Biodegrable plastics and Bioplastics: Things you should know!

All of us know that nowadays, Plastic materials are being the headache for the everyone including the waste management companies and agencies. It would be wrong to say that we should ban the complete use of plastics as plastics have versatile nature. They can be elastic, they can be made strong and can be moulded into almost any shape. Since we do not have the suitable alternative to the plastics, all we can do is to reduce the use of plastics in our life as well as try not to buy any more plastic unless and until it is the must.

Scientists and researchers have been working on finding the alternative for the plastic materials and few have gained fruitful results as well. We'll discuss more this in the next section.

1. Biodegradable plastics:

Biodegradable plastics are plastics that are decomposed by the action of living organisms, usually bacteria. Two basic classes of biodegradable plastics exist. Bioplastics, whose components are derived from renewable raw materials, and plastics made from petrochemicals containing biodegradable additives which enhance biodegradation. However, biodegradable plastics also have the potential to complicate waste management when introduced without appropriate technical attributes, handling systems and consumer education. In addition, it is clear that there could be significant issues in sourcing sufficient biomass to replace a large proportion of the current consumption of polymers.

Some modes of degradation require that the plastic is exposed at the surface (aerobic), whereas other modes will only be effective if certain conditions exist in the landfill or composting systems (anaerobic).

Some companies produce biodegradable additives, to enhance biodegradation. Plastic can have starch powder added as a filler to allow it to degrade more easily, but this still does not lead to the complete breaking down of the plastic.

Some researchers have genetically engineered bacteria to synthesize completely biodegradable plastics, such as Biopol; however, these are expensive at present.

Biodegradable plastics can be a great option for the regular plastic but still, they are very expensive and their cost should be lower down for their extensive use in the daily life.

Do not confuse the biodegradable with compostables. Biodegradable plastics means these can be degradable completely with the help of microbes or bacteria. Other ways include direct sunlight or high-frequency radiations which breaks down these plastics into carbon dioxide and water. But there are varieties of biodegradable plastics are available in the market and each of them takes different time period to degrade. When used in plastic bags, this can be very useful to fight landfilling and littered plastics. Although, they are much costlier at this stage. Hopefully, innovations will not stop here and the cost will reduce further.

Bioplastics, on the other hand, are made from renewable raw materials and biomass resources like vegetable fats and oils, corn starch etc. They can also be made from agro by-products and can be from recycled plastics. Keep in mind that they can or can not be biodegradable. These can be used for many products like cups, pots, bowls, etc. The performance and the cost are the two main things that are preventing bioplastics from replacing vast applications of plastics.

Bioplastics are used for disposable items, such as packaging, crockery, cutlery, pots, bowls, and straws. In principle they could replace many applications for petroleum-derived plastics, however, cost and performance remain problematic.

The environmental impact of bioplastics is often debated, as there are many different metrics for "greenness" and tradeoffs often exist. The debate is also complicated by the fact that many different types of bioplastics exist, each with different environmental strengths and weaknesses, so not all bioplastics can be treated as equal.

Use of biodegradable plastics and Bioplastics can help reduce the pollution caused by the plastic. It can be easily degraded and can solve the issue of landfills. Also, the energy used to make these biodegradable plastics is less than the energy used to make new plastics based on fossil fuel. This will save energy on the larger scale. It is desirable that compostable and degradable plastics are appropriately labelled and used in ways that complement, rather than compromise waste-management schemes.

Source Segregation: Why is it so important for waste management?

Imagine a scenario where you have a lot of trash in your house. As most of the people do, you too would pack the waste in the black bag and toss it into the garbage truck. This is the most common scenario each of us sees in our daily life. Have you ever thought of what happened to the waste you just dumped into the garbage truck and get rid of it?

As most of the waste management companies do, the waste is first segregated with the help of machines. Metal scrap and other solid waste are separated using mechanical machines and rest of the waste are compressed and thrown into landfills. If the waste got lucky and have the considerable amount of calorific value, it may reach to the incineration centre where it is burned down to get energy. But, this burning also releases harmful gases, ash and other effluents.

Besides all these, the waste which had value no longer can serve its true purpose and lost its own properties. Food waste and gardening waste can be used to make compost but with plastic and metal waste, it would take decades to decompose. This makes waste management real hard.

What is the solution?
 

From last few years, people are becoming aware of waste and waste management. They are protesting against plastic waste, use of unwanted materials and pollution. One of the very effective methods that come into practice is "Source Segregation". Countries like South Korea, Germany, Italy, Singapore are already practising the waste sorting and have been able to reduce the waste by very great number. Recently, in 2016, the Indian government has passed the new Waste Management Rules 2016 which states that it is compulsory for everyone to segregate waste as dry and wet waste before tossing it into the garbage truck.

Waste sorting is the process by which waste is separated into different elements. Waste sorting can occur manually at the household and collected through curbside collection schemes, or automatically separated in materials recovery facilities or mechanical biological treatment systems. Hand sorting was the first method used in the history of waste sorting.

Waste segregation means dividing waste into dry and wet. Dry waste includes wood and related products, metals and glass. Wet waste, typically refers to organic waste usually generated by eating establishments and are heavy in weight due to dampness. Waste can also be segregated on basis of biodegradable or non-biodegradable waste.

Source segregation can help prevent up to 80% of the waste from being dumped into landfills. Most of India's landfills are overflowing already and it is estimated that by 2030, India would be in need of the landfill of the size of Banglore city. This shows that how badly we need the source segregation.

By segregating waste, we can not only save the landfills from being full but can also utilize the other waste properly and can get monetary value for it. This will ensure that waste is recycled and treated properly and only the inert material is thrown into the landfills.

Waste segregation is not only necessary for ourselves, it is a must for environmental concerns as well. Also, it would make the waste management very effective. It is not just the rule to follow but it is our moral responsibility to maintain and improve the quality of the environment and to preserve it for the future generation.