With the implementation of the new “plastic restriction order” and the improvement of people’s awareness of the ecological environment, degradable plastics, as an important component to replace traditional non-degradable plastics, are also an important part of my country’s plastic pollution prevention and control work, and people have high expectations and good expectations.
Alternatives that are more friendly to the environment have appeared, but good things need to be used more carefully. Many consumers have this concept: since it is said to be degradable, it is enough to throw it directly into the soil. The process of garbage collection. As everyone knows, this idea is completely wrong. Just like a seed, if it is thrown into an extremely cold place, it may never germinate; the same is true for degradable plastics. If there is no suitable environment, it is difficult to achieve the effect of complete degradation.
Many plastics labelled biodegradable can only be composted under industrial conditions, but scientists at the University of Bath have now discovered a way to break down plastic using only UV light. Due to the growing public concern about plastic waste, PLA (polylactic acid), created using lactic acid to ferment sugars, is now widely used as a renewable, sustainable alternative to everything from disposable cups and tea bags to 3D printing and packaging. Plastic products from crude oil products. It is often labeled as biodegradable, but in natural environments, such as soil or sea water, it has a limited ability to degrade and only degrades under high temperature and humid conditions of industrial composting, which is less common in household composting Can’t do it.
First of all, we must understand that biodegradable plastics refer to a class of plastics that are degraded by the action of microorganisms such as bacteria, molds (fungi) and algae that exist in nature. For degradable plastics certified by authoritative organizations, the degradation reaction also needs to meet certain conditions to occur, and the degradation rate will be affected by the surrounding environment. Oxygen content, temperature and humidity have a significant impact on the number of microorganisms, and the number of microorganisms determines the degradation rate. Taking the degradable plastic PLA as an example, the fastest degradation can be achieved under composting conditions. The temperature and humidity of specific industrial composting greatly shorten the degradation cycle. Therefore, it is still necessary to take closed-loop measures to recycle plastic bags.
