Oxo-Biodegradable plastic - FAQ

Oxo-biodegradable plastic - FAQ

Why do we need oxo-biodegradable plastic?
Because in no country in the world will it be possible to collect and dispose responsibly of all the plastic. Thousands of tons of plastic waste are entering the world's environment every day, and will remain there for hundreds of years.

How does it work?
A very small amount of a pro-degradant formulation is put into the manufacturing process. This breaks the molecular chains in the polymer, and at the end of its useful life the product self-destructs.

Does it really biodegrade, or does it just fragment?
The product does not just fragment, but will be consumed by bacteria and fungi after the additive has reduced the molecular weight to a level which permits micro-organisms access to the carbon and hydrogen. It is therefore "biodegradable". The process of degradation continues, provided that oxygen is present, until the material has biodegraded to nothing more than CO2, water, humus and trace elements, and it does not leave fragments of petro-polymers in the soil.

What does it cost?
Very little, because the additive represents only a tiny proportion of the product, and because the products can be made with the same machines, raw materials, and workforce as ordinary plastic.

Won't it put existing factories out of business, with loss of jobs?
No, because customers can still use the factories which supply them with ordinary plastic products. The products can be made with the same machines, raw materials, and workforce as ordinary plastic.

What types of biodegradable plastics exist?
The two main types are oxo-biodegradable and hydro-biodegradable. In both cases degradation begins with a chemical process (oxidation or hydrolysis respectively), followed by a biological process. Both types emit CO2 as they degrade, but hydro-biodegradables (usually crop-based) can also emit methane deep in landfill. Only oxo-biodegradable can be recycled with ordinary plastic. Hydro-biodegradables would ruin a recycling process.

What are the differences between oxo-biodegradable and hydro-biodegradable plastic?
Navigate from the Home-Page to "Position-Papers" then "Comparison of oxo and hydro."

Surely education is the way to solve the litter problem?
Hopefully education will reduce the litter problem over several generations, but large quantities of plastic waste will always find their way deliberately or accidentally into the open environment. Action needs to be taken today to switch to oxo-biodegradable before millions more tons of plastic waste accumulate in the environment.

Isn't it better to recycle than to let it biodegrade?
Yes, and one of the benefits of oxo-biodegradable plastic is that it can be recycled as part of a normal plastic waste stream (See Position Paper on Recycling). However, if the plastic is not collected it cannot be recycled, so it needs to self-destruct instead of accumulating in the environment.

What about energy recovery?
In some countries incineration is popular, and the necessary equipment is in place. Oxo-biodegradable plastic can be incinerated with energy recovery in the same way as conventional plastic, and has a higher calorific value than the hydro-biodegradable alternative.

Can it be composted?
Oxo-biodegradable plastic does not degrade quickly in low temperature "windrow" composting, but it can be composted by industrial "in-vessel" processes at the higher temperatures required by the EU animal by-products regulations. Indeed it is likely that windrow composting will soon have to be phased out for wastes streams which contain or might contain food wastes. (See Position Paper on Composting).
Biodegradation in the environment is NOT the same thing as composting.
Composting is an artificial process operated to a much shorter timescale than the processes of nature. Standards (such as ASTM D6400, EN 13432, and Australian Standard 4736) designed for compostable plastic are not therefore appropriate for plastic which is designed to self-destruct if it gets into the environment.

What happens to it in a landfill?
Oxo-biodegradable plastics degrade in the surface layers of the lanfill, but the residues are completely inert deeper in the landfill in the absence of oxygen. They do not emit methane. By contrast, hydro-biodegradable (starch-based) plastics will degrade and emit CO2 in the surface layers of a landfill if there is enough microbial activity. However, in the depths of a landfill, in the absence of air, Hydro-biodegradable plastics generate methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.

Does it contain "metals"?
It contains transition metal ions of Cobalt or Iron or Manganese, which are trace elements required in the human diet. They should not be confused with toxic heavy metals such as Lead, Mercury, Cadmium and Chromium, which are never used in oxo-biodegradable plastics. Also metal salts should not be confused with the metals themselves. Eg pure sodium is dangerous, but sodium chloride is table salt.

Please see this article for details.
Isn't it made from oil?
Oxo-biodegradable plastics are currently made from naptha, which is a by-product of oil refining, which used to be wasted. Oil is of course a finite resource, but this by-product arises because the world needs fuels and oils for engines, and would arise whether or not the by-product were used to make plastic goods.

Unless the oil is left under the ground, carbon dioxide will inevitably be released, but until other fuels and lubricants have been developed for engines, it makes good environmental sense to use the by-product, and using scarce agricultural resources to make plastics.

Recently, interest has been shown in manufacturing sugar-derived polyethylenes. These, like oil-derived PE, are not biodegradable, but they can be made oxo-biodegradable in the same way as the latter, by the addition of a pro-degradant additive.

But aren't the hydro-biodegradable plastics renewable?
No. because the process of making them from crops is itself a significant user of fossil-fuel energy and a producer therefore of greenhouse gases. Fossil fuels are burned in the machines used to clear and cultivate the land, and in the manufacture and transport of fertilisers and pesticides and in the manufacture and transport of fertlisers and pesticides and in transporting the crop itself. Energy is also used by the autoclaves used to ferment and polymerise material synthesised from biochemically produced intermediates (e.g. polylactic acid from carbohydrates etc). When the material biodegrades it emits CO2 and methane, so the total fossil fuels used and greenhouse gases emitted are more than for conventional or oxo-biodegradable plastic. Hydro-biodegradables are sometimes described as made from "non-food" crops, but are in fact usually made from food crops, and drive up the price of human and animal food.

Does it leave any harmful residues?
No. Oxo-biodegradable plastic passes all the usual ecotoxicity tests, including seed germination, plant growth and organism survival (daphnia, earthworms). Ecotoxicity tests are carried out in accordance with ASTM D6954 and EN 13432 standards.

Can it be re-used?
Yes. Oxo-biodegradable plastic is particularly useful for short-life items like carrier-bags. The useful life an oxo-biodegradable carrier-bag is typically 18 months, and during that time the bags are often used many times for many purposes - finally ending up as bin-liners. Efforts to ban plastic carrier-bags mean that families have to buy bin-liners. This is good business for the supermarkets but not so good for the family.

Deliberately and totally lost?
The argument that oxo-biodegradable plastics are undesirable because their components are designed to be deliberately and totally lost is a fallacy, because if people want to incinerate with heat-recovery, or mechanically recycle them, or compost them in-vessel, or re-use them, then that's OK, and they cost very little if anything more than conventional products.

The key point is what happens to the plastic which is not collected, and gets into the environment?
In any event, oxo-biodegradable plastics are not "deliberately and totally lost" even if they degrade in the environment, because biodegradation on land is a source of plant nutrients, just as is straw, grass, leaves etc.

More careless disposal?
Degradable plastic bags have been supplied by supermarkets for more than five years, but there is no evidence that people dispose more carelessly of them (whether oxo or hydro biodegradable) and they have not been encouraged to do so. But suppose for the sake of argument that 10% more were discarded. If 1,000 conventional and 1,100 oxo-biodegradable bags were left uncollected in the environment, 1,000 conventional bags would remain in the rivers, streets and fields for decades, but none of the oxo-biodegradable bags would be left at the end of the short life programmed into them at manufacture.

There will always be people who will deliberately or accidentally discard their plastic waste. What will happen to all the plastic waste that will not be recycled or will not be incinerated, and instead will litter the countryside - would it not be better if the discarded plastic were all oxo-biodegradable?

Is it safe for food-contact?
Yes. Oxo-biodegradable plastic has been certified by RAPRA Technology Analytical Laboratories as safe for long-term contact with any food type at temperatures up to 40oC. RAPRA is accredited by the United Kingdom accreditation authorities as meeting the requirements of International Standards Organisation norm no. 17025. It is also certified for food-contact according to US and Brazilian regulations.

In September 2007 the Commercial Packaging Manager of the Co-op said "I am happy to say that we are using Oxo-biodegradable polythene films for direct food contact applications. We currently use these materials for pre-packed produce, self serve produce, pre-packed bread, frozen vegetables and fresh turkeys as well as for carrier bags. The approval for use has been based on the very strict EU requirements under EU Directives 2002/72/EC and 2004/19/EC relating to plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs. We have been using these materials for food contact use since 2004."

Can it be marketed as Biodegradable or Compostable?
The current EU Standard for composting (EN13432) is not appropriate for testing oxo-biodegradable plastic. However the EU Packaging Waste Directive does NOT require that when a packaging product is marketed as "degradable" or "compostable" conformity with the Directive must be assessed by reference to EN13432. The Directive provides that conformity with its essential requirements may be presumed if EN 13432 is complied with, but it does not exclude proof of conformity by other evidence, such as a report from a reputable body. Indeed Annex Z of EN13432 itself says that it provides only one means of conforming with the essential requirements.

Isn't it better to use paper bags?
No. The process of making paper bags causes 70% more atmospheric pollution than plastic bags. Paper bags use 300% more energy to produce, and the process uses huge amounts of water and creates very unpleasant organic waste. When they degrade they emit methane and carbon dioxide.

A stack of 1000 new plastic carrier bags would be around 2 inches high, but a stack of 1000 new paper grocery bags could be around 2 feet high. It would take at least seven times the number of trucks to deliver the same number of bags, creating seven times more transport pollution and road congestion.

Also, because paper bags are not as strong as plastic, people may use two or three bags inside each other. Paper bags cannot normally be re-used, and will disintegrate if wet.

Isn't it better to use durable re-usable bags?
No. Long-term re-usable shopping bags are not the answer. They are much thicker and more expensive, and a large number of them would be required for the weekly shopping of an average family. 30,000 jute or cotton bag can be packed into a 20-foot container, but the same container will accommodate 2.5 million plastic carrier-bags. Therefore, to transport the same number of jute or cotton bags 80x more ships and trucks would be required than for plastic bags, using 80x more fuel and emitting 80x more CO2. Cloth bags are not hygienic if a tomato is squashed or milk is spilled. Research by Guelph Chemical Laboratories in Canada in 2008 Microbiological Study of Reusable Grocery Bags has shown that "re-usable grocery bags can become an active microbial habitat and a breeding-ground for bacteria, yeast, mold, and coliforms...The unacceptable presence of coliforms - ie intestinal bacteria, in some of the bags tested, suggests that forms of E.Coli associated with severe disease could be present an a small but significant proportion of the bags".

Whilst sometimes called "Bags for Life" they have a limited life, depending on the treatment they receive, and become a very durable form of litter when discarded. Shoppers do not always go to the shop from home, where the re-usable bags would normally be kept, and consumers are unlikely to have a re-usable bag with them when buying on impulse items such as clothing, groceries, CDs, magazines, stationery etc. Research conducted for the Scottish Government carrier bag case studies showed that 92 per cent of people think re-using carrier bags is good for the environment but 59 per cent forget their re-usable bags to take new ones at the checkout.

As durable bags are a cost to the consumer and carrier-bags are a cost to the supermarket, one can easily understand why supermarkets are in favour of reducing the number of carrier bags and increasing the number od durable bags!

For those who believe in long-term re-usable bags, they can be made from washable extended-life oxo-biodegradable plastic and will last for 3-5 years.

How long does it take to completely degrade?
An important advantage of oxo-biodegradable plastic is that it can be programmed to degrade in whatever timescale is required. The average useful life of a carrier bag is about 18 months. During that time bags are often re-used for shopping or for use as bin-liners etc.

What products are available in oxo-biodegradable plastic?
• Carrier bags or "shopper-bags" which consumers use to take away their purchases from the shop
• Refuse sacks, which consumers buy in rolls at the shop, and use for disposal of their ordinary household waste.
• Aprons, for the protection of garments, in the home, hospitals, restaurants, workshops etc.
• Bags to contain dog faeces collected in parks, gardens, etc
• Bin liners
• Gloves
• Plastic sheeting for a variety of applications in agriculture and horticulture.
• Plastic film for wrapping newspapers and magazines.
• Bread bags
• Frozen food bags
• Wrappers for cigarette packets
• Shrink-wrap and pallet-wrap
• "Bubble-wrap
• Rigid products such as bottles and cups.
More products will become available in due course.
Oxo-biodegradable plastic has now been adpoted by major companies around the world. These organisations take many months, and sometimes years to evaluate the evidence before buying oxo-biodegradable plastic.

What national or international standards exist?
Oxo-biodegradable plastic can be tested according to American Standard ASTM D6954-04 for Plastics that Degrade in the environment by a Combination of Oxidation and Biodegradation.
Until recently there was no standard in Europe designed to test oxo-biodegradable plastic. However, in July 2007 the French Standards organisation, AFNOR, published XP T 54-980, which is a Standard for oxo-biodegradable plastics in agriculture. A draft standard 8472 capable of measuring oxo-biodegradation was prepared by the British Standards Institution.

European standard EN 13432 applies only to plastic packaging, and was written before oxo-biodegradable plastics became popular. It is not appropriate for testing oxo-biodegradable plastics because it is based on measuring the emission of carbon dioxide during degradation. Hydro-biodegradable plastic is compliant with EN 13432, precisely because it emits CO2 (a greenhouse gas) at a high rate. Another unsatisfactory feature of EN 13432 is that it requires almost complete conversion of the carbon in the plastic to CO2, thus depriving the resulting compost of carbon, which is needed for plant growth, and wasting it by emission to atmosphere.
Conversion of organic materials to CO2 at a rapid rate during the composting process is not "recovery" as required by the European Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62/EC as amended), and should not be part of a standard for composting. Nature's lignocellulosic wastes do not behave in this way, and if they did the products would have little value as soil improvers and fertilisers, having lost most of their carbon.

If a leaf were subjected to the CO2 emission tests included in EN13432 it would not be not pass! Of course leaves are not required to pass any such test but it demonstrates how artificial the test is.

Packaging made from oxo-biodegradable plastic complies with para. 3(a), (b) and (d) of Annex II of the European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC (as amended) on Packaging and Packaging Waste. This Annex specifies the essential requirements for the composition, and the reusable and recoverable, including recyclable, nature of packaging.

Oxo-biodegradable plastic satisfies para. 3(a) because it can be recycled. It satisfies para. 3(b) because it can be incinerated. It satisfies para. 3(d) because it is capable of undergoing physical, chemical, thermal or biological decomposition such that most of the finished compost ultimately decomposes into carbon dioxide, biomass and water.

Can it be Recycled?
Yes it can - see this article for details
Is it a good idea to ban plastic bags?
No. See Position Paper on "Plastic Bag Bans"