Read Our Degradable Plastic Blog News Update

Plastic bag degrading thanks to the d2w technology

Share

 

Plastic is fantastic!

Plastic is strong, durable, versatile, lightweight, safe and inexpensive. It is made from a by-product of oil refining which would otherwise be wasted, so nobody is importing oil to make plastic products.

However, the problem identified by governments and NGOs around the world is that plastic does last rather too long if it gets into the environment and especially in the oceans.

Symphony has found the answer to this problem. Our d₂w^® additive put into the plastic at the extrusion stage will make the finished product "oxo-biodegradable" so that it will degrade and disappear in a short timescale, leaving no fragments, no methane and no harmful residues.

Degradability is not a disposal option - you can still re-use and recycle - it is low cost insurance against the accumulation of plastic waste in the environment.

There is little or no on-cost, because d₂w^® environmentally-responsible plastic products are made with the same machinery and workforce as ordinary plastic and there is no need to change suppliers.

d₂w^® and the droplet logo are trademarks of a range of totally degradable flexible and semi-rigid plastic products and pro-degradant additives which are sold worldwide.

There is a solution and it is available now!

Biodegradable Argentina

Share

 

Oxo-Biodegradable Products Available

• Carrier bags or "shopper-bags" which consumers use to take away their purchases from the shop

• Refuse sacks, which consumers buy in rolls at the shop, and use for disposal of their ordinary household waste.

• Aprons, for the protection of garments, in the home, hospitals, restaurants, workshops etc.

• Bags to contain dog faeces collected in parks, gardens, etc

• Bin liners

• Gloves

• Plastic sheeting for a variety of applications in agriculture and horticulture.

• Plastic film for wrapping newspapers and magazines.

• Bread bags

• Frozen food bags

• Wrappers for cigarette packets

• Shrink-wrap and pallet-wrap

• "Bubble-wrap"

• Rigid products such as bottles and cups

More products will become available in due course.

Oxo biodegradables d2w

Share

 

This degrades by a process of oxo-biodegradation, initiated by an additive which reduces the molecular weight of the material over a pre-determined period.

The plastic does not just fragment, but is consumed by micro-organisms after the additive has reduced the molecular weight to sub 40,000 Daltons, and it is therefore "biodegradable." This process continues until the material has biodegraded to nothing more than CO2, water, humus, and trace elements. Oxo-biodegradable plastics are made from a by-product of oil refining which would otherwise be wasted. Oil is a finite resource, but the by-product is available because the world will need fuel for engines for the foreseeable future.

There is little or no additional cost, as it can be made with the same machinery and workforce as conventional plastic. The time taken to degrade can be 'programmed' to a few months or a few years, and until the plastic degrades it has the same strength and other characteristics as conventional plastic. Products are protected from degradation by antioxidants until ready for use, and storage-life is extended by cool, dark conditions.

If people want to incinerate oxo-biodegradable products with heat recovery, or recycle them, or re-use them, then that can be done. The key point is what happens to the plastic which is not collected, and gets into the environment as litter. Conventional plastic will subsist in the environment for many decades, but oxo-biodegradable will degrade in a short time leaving no harmful residues.

Oxo-biodegradable plastic:

• Does not leave fragments of petro-polymers in the soil.

• Passes all the standard eco-toxicity tests.

• Is safe for long-term contact with food.

• Does not contain organo-chlorine, PCBs or "heavy metals."

• Does not emit methane or nitrous oxide, even deep in a landfill. Can be made from recyclate.

• Can be safely recycled.

• Can be composted in-vessel.