Oxodegradable products require chain scission before microbial action. This chain scission can only occur with UV light which is not found in landfill environments. Dumping finished product into landfills after normal use is the preferred disposal method of consumers worldwide. Without UV light, oxodegradable plastic products will stay around for years to come. In a recent article posted on the FTC website:
“Tier 1 tests are designed to promote or accelerate oxidation of oxo-degradable materials prior to placing the materials in bio-meters to measure the rate of biodegradation. The loss of tensile strength is the signal that oxidation and chain scission are occurring. This step must take place prior to becoming able to be biodegraded.”
Oxodegradable’s Can’t Break Down in Landfills Without UV Exposure
This step is missing when placed into landfill environments Oxodegradable products do not change the biodegradation of normal polyethylene, polypropylene or any other major resin types. This has caused major confusion in the marketplace as many consumers believe that these products are ready to be broken down in normal disposal environments. Normal disposal environments are where disposal items are generally thrown away (ie a landfill).
Landfill environments do not have UV light, which complicates the Oxodegradables ability to break down the tensile strength of the plastic product. Due to this reason all oxodegradable products that are not littered essentially do not benefit the plastic product in biodegradability or degradability.
BioSphere biodegradable plastic additive does not require UV light to break down the tensile strength so enhanced biodegradation can occur. BioSphere’s patent pending formula enhances the biodegradability of plastic by utilizing the enzymes produced from hydrocarbon consuming microorganisms allowing hydrolysis to reduce the tensile strength of the material and thus allowing for faster biodegradation by microorganisms. BioSphere plastic also helps the microbes in other forms during the biodegradation process allowing for faster biodegradability of plastic products ending with a fully biodegradable plastic solution.
Sources: http://www.ftc.gov/os/comments/greenguiderevisions/00002-55839.pdf
