(...) Producers of biodegradable bags made from maize or wheat starch argue that oxo-biodegradable bags should not be called biodegradable, as they do not compost as quickly as their products. The Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association (OPA), the chair of which is Symphony Environmental Technologies’ chief scientist, agrees that it is unacceptable to have plastic fragments in the soil. However, it argues that by this stage the oxo-biodegradable bag no longer has the properties of plastic and will be “bio-assimilated”, meaning that it will become part of the environment just like “straw, leaves and twigs”. Mr Pryce adds that a fragmented bag will take up less room in a landfill and will have spilt any organic matter that may have been placed inside it. Significantly, the OPA maintains that “oxo-biodegradability is not a disposal option” but aims mainly to address the plastic litter problem. “The main benefit of oxo-biodegradable [bags] is not for plastic waste that gets into landfill, but for plastic waste which gets into the environment, where it will accumulate for many decades.” Other degradable plastics, such as those with a starch base, have their own drawbacks. They cannot be recycled like their oxo-biodegradable counterparts, and when they degrade they emit methane (...)
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