Debate over benefits of oxo-degradable carrier bags rages on in Europe – Lightweight plastic carrier bags continue to be at the center of a debate regarding the role of oxo-degradability in helping to solve the littering and plastic pollution problem that is prevalent globally- Benefits oxodegradable carrier bags Europe - Arhive

Lightweight plastic carrier bags continue to be at the center of a debate regarding the role of oxo-degradability in helping to solve the littering and plastic pollution problem that is prevalent globally. A report from the European Commission (EC) to the European Parliament and the Council was released on Jan. 16, 2018. Directive 94/62/EC2 (April 29, 2015), which involved a reduction in the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags, contained Article 20a (2), which tasked the EC to present a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the impact of the use of oxo-degradable plastic carrier bags on the environment and, if appropriate, present a legislative proposal.

A study published in April 2017 addressed three key issues:

• The biodegradability of oxo-degradable plastic in various environments;
• environmental impacts in relation to littering; and
• issues related to recycling.

The results were analyzed to ascertain whether the “claims and assumptions from the oxo-degradable industry” can be supported or refuted. “Oxo-degradable plastics are conventional plastics which include additives to accelerate the fragmentation of the material into very small pieces, triggered by UV radiation or heat exposure,” states the report. “Due to these additives, the plastic fragments over time are reduced into plastic particles, and finally microplastics, with similar properties to microplastics originating from the fragmentation of conventional plastics.”

The question is whether plastic containing an oxo-degradable additive will degrade in “uncontrolled conditions in the open environment . . . or marine environment” [and] will “undergo full biodegradation within a reasonable timeframe.” If the oxo-degradable plastic does not biodegrade within a reasonable timeframe, which the report does not define, will the microplastics released into the environment—including the marine environment—get into the food chain and “end up being consumed by humans?”

But, what is a reasonable timeframe? Over the span of one hundred million years, a reasonable timeframe may be 50 years. Currently, rules for biodegradation require that the plastic, to be labeled as such, must degrade to a certain size within a specified timeframe, generally six months to a year. Material that does not biodegrade within that timeframe cannot be called biodegradable.

Additionally, because of the rules of industrial composting facilities—and depending on the method of composting—plastic materials that are considered biodegradable are not candidates for compostability because the material does not fully degrade. Compost with pieces of plastic in it is generally not acceptable, which is why many composting facilities won’t take any materials except purely organic items such as food and yard waste.

Oxo-degradable additives were developed specifically to solve the problem of plastics left in the open environment by litterbugs. Plastics containing oxo-degradable additives are not meant for materials going to landfills, as nothing degrades in a sanitary landfill.

The report stated that there is “currently insufficient evidence to provide assurance that oxo-degradable plastic, including plastic carrier bags, will biodegrade in the marine environment within a reasonable time” (whatever that is supposed to be).

While the report acknowledges that there is “general agreement” among both the scientific community and industry that oxidizing additives will “accelerate the fragmentation of traditional polymers” in open environments, none of these environments have documented a “full biodegradation process.” The experiments were conducted in too short a time span to demonstrate a full biodegradation process, which has resulted in inconclusive evidence to confirm that the “fragmentation is sufficiently rapid and leads to a reduced molecular weight that allows subsequent biodegradation taking place within a reasonable timeframe.”

What the report did conclude, however, was that the use of oxo-degradable additives might encourage littering. “Even though no conclusive information is currently available on the disposal or littering of plastic according to the type of plastic, or on the influence of marketing oxo-degradable plastic on the disposal behavior of consumers, presenting oxo-degradable plastic as the solution for plastic waste in the environment may influence littering behavior by making it more likely that it is discarded inappropriately,” said the report.

This wouldn’t be true, however, for specific products including “oxo-degradable products such as agricultural use for weed control in crops. In those cases, the oxo-degradable plastic sheeting is left to degrade in the fields.

The conclusion of the report states that that “it is undisputed that oxo-degradable plastic, including plastic carrier bags, may degrade quicker in the open environment than conventional plastic. However, there is no evidence that oxo-degradable plastic will subsequently fully biodegrade in a reasonable time in the open environment, in landfills or in the marine environment.”

Again, nothing biodegrades in a sanitary landfill, so that should not have even been a consideration when evaluating oxo-degradable material, as it is not meant to go to landfills. And it is not meant to go into the recycling waste stream. It is one yeoman’s effort to solve the problem of plastic littering by human beings who really don’t care much about the environment.

The Oxo-Biodegradable Plastics Federation has issued a rebuttal to this report. Read it here.

Related Topics