Abstract
Recently, the amount of plastic waste is increasing dramatically. For these amounts of waste, the area of landfill is insufficient. In addition, a dioxine, which is a highly toxic chemical, is generated by incineration of plastic waste. To solve these problems, a recycling of plastic products is recommended for a reduction of plastic waste. However, there are usages of plastic products unsuitable for recycling. For example, there are films protecting seeds or young plants, soil development reagent for greening of deserts, paper diapers (water absorbent polymer) and plastic trays highly contaminated by foods. Biodegradable polymers are suitable for these uses. Table 5.1 shows the applications of biodegradable polymers. After usage, it is possible to treat these by composting for collecting biodegradable plastic waste and to be degraded completely to carbon dioxide for the remaining plastic waste in the agricultural field. Composting is accelerated degradation of heterogeneous organic matter by a mixed microbial population in a moist, warm, aerobic environment under controlled conditions. Compost obtained as described above can be reused for agriculture.
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Kunioka, M. (1999). Biodegradable Polymers. In: Tanabe, Y. (eds) Macromolecular Science and Engineering. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 35. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58559-3_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58559-3_5
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