Question 16

Listen to the recording: There is a growing enthusiasm for biodegradable plastics as a solution to global waste. However, a significant misunderstanding exists regarding how these materials actually function. Most bioplastics require high temperatures found only in industrial composting facilities to break down effectively. When they are discarded in cold seawater or buried in standard landfills without oxygen, the degradation process stalls completely. In these environments, rather than vanishing harmlessly, these eco-friendly substitutes remain intact and pose the same long-term ecological risks as the conventional petroleum-based products they were designed to ...