Articles
Biodegradable and compostable alternatives to conventional plastics
J. H. Song,1 R. J. Murphy,2,* R. Narayan,3 and G. B. H. Davies1 Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. ABSTRACT Packaging waste forms a significant part of municipal solid waste and has caused increasing environmental concerns, resulting in a strengthening of various regulations aimed at reducing the amounts generated. Among other materials, a wide range of oil-based polymers is currently used in packaging applications. These are virtually all non-biodegradable, and some are difficult to recycle or reuse due to being complex composites having varying levels of contamination. Recently, significant progress has been made in the development of...