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Boxed products made from bioplastics and other biodegradable plastics. Few commercial applications exist for bioplastics. Cost and performance remain problematic. Typical is the example of Italy, where biodegradable plastic bags are compulsory for shoppers since 2011 with the introduction of a specific law. [16]
This 8.2% recovery was much less than the 34.1% overall recovery percentage for municipal solid waste. [49] Depressed plastics recovery rates can be attributed to conventional plastics are often commingled with organic wastes (food scraps, wet paper, and liquids), leading to accumulation of waste in landfills and natural habitats. [50]
The adoption of reusable plastic containers will amount to an approximate annual increase of 0.058 euros/kg of delivered goods. [6] The cost associated with reusable plastic containers are packaging purchasing costs, transportation costs, labor/handling costs, management costs, and costs resulting from losses. [6]
Furthermore, plastic bottles and plastic bags that end up in landfills are frequently consumed by animals, which then clogs their digestive systems and leads to death. [4] Because of the substantial growth in plastic consumption, biodegradable additives are becomingly increasingly necessary to increase the rate of degradability of common plastics.
[2] Between 1950 and 2017, 9.2 billion metric tons of plastic are estimated to have been made; more than half of this has been produced since 2004. In 2023, preliminary figures indicate that over 400 million metric tons of plastic were produced worldwide. [3]
The concept of synthetic biodegradable plastics and polymers was first introduced in the 1980s. [6] In 1992, an international meeting was called where leaders in biodegradable polymers met to discuss a definition, standard, and testing protocol for biodegradable polymers. [2]
When produced by bacteria they serve as both a source of energy and as a carbon store. More than 150 different monomers can be combined within this family to give materials with extremely different properties. [2] These plastics are biodegradable and are used in the production of bioplastics. [3]
The straw fibers could be found in many parts of the world, and it is an example of a low-cost reinforcement for biocomposites. The wood fibers could be recycled or non-recycled. Thus, many polymers as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are being used in wood composites industries.