Decompose the indecomposable In fact, to say that a plastic bag is “biodegradable” is to say nothing. All materials on this planet are biodegradable, only some take a month, others hundreds of years. Most bags labeled “biodegradable” on store shelves are bags made of oxo-biodegradable plastic, and these are bags made of polyethylene, which introduced a special additive that accelerates its decomposition into small particles. Particles of what? All the same plastic.
Only they will penetrate much faster into the soil, groundwater, animal and human organisms. Decomposing more and more, they turn into plastic dust. Microplastics have already become part of the food chain in the ocean, so don’t be surprised when scientists find plastic particles in drinking water and fish meat. And here it is important to understand that incomplete decomposition of something supposedly rapidly decomposes greatly aggravates the situation.
The direct connection of plastic with the oceans and ways to solve this problem are shown in detail in the film “Plastic Ocean”. Although many manufacturers claim that the particles of their oxodegradable packets are broken down by microorganisms, so far it remains only words. According to Greenpeace, there are studies, such as Feuilloley, P. et al. Degradation of Polyethylene Designed for. Agricultural Purposes. Journal of Polymers and the Environment 13, 349-355 (2005), which show that only 15% of such polymers decompose to environmentally safe elements. Only a package made of 100% vegetable raw materials can finally decompose to carbon.