What is the difference between biodegradable , compostable and degradable plastics?
Do traditional plastics biodegrade?
How does ENSO acclerate the biodegradation of traditional plastics?
What prevents plastics enhanced with ENSO resins from degrading while in inventory or on the shelf?
How long does it take for plastics enhanced with ENSO resin to biodegrade?
| What is the difference between biodegradable plastic, compostable plastic and degradable plastic? |
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Biodegradable Plastic: When plastic (or any other material) degrades from the action of naturally occurring microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi and algae. Biodegradation can occur in either aerobic (with oxygen) or anaerobic (without oxygen) environments.
Compostable Plastic: Capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost or aerobic environment to the point that the plastic is not visually distinguishable and breaks down to carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass.
Degradable Plastic: A plastic designed to undergo a significant change in its chemical structure under specific environmental conditions resulting in a loss of physical properties.This degradation can be initiated by oxygen, ultra violet light or heat. In many cases these products begin to degrade the moment they are manufactured which leads to a shortened useful life.
| Do traditional plastics biodegrade? |
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Plastics have been designed for their physical properties, strength and durability. Most plastics contain primarily carbon atoms linked into long chains. Although carbon is a great nutrient source for microorganisms, the long chains make it difficult to be metabolized by microorganisms. Biodegradation of these plastics can be accelerated through the use of the ENSO technology.
| How does ENSO accelerate the biodegradation of traditional plastics? |
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ENSO accelerates the biodegradation of traditional plastics by encouraging the accumulation of microorganism and facilitating acclimation and production of enzymes that allow metabolization of the material.
| What prevents plastics enhanced with ENSO resins degrading while in inventory or on the shelf? |
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Plastics enhanced with ENSO require an active microbial environment (such as a landfill) for biodegradation. Warehouses, offices and store shelves are not considered such environments..
| How long does it take for plastics enhanced with ENSO resin to biodegrade? |
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There are a number of factors which contribute to the length of time required to fully biodegrade. These include the surface area of the plastic, the mass of the plastic, the thickness of the plastic, the microbial activity,oxygen or lack of oxygen and most importantly moisture levels. Biodegradation occurs in all landfills at varying rates.
ENSO accelerates the natural biodegradation of plastics in biologically active landfills and anaerobic digesters as validated by independent certified laboratories using internationally recognized test methods.
Independent 3rd party testing has shown up to 24.7% biodegradation within 160 days in optimized conditions. Actual rate of biodegradation will vary dependent upon environmental conditions and the biological activity of microorganisms surrounding the plastic.
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