Markets sell fake biodegradable plastic products – 09/27/2023 – Environment

A study published in the journal Science showed that, by 2015, around 6.3 billion tons of plastic polymers had been produced and discarded throughout human history. Of these, only 9% were recycled and 12% were incinerated. The remaining 79% accumulated in landfills or in continental environments, of which approximately 10% reached marine or coastal environments.

The data is from eight years ago. And although some countries have announced “zero plastic” policies, the situation is certainly much worse now, by cumulative effect, given that annual production is 400 million tons.

As a result, microplastic contamination has become, after the climate crisis, one of the biggest environmental problems on the planet. There are microplastics everywhere: on land, in the sea and in the air. As researcher Ítalo Castro, professor at the Instituto do Mar at the Federal University of São Paulo (IMar-Unifesp), states, “we just don’t find microplastics where we don’t look for them.” In the human body, they have already been detected in the blood, lungs, heart and placenta.

The aggravating factor is that what should be a solution often constitutes an additional problem. This is what an investigation coordinated by Castro shows.

Researchers from the Instituto do Mar visited 40 supermarkets in Brazil and analyzed products supposedly made with biodegradable plastics on display for sale.

The establishments were chosen from large chains operating in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. And a total of 49 different products, including bags, cups, plates, cutlery and other kitchen utensils, were found. These items were, on average, 125% more expensive than similar items made from conventional plastics. The big surprise was to see that none of them, even those from big brands, met the minimum requirements to be considered biodegradable.

The first author of the study was doctoral student Beatriz Barbosa Moreno, a Fapesp scholarship holder under the guidance of Castro. The results were published in the journal Sustainable Production and Consumption.

“To be considered biodegradable, a product, when discarded in the environment, must be converted into water [H2O]carbon dioxide [CO2]methane [CH4] and biomass in a relatively short period of time. There is no consensus on what this time interval is. But the general idea is that it varies from a few weeks to a year. None of the 49 items we investigated met this requirement,” says Castro.

According to the researcher, more than 90% of them were made with a class of materials that are conventionally called oxo-degradable. Despite their name, these materials do not undergo degradation under normal environmental conditions. They are polymers of fossil origin added with metallic salts. Salts accelerate the oxidation and fragmentation process. But fragments can remain in nature for decades. In addition to not contributing to degradation, fragmentation accelerates the formation of microplastics.

“Oxo-degradable plastics have already been banned in several parts of the world, including the European Union. In most cases, the bans occurred due to the lack of evidence of biodegradability in real environments, associated with the risk of microplastic formation”, informs Castro.

Regulation

As oxo-degradable plastics are not yet banned in Brazil, their sale does not constitute a crime. However, in addition to the specious name, consumers are deceived by the claim of many companies that their products have been approved by technical standards and biodegradability tests.

“These standards only provide a guide to compare degradation rates and changes in physical properties under controlled laboratory conditions, not evaluating the final stages of degradation. In fact, on the web pages of the standards themselves, there are warnings that they should not be used in certifications of biodegradability of commercial plastic products”, argues Castro.

The researcher highlights that the marketing of a product that does not deliver what is promised, from an environmental point of view, can be classified as a practice of greenwashing, an English term that indicates false environmental claims in commercial products.

“When a product known to be harmful to the environment becomes massively used, it is necessary for State actions to be implemented. In this sense, bill 2524/2022 is being processed in the Chamber of Deputies which, among other measures, prohibits the use of oxidizing or pro-oxidant additives in thermoplastic resins, as well as the manufacture, import and sale of any packaging and products made from oxo-degradable plastics”, informs Castro.

If approved in its current format, says the researcher, PL 2524/2022 could contribute to Brazil’s transition towards a circular plastics economy. “This transition is an urgent need”, emphasizes Castro. He continues: “The Instituto do Mar is located in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo. In Santos, we detected microplastics accumulated in oysters and mussels. These animals are seawater filterers. Therefore, they are considered the gold standard for evaluating environmental conditions they are found in. The values ​​we detected are among the highest in the world when compared to 40 other similar studies”, he says.

When contacted by the report, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) stated in a note that it supports PL 2524/22, but with some changes.

“The ministry is in favor of banning oxidizing/pro-oxidizing additives, based on studies that prove the generation of microplastics in the fragmentation of plastics with such additives – which causes environmental damage, particularly for maritime environments”, highlighted the text.

The Brazilian Plastics Industry Association (Abiplast) also stated in a statement that it is in favor of banning the use of oxo-degradable additives in plastic products. However, the entity is against PL 2524/2022, which, in its assessment, “confuses circular economy with a ban on plastic products, directing the object of the law only to a single material”.

The text also says that “the circular economy implies a systemic change, therefore, it requires a macro approach, involving all sectors of the industry. Meanwhile, another PL, 1874/2022 [que institui a Política Nacional de Economia Circular]brings important provisions, such as the strategic management of resources, the promotion of new business models, investments in research and innovation activities and support for the transition to the use of low carbon technologies through the creation of attractive conditions for investment public and private, among other aspects”.

“Abiplast believes in serious and precise debate, with scientific information, so that a purposeful dialogue can be promoted about the correct use of plastic and all the benefits that the material has brought and brings to society. The plastic sector has been a protagonist in actions to promote the circular material economy, investing in technology, sustainability and innovation”, stated the entity.

The article High incidence of false biodegradability claims related to single-use plastic utensils sold in Brazil can be accessed at www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S235255092300180X?via%3Dihub.