Rujnić-Sokele Maja, Pilipović Ana
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
Waste Manag Res. 2017 Feb;35(2):132-140. doi: 10.1177/0734242X16683272. Epub 2017 Jan 9.
The concept of materials coming from nature with environmental advantages of being biodegradable and/or biobased (often referred to as bioplastics) is very attractive to the industry and to the consumers. Bioplastics already play an important role in the fields of packaging, agriculture, gastronomy, consumer electronics and automotive, but still they have a very low share in the total production of plastics (currently about 1% of the about 300 million tonnes of plastic produced annually). Biodegradable plastics are often perceived as the possible solution for the waste problem, but biodegradability is just an additional feature of the material to be exploited at the end of its life in specific terms, in the specific disposal environment and in a specific time, which is often forgotten. They should be used as a favoured choice for the applications that demand a cheap way to dispose of the item after it has fulfilled its job (e.g. for food packaging, agriculture or medical products). The mini-review presents the opportunities and future challenges of biodegradable plastics, regarding processing, properties and waste management options.
来自天然且具有可生物降解和/或生物基环境优势的材料（通常称为生物塑料）概念，对行业和消费者都极具吸引力。生物塑料已在包装、农业、美食、消费电子和汽车等领域发挥重要作用，但在塑料总产量中所占份额仍然很低（目前约占每年生产的3亿吨塑料的1%）。可生物降解塑料常被视为解决废物问题的可能方案，但生物降解性只是材料在其使用寿命结束时，在特定处置环境和特定时间内可利用的一个附加特性，这一点常常被遗忘。它们应被用作那些在物品完成其功能后需要一种廉价处置方式的应用的首选（例如食品包装、农业或医疗产品）。这篇小型综述介绍了可生物降解塑料在加工、性能和废物管理选择方面的机遇和未来挑战。
