable resources. Fertile soil and fresh water are becoming increasingly scarce, so these resources need to be used efficiently. If we use them to make biodegradable plastics, then what will happen if the environment doesn't have enough fertile soil and fresh water?
Also, they require fertile soil and fresh water — which are becoming increasingly scarce.
Biodegradable plastic is made from plants, and the additives that help it biodegrade are often toxic. This means that in order for this type of plastic to break down, it first needs to be exposed to oxygen and light. Once these conditions are met, sunlight can begin breaking down the material at a rapid rate.
However, because biodegradable plastics don’t usually include any additives that help with degradation in landfills or oceans (as opposed to water), they aren’t actually good for the environment unless they’re recycled! Bioplastics have been shown to break down more quickly when placed into landfill conditions than conventional plastics do—but only if they come in contact with oxygen over time—which is why most bioplastics end up being discarded straight into landfills anyway!
Most plastics are already recyclable — but only if they're collected and processed appropriately, which currently hardly happens anywhere.
Collecting the right kind of plastic for recycling is hard: most people don't know what's recyclable and what isn't, and most municipal recycling programs can't tell the difference between types of plastics.
That means a lot of potentially recyclable waste ends up in landfills instead, where it will remain indefinitely unless someone takes the time to clean it out of there (which very few people do).
There is another way to recycle plastic that's more sustainable, environmentally friendly and less toxic than other methods of recycling. It's called "biological recycling": where you break down the old plastic back into its building blocks and then turn it into new plastic.
This process is more efficient than mechanical recycling (breaking down plastic with heat). It uses less energy, which means less fossil fuel consumption, and it's also cost effective — making this a better option for everyone involved in the recycling process.
Biodegradable plastics are not necessarily better for the environment, as they may be made of synthetic materials that do not break down easily. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Warwick found that biodegradable plastic bags had an 80% increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to this, biodegradable plastics make up only 2% of total plastic production worldwide and were designed to be used for a specific purpose and thrown away after use. So if you want to contribute to sustainable living practices, recycle real plastics rather than throw them away or using biodegradable ones and recycling them instead.
By recycling real plastics rather than throwing them away or using biodegradable ones and recycling them instead, we can reduce the amount of new plastic that needs to be produced. That way we'll have less pollution and fewer greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere — which is good for everyone on Earth!