Composting bioplastics
Date
February, 2023
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
In a world grappling with plastic pollution, bioplastics have emerged as an alternative. Their benefits lie not only in material sourcing but also in their ability to compost. Plastics derived from fossil fuels, on the other hand, rely on recycling as a sustainable end-of-life solution.
While recycling is crucial in addressing pollution, it is not without limitations. Most plastics are not easily recycled, and the process itself consumes a great deal of resources. To add, our recycling capacity is significantly lower compared to our demand. The consequences are not few. The recycling industry can't cope with the scale of plastic pollution, relying heavily on informal workforce.
When bioplastics compost, they turn into organic matter, water, and carbon, leaving behind minimal impact on the environment. At the same time, recycling introduces plastics back into circulation where even recycled plastics can eventually end up as waste if not disposed of properly or if they have achieved their end-of-life and cannot be recycled again.
Composting is influenced by various factors, including temperature, moisture, and oxygen levels. In nature, bioplastics may take months to compost. During that period, bioplastics behave much like conventional plastics. They break down into tiny pieces, known as microplastics, until eventually they disappear. The difference is that conventional plastics can take up hundreds of years to decompose.
Although this sounds promising, we shouldn't undermine the impact bioplastics may have on the environment during the composting period. Like conventional plastics, bioplastics can accumulate in landfills and oceans. Disposing of bioplastics in industrial composting facilities can reduce the entire process to less than a month by providing optimum conditions to turn bioplastics into compost.
Industrial composting facilities are essential for handling bioplastics as well as other biomaterials. Yet their access varies from country to country depending on policy, investment, awareness, and education. Designers too can play a role in informing, incentivising, and enabling consumers to access industrial composting facilities.
