Non-degradable plastics are prohibited. What can be used? How to reduce plastic pollution? Make plastic degrade? making it an environmentally friendly substance. But can biodegradable plastics really reduce plastic pollution? If some additives are added to the plastic to make it degradable, and it is still based on plastic, is it really not polluting the environment? Many people are skeptical. Some people even think that this is just a new round of industry carnival. Therefore, there are many degradable plastics on the market with uneven quality and cost. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Will it bring new environmental pressures?

First of all, let's popularize degradable plastics. Degradable plastics are divided into biodegradable plastics, thermo-oxidatively degradable plastics, photodegradable plastics and compostable plastics. They are all "degradable", but the cost of thermo-oxidatively degradable plastics and photodegradable plastics is several times that of biodegradable and compostable plastics. Oxo-degradable plastics and photo-degradable plastics are said to "disappear" from the earth only after being exposed to heat or light for a certain period of time. But it is this low-cost and "easily disappearing" material that is called "PM2.5 of the plastics industry". Because these two degradation technologies can only degrade plastic into invisible tiny particles, but cannot make it disappear. These particles, by virtue of their tiny and light properties, are invisible in air, soil and water, and are eventually inhaled by living organisms.

As early as June 2019, Europe banned the use of single-use products made of thermo-oxidatively degradable plastics, and Australia will phase out such plastics in 2022.
In China, where the "degradation fever" has just emerged, such "pseudo-degradable plastics" still attract a large number of buyers who want to buy "degradable plastic bags" at low prices, but do not know the secrets. The "Plastic Restriction Order" issued in 2020 prohibits the use of "non-degradable plastic bags", and does not specify which degradable plastic bags should be used. Due to the high cost of biodegradable plastics, thermal oxidative degradation plastics, photodegradable plastics or bio-based hybrid plastics are also good choices for areas where fully biodegradable plastics are not required to be used. Although this plastic cannot be completely degraded, at least a part of PE is missing. However, in a chaotic market, it is often difficult for consumers to identify the categories of degradable plastics. In fact, most merchants don't know the difference between fully degradable plastics and thermo-oxidatively degradable plastics, photodegradable plastics and bio-based mixed plastics. They often choose the latter, which is relatively cheap, thinking that it is fully degradable. This is why many customers will say: "Why is your unit price several times more expensive than others? As a manufacturer, it is impossible to mislead consumers by labeling samples of 'degradable' on such products.

The ideal degradable plastic should be "full biodegradable material". The currently widely used biodegradable material is polylactic acid (PLA), which is made of biological materials such as starch and corn. Through processes such as soil burial, composting, freshwater degradation, marine degradation, etc., this material can be completely degraded into water and carbon dioxide by microorganisms without causing additional burden to the environment.

In cities that have implemented the "plastic ban", we can see degradable plastic bags that meet the new G standard. At the bottom of it, you can see "PBAT+PLA" and "jj" or "bean sprouts" logo. At present, only this standard biodegradable material is an ideal degradable material that has no impact on the environment.