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d2w bags on the news! (multi language)

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Traditional plastic is a particularly versatile and resilient material - indeed its strength and durability are some of the reasons for its success in all kinds of uses in our daily lives. However, when plastic products reach the end of their useful life they can lie around or float around in the environment for decades if not collected and properly disposed of.

There is no doubt that education has a role to play in encouraging people to deal responsibly with all kinds of waste material, but in the case of plastic waste d₂w^® provides low cost insurance against irresponsible disposal.

d₂w^® environmentally-responsible oxo-bio plastic can be re-used and recycled, but will degrade and disappear in a short timescale, leaving no fragments, no methane, and no harmful residues.

d2w Valencia - Fabrica de Plasticos PICDA (d2w in Peru)

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The degradation process is initiated at the time the polyethylene or polypropylene is extruded by the inclusion of a small amount of a special additive. This additive works to break down the carbon-carbon bonds in the plastic leading to a lowering of the molecular weight and eventually to a loss of strength and other properties. Stabilisers work to ensure that a sufficiently long useful life is provided for each specific application. For example, a refuse sack might require a useful life of say 18 months before beginning to lose its strength whereas a bread bag might only require a few weeks.

Significantly, the d₂w^™ range does not need a biologically active environment to start degrading - this will happen even if the plastic is left in the open air! This is very important if we are to address the serious litter problems caused by waste plastic. For this reason in particular, d₂w^™ 'totally degradable' plastic is superior to 'bio-degradable' which requires the plastic to be in a biologically active environment (for example, by being buried in the ground) before the degradation process is initiated.