I think new green movements should be protected and most of green products after so many efforts have been presenting in the market and I myself support and admire the real ones!

The answer to your question is "NO." Please see the following RG link.

Article Environmental Deterioration of Biodegradable, Oxo-biodegrada...

This depend in the period for their degradation. If it is fast like taditional organic pollutants this means it is a good environmentally friendly prouct. Otherwise it is just a business

Thank you very much Arvind Singh

Thank you Zakaria Al-Qodah

I think new green movements should be protected and most of green products after so many efforts have been presenting in the market and I myself support and admire the real ones!

Thank you very much Parisa Ziarati

Thank you Ali A. Al-Homaidan

The benefits of biodegradable plastics can be summarized as follows:

 Reducing dependence on fossil fuel sources: Most polymers (a component of conventional plastics) are made from petroleum derivatives, which raises the demand for petroleum derivatives, unlike plastics made from biological raw materials, such as the types known as symbols: PLA, PHBV, and PHA.

• Biodegradable plastics are made from biomaterials and are renewable resources such as trees, plants and herbs, and a number of rapidly degradable organic materials such as animal fats and tissues.

• Contributing to reducing the amount of waste, as food waste can be collected with biodegradable plastics and converted this mixture into compost in one batch without separation.

Ease of recycling, because of the degradability of its materials, it needs less energy, and this raises the efficiency standard for this type of plastic.

• It decomposes (disintegrates) in a short period of time if it is not recycled, and can be reused several times after recycling.

• Biodegradable plastics depend in its manufacture on plant and biological materials, which are non-toxic, unlike conventional plastics containing harmful substances and chemicals harmful to humans and the environment.

There is no additional cost for converting conventional plastic products into biodegradable plastics, as the devices themselves are used in the factory as well as the quality of the labor.

An important question. I will follow with interest the answers of those who have mastered this issue.

سؤال حيوي وهمه كما نعيش في عصر كثر فيه

التلوث بأنواعه ومسببات وانا اتابع إجابات ذوي الاختصاص

An important question , yes I think , but this depended on the neutral the new biodegradable plastic bags , environmental condition and its uses

It is an important issue that affects environmental pollution. The non-biodegradable materials are the most important materials that cause pollution to the environment, these materials can be degraded neither by enzymes nor by microorganisms and accumulate in our environment lead to pollution of our environment. So biodegradable plastic bags are friendly to the environment but this depends on the surrounding conditions

Thank you Ali Mohamed Rasheed

Definitely, just a new business approach. If we really want to save our environment, then why not going for bags made up of natural fiber (from plants). Simple, any kind of plastic will harm the environment, either non-biodegradable (long term harm) or biodegradable (short term harm).

Thank you Ilhami Unluoglu

Thank you Rukia Mansoor

Thank you Shukrya Alwan

Thank you Manal Hadi Kanaan

Thank you Rajeev Kumar Singh

The research for the first time tested compostable bags, two forms of biodegradable bag and conventional carrier bags after long-term exposure to the sea, air, and earth. None of the bags decomposed fully in all environments.

The need for new solution is real:

Y. Zhong, P. Godwin, Y. Jin, H. Xiao, (2019) Biodegradable Polymers and Green-based Antimicrobial Packaging Materials: A mini-review, Advanced Industrial and Engineering PolymerResearch, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aiepr.2019.11.002.

Indutrial applications are still rare. In developing countries the biggest barrier is on the other hand: price. So one can argue that the need is there but the practical solutions are not yet top-quality. I found a case study - please see it enclosed. Yours sincerely, Bulcsu Szekely

In my opinion, I would say yes, when compared to the old one. They are eco-friendly. Although it has several benefits to the environment. It may become a problem due to its raw particles. As Rajeev Kumar Singh said the manufacturing companies should consider natural fibers and resources to produce bags.

Thank you Ahmed Saeed Mohmed

Thank you very much Bulcsu Szekely

Thank you Lakshmanan Loganathan

Dear Prof. Laura Bulgariu,

• If biodegradable plastic or bioplastic ends up in a landfill site it will never decompose. In landfill sites waste is essentially mummified, in a complete absence of light and oxygen.
• Food that has ended up in landfills will not biodegrade, so there is no hope for biodegradable plastics or even bioplastics.
• Biodegradable plastic is plastic that decomposes naturally in the environment. This is achieved when microorganisms in the environment metabolize and break down the structure of biodegradable plastic. The end result is one that is less harmful to the environment than traditional plastics.
• Biodegradable plastics do not release carbon, because no carbon is involved in the manufacturing process.
• Biodegradable plastics do not contain polluting materials.
• One of the many positive aspects of biodegradable plastics is that they are able to be broken down by naturally occurring bacteria, which again will be beneficial to the environment.
• Aside from a slightly higher cost to produce, biodegradable plastics hold many advantages over standard plastics, with a lesser impact on the environment being one of its greatest advantages.
• Biodegradable plastics do have some drawbacks. For example,

• The benefits would seem to outweigh any potential drawbacks.

I hope the information will help you.

With Best Wishes,

Samir G. Pandya

Thank you very much Samir G Pandya

This is some extent true but mostly it is business strategy

Thank you very much Nirmala S.V.S.G

Thank you Suresh Krishna Pawar

Thank you Joshua O. Ighalo

It may be the business style, but the most important thing is that it is environment friendly

I agree Yousif Yaqoob Yousif

Just business, they are still plastic!

Thank you Charalampos Triantis Martinos

Laura Bulgariu

No not really...plastics, even if they are biodegradable takes many hundreds of yrs to decompose...it does not break down into its elements and join nature....they  physically disintegrate and remain in nature as small plastic particles...so bio-degradable plastic cannt be envirnment friendly..

I agree Solanki Bal . I also believe that these biodegradable plastics are...plastics and cannot be 100 % environmental friendly.

I think it is nothing more than commercial advertising for the purpose of marketing this type of product.

I agree Ali Alhayany

I think plastic is not suitable for the environment in any form, using jute bags or paper bags is preferable. Though the government is implementing stringent policies, they are not successful in reality. They should include community-based involvement to resolve this issue. Laura Bulgariu

Thank you Balaji Etikala I totally agree.

I don't think it is a business approach because it comes from government policies to use them so as to safe our environment. So if it biodegrade then it is also environmentally friendly.

Thank you Gali Adamu Ishaku

No product constructively made with man's inventive input is entirely green or 100% eco-friendly! In fact most concepts on eco-friendliness of products are relative, as they are put in the contexts of comparison with those currently in use. The environmental friendliness of any product/construct largely depends on its use, as this directs its resourcefulness. The moment it is misused of abused, it bares unseen fangs of some sort of negativity that will, in turn, open new forms of discourse on its safety. This is not even considering the full industrial process of the 'green product's ' synthesis, extraction and dispensing which in many times may not be eco-friendly in itself.

The era or synthetic polymer bags heralded stories of economic viability due to its reusability and ease of handling, which led to superlative demand for this product, which caused a general sense of well-being among humans - that in itself was 'eco-friendly' (since Economy was the Ecology of then)... Fast-forward to 2019, we are having a different challenge simply because synthetic polymer bags were abused. The case will be similar for any other product, it just might not be biodegradability challenges, it may be something else.

Yes, this is true. Thank you Obinna Ajunwa

Plastic bag is again synthetically derived option. The pace and amount to which the biomaterials degrade can't be compatible with synthetic ones. Biological or naturally occurring ones biodegrade in totality in a shorter span of time and become part of natural cycles of environment to get them going unlike synthetic plastic bags which is like an escaping route and yes a business venture to a greater extent.

Thank you very much Shrikaant Kulkarni

I think business approach

Thank you Mazin H Al-Hawaz

The following are the benefits of biodegradable bags.

1.Biodegradable bags break down which means the plastic gets absorbed by the earth

2. Compostable bags are much better for the environment

3. Using compostable bags makes it much easier to recycle

4. Using biodegradable products eliminates landfill and the breakdown of toxic gasses.

These points are only a snippet of the benefits of moving to compostable bags. Just think about it, Thousands of plastic bags are found in the sea and can cause serious harm to sea life along with ending up on landfills worldwide, taking thousands of years to degrade. If you switch to using a biodegradable/compostable bag you can rest assured that after a short amount of time the bag will degrade in the same way as a banana skin does and therefore turn into compost. Picture your desert island with all that washed-up material, now you wouldn’t see that with biodegradable plastic

Plastic is plastic whether it may be in any form, it always hampers on environment. Paper bags should be introduced largely. It will produce lot of employment opportunities through small scale/ cottage industries.

Tho I have not done a research about it in my country, my assumption is that it's just another business model. Which is ripping money from buyers.

People do not recycle these plastics but keep on buying new ones each time they go for shopping.

Reason being that's, "

1. Many people feel raborous moving with old plastics when going for shopping ( Something to do with atitute)

2. Many Zambian have unplanned shopping

3. These plastics are kept home and sometimes people go for shopping whilst are away from home"

My conclusion is that

These plastics are just another busines model ment to ripe profits from buyers ( merchandisers) unlike reducing environmental degradation because number of plastics per household due to shopping remains the same and also amount of plastic discarded remains the same.

Thank you Ndalahwa MUSA Masanja

Thank you Suresh Krishna Pawar

Thank you Vincent Mofya I will also try some biodegradability tests. I am curious now.

I think it's better to use the degradable plastic.

Thank you Ali Shakir Razzaq

According to my opinion the biggest problem is that many of so called "biodegradable plastics" are not biodegraded under common condition at all.

It is the reason why I agree that it is mostly a business approach.

Reagrds

Vit

I agree with Vincent. Its a very common habit of common man. Whenever he go for shopping without shopping bag. So this basic habit should change.

I agree with Parsia Ziarati

I think it is really environmentally friendly

I think it's no better than the normal plastics,

where the normal plastics can deal with it by the common steps ,but this maybe affect on environment at long range.

Thank you very much Vit Mateju

Thank you Suresh Krishna Pawar

Thank you Hussien Al-Deeky

Thank you Balqees Al-Musawi

Thank you Fuad A.F. Saleh

It depends on charactaristics of biodegradable plastic. For example, life time, POPs ad/bsorpiton character, and so on. Even cellophane are found in crab and tidal flat mad. Cellophane is not plastic, but if this material ad/bsorbed POPs, the same thing would occur like plastic. So, we havet to change our life styel. One way material purduct should be banned.

@yes I think they are Environmental freindly

Yes, I think the new biodegradable plastic bags are really environmentally friendly and a good alternative to the old plastic bags that are lasted for a long time even after a long-term exposure to the sea, air and earth. I think it is a good step for a great change in the future.

Thank you very much Satoshi Nakao

Thank you Sukeyna Aliwy

Thank you Shurooq Talab Jaafar

I think paper bags are better for being environmentally friendly

Thank you Rasha Kareem Mohammed

I hope the claim 'biodegradable plastic bags' would be a reality, not mere a new business approach.

and I hope so. Thank you Harasit Kumar Paul

it is a slogan...

Thank you D A Gayan Nayanajith

Biodegradable plastics in some countries are not really biodegradable. They are about 70-80 per cent biodegradable.