Biodegradability of plastic materials

Abstract

Uses of renewable resources and biodegradability have been considerated the new alternatives to minimize the environmental impact, caused by synthetic material accumulation. Biodegradable polymers have been developed for films and containers. These polymers have an origin in organic matters, in principle renewable, that is why the concept of biodegradable or bioplastic, that can biodegrade due to the action of microorganism in a short time. The introduction of these materials has encouraged the need of evaluating the biodegradation process. This factor, stimulated by the increasing consumption of bioplastics, has determined the development of researches and the formulation of rules and trial criteria to evaluate biodegradability. This review summarizes some information about the principal characteristics of bioplastics, biodegradation and some tests carried out to evaluate biodegradability.