(60c) Can Bioplastics Alleviate Plastic Waste Issues?

Plastic wastes on land and in oceans have become major societal issues. Articles in print, television, and social media about plastics waste issues and bans on plastic items are on the rise everywhere in the world. Most serious, is the issue relating to microplastics found in oceans and living systems. Against this backdrop, this lecture reviews the role of BioPlastics in providing solutions for plastic waste issues. There are many misperceptions about bioplastics, biobased, biodegradable, compostable, and the value proposition they offer for addressing the plastic waste issues. In this context, this @EnvSciTech viewpoint summarizes necessary requirements for assessing and reporting plastic biodegradation as solution for plastic waste https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b04513. The presentation reviews the science, the definitions, standards, and misleading claims that abound in the marketplace.