Biodegradability standards for carrier bags and plastic films in aquatic environments: a critical review

Harrison, Jesse Patrick; Boardman, Carl; O’Callaghan, Kenneth; Delort, Anne-Marie; Song, Jim

doi:10.1098/rsos.171792

Cited by 193 publications

(135 citation statements)

References 87 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

119

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Hartmann et al () included these as “plastics,” although others have excluded them due to their cellulose‐derived origin. Additionally, polyhydroxyalkanoate from bacterial precursors and polyactic acid from plant starch have recently been produced to be more inherently biodegradable (Harrison et al, ). The goal is to allow complete degradation to CO 2 after the end of product service life, as partial breakdown may generate intermediates of unknown properties, as well as microplastics.…”

Section: The Nature Of Plastics and Microplasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Global Perspective on Microplastics

Hale¹,

Seeley²,

Guardia³

et al. 2020

JGR Oceans

667

270

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Society has become increasingly reliant on plastics since commercial production began in about 1950. Their versatility, stability, light weight, and low production costs have fueled global demand. Most plastics are initially used and discarded on land. Nonetheless, the amount of microplastics in some oceanic compartments is predicted to double by 2030. To solve this global problem, we must understand plastic composition, physical forms, uses, transport, and fragmentation into microplastics (and nanoplastics). Plastic debris/microplastics arise from land disposal, wastewater treatment, tire wear, paint failure, textile washing, and at-sea losses. Riverine and atmospheric transport, storm water, and disasters facilitate releases. In surface waters plastics/microplastics weather, biofoul, aggregate, and sink, are ingested by organisms and redistributed by currents. Ocean sediments are likely the ultimate destination. Plastics release additives, concentrate environmental contaminants, and serve as substrates for biofilms, including exotic and pathogenic species. Microplastic abundance increases as fragment size decreases, as does the proportion of organisms capable of ingesting them. Particles <20 μm may penetrate cell membranes, exacerbating risks. Exposure can compromise feeding, metabolic processes, reproduction, and behavior. But more investigation is required to draw definitive conclusions. Human ingestion of contaminated seafood and water is a concern. Microplastics indoors present yet uncharacterized risks, magnified by the time we spend inside (>90%) and the abundance of polymeric products therein. Scientific challenges include improving microplastic sampling and characterization approaches, understanding long-term behavior, additive bioavailability, and organismal and ecosystem health risks. Solutions include improving globally based pollution prevention, developing degradable polymers and additives, and reducing consumption/expanding plastic reuse.

show abstract

Section: The Nature Of Plastics and Microplasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Global Perspective on Microplastics

Hale¹,

Seeley²,

Guardia³

et al. 2020

JGR Oceans

667

270

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To date, assessing the biodegradability of plastic has relied upon either composting approaches i.e., burying samples in soil, which have shown limitations in reproducibility 14,15 or samples being suspended in the sea, where samples risk being lost prior to recovery for quantification 25 . Our method allows the reliable assessment of plastic biodegradability via the quantification of CO2 produced in aqueous media as a direct result of microbial metabolism.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…"Bioplastics" can refer to polymer composites 14 and are marketed as a biodegradable alternative to LDPE. A. borkumensis was grown in liquid culture with a polymer composite, and CO2 production monitored over time.…”

Section: Monitoring Of a Borkumensis Growth On Plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is largely due to the methods employed to measure biodegradation where biodegradation is commonly evidenced by either the loss of plastic mass or the monitoring of microbial respiration with both approaches using samples that have been buried in soil [14][15][16] . However, soil composition varies globally, thus the relevance and reproducibility of these tests have been questioned 8,14,17,18 . Additionally, these methods are not suitable for studying plastic decomposition in the open or aquatic environments, where oxygen and nutrient concentrations, temperature and microbial ecology differ significantly 17,19 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Microbial degradation of plastic in aqueous solutions demonstrated by CO₂ evolution and quantification

Rose

Richardson

Latvanen

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The environmental accumulation of plastics worldwide is a consequence of the durability of the material. Alternative polymers, marketed as biodegradable, present a potential solution to mitigate their ecological damage. However, understanding of biodegradability has been hindered by a lack of reproducible testing methods. Here, we present a new approach to assess biodegradability by monitoring bacterial respiration, in an aqueous media supplemented with a polymer as a single carbon source. Rhodococcus rhodochrous and Alcanivorax borkumensis are good model organisms for soil and marine systems respectively, allowing simulations of plastic biodegradation in these key environments. We demonstrate that polymer molecular weight reduction is the critical factor in the biodegradability of low-density polyethylene. Additionally, we tested a wide variety of plastics, including environmentally weathered and laboratory aged samples, using the same method allowing direct comparisons of the relative biodegradability of various polymers.

show abstract

“…The degradation and fate of single-use biodegradable plastics in natural environments are poorly understood (Harrison et al, 2018;Haider et al, 2019). Napper and Thompson (2019) found that biodegradable plastic carrier bags certified compostable disappeared completely from the marine environment within 3 months whereas they were still present after 27 months spent buried in soil.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slow degradation of compostable plastic carrier bags in a stream and its riparian area

Artru¹,

Lecerf²

2019

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is no place on Earth where plastic debris could not be found. Impacts of plastics on aesthetics, biota and ecosystems are dependent on how long plastic items last, and what degradation products are released, in recipient environments. As bio-based plastics tend to replace petroleum-based plastics in everyday life, it is important to upgrade knowledge on the degradation of new polymers in natural environments. Single-use plastic carrier bags are nowadays made of bio-plastics certified as biodegradable and compostable. It is unclear, however, whether claims of biodegradability and compostability can be taken as evidence of rapid degradation of plastic bags outside recycling/composting facilities. This study sought to provide quantified information about the degradation of compostable plastic carrier bags in streams and riparian zones. We found that plastic samples enclosed in different types of mesh bags lost weight at extremely slow rates, albeit significant when submerged in a stream. 95% of initial plastic mass remained after 77 days spent in water whereas alder leaf litter allowed to decompose under the same condition had completely disappeared before the end of the study. Determination of respiration rate and invertebrate abundance in plastic samples showed a greater decomposer activity in the stream than in the riparian environment. However, biotically-mediated degradation by decomposers was probably overridden by dissolution processes in mediating plastic mass loss. Our findings suggest that mismanaged plastic carrier bags could impact recipient ecosystems even when they are claimed as biodegradable or compostable.

show abstract

Biodegradability standards for carrier bags and plastic films in aquatic environments: a critical review

Cited by 193 publications

References 87 publications

A Global Perspective on Microplastics

A Global Perspective on Microplastics

Microbial degradation of plastic in aqueous solutions demonstrated by CO₂ evolution and quantification

Slow degradation of compostable plastic carrier bags in a stream and its riparian area

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Biodegradability standards for carrier bags and plastic films in aquatic environments: a critical review

Cited by 193 publications

References 87 publications

A Global Perspective on Microplastics

A Global Perspective on Microplastics

Microbial degradation of plastic in aqueous solutions demonstrated by CO2 evolution and quantification

Slow degradation of compostable plastic carrier bags in a stream and its riparian area

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Microbial degradation of plastic in aqueous solutions demonstrated by CO₂ evolution and quantification