The final degradation of biodegradable plastics requires specific environmental conditions and is usually accomplished in a composting facility.At present, composting facilities and garbage classification system in Chinese cities are not perfect, and biodegradable plastics are difficult to play a role.
From the international experience, the garbage compost plant also has some concerns about whether to accept compostable plastics. For example, whether the compostable plastics waste will have an adverse impact on the composting quality;How to ensure that compostable plastic waste is not mixed with other non-compostable materials;Even compostable products that have complied with the relevant standards can meet the reality of composting plants (because compost conditions vary slightly from place to place).If you look at Norway, where 75% of the population has sorted food waste separately, only three of the 15-20 industrial composting plants that handle food waste accept compostable plastic products.
If compost plants don't accept compostable plastic, what else can they do with it?In Norway, most biodegradable and compostable packaging is sent to incinerators.However, if such materials are sent to landfill or incinerated as other general wastes, they will lose their "biodegradable" value and significance and bring other adverse environmental effects.So, realistically, the idea of sending biodegradable plastics to a composting plant after use has its challenges.