SINGLE-USE PLASTIC: ARE BIODEGRADABLE ALTERNATIVES WORSE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?
Mar 11, 2020
4 minutes
with DR MARK MIODOWNIK
Retailers are beginning to switch from single-use plastic to biodegradable, compostable or recyclable alternatives, according to research by environmental think tank Green Alliance. But could these quick fixes cause further harm to the environment? We talk to Mark Miodownik , a materials scientist who’s leading the Big Compost Experiment. This nationwide citizen science experiment will explore whether homecompostable plastics really do compost in your garden.
HOW DO YOU MAKE BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS?
Plastics are made of long-chain carbon molecules, and so polythene, for instance, is lots of little ethylene molecules linked up, and they create this sort of plastic bag material
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