Biodegradable plastics

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Biodegradable plastics
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Problems with plastic

• Can be recycled
• Many products used mixed materials
• Not easy/not possible/not cheap to separate
• Landfill can take 1000s of years to breakdown
• Whats the aternative?

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Biodegradable plastics

• Normal plastic huge molecules
• No microorganisms to eat it
• Bio-plastics allow water and moisture to begin
  breakdown
• Can then be degraded by microbes
• A lot less energy to produce
• Starch based plastics can be carbon neutral

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Problems with going green

• Biodegradable plastic still takes time to
  breakdown landfill
• Reduces the need for recycling facilities
• Release of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas
• Problems if mixed with normal plastics for
  recycling