Biodegradable plastic ineffective, here's why

File photo.

Thursday, May 26, 2016, 7:29 PM - A new, 179-page report on marine plastics suggests that biodegradable forms do not break down rapidly in the ocean, rendering them an ineffective way to combat man-made pollution.

“Plastics marked as ‘biodegradable’ do not degrade rapidly in the ocean,” says the report, by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The document was prepared for the United Nations Environment Assembly which kicked off Monday in Nairobi, Kenya.

NOW ON YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Weather Network's YouTube channel for access to the best weather-related videos in Canada VIEW THE CHANNEL | VIEWER VIDEOS | POPULAR NOW | SUBSCRIBE

Biodegradable plastics are designed to be less durable so they can degrade quickly in landfills and oceans, but the U.N. says the ideal conditions for the products to break down are rarely found in nature, and almost exclusively in industrial composters.

Jacqueline McGlade, a chief scientists at the UN Environment Program, told the Guardian the concept is "well-intentioned but wrong":

"A lot of plastics labelled biodegradable, like shopping bags, will only break down in temperatures of 50C and that is not the ocean. They are also not buoyant, so they’re going to sink, so they’re not going to be exposed to UV and break down.” -- Jacqueline McGlade (via the Guardian)

"In a recent UNEP report it was concluded that the adoption of products labelled as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘oxo-degradable’ would not bring about a significant decrease either in the quantity of plastic entering the ocean or the risk of physical and chemical impacts on the marine environment," the report says.

Plastic waste is a big problem, especially in the world's oceans. It's estimated that 1 billion tonnes of plastic have been discarded since the 1950s  and research suggests it will take up to 500 years for some forms to biodegrade.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, only 8% of the total plastic waste generated in 2010 in the U.S. actually made it to recycling plants.

PLASTIC IN THE ICE

Last year, a team of researchers discovered there could be trillions of pieces of microplastics lurking in Arctic ice -- and as it melts due to rising global temperatures, it stands flood the ecosystem with an unprecedented amount debris.

"Arctic sea ice from remote locations contains concentrations of microplastics at least two orders of magnitude greater than those that have been previously reported in highly contaminated surface waters," the study's author's write.

"Our findings indicate that  microplastics have accumulated far from population centers and that polar sea ice represents a major historic global sink of man-made particulates."

The research team believes that Arctic ice is trapping floating microplastics as it freezes. By citing current melting trends, the team estimates that 1 trillion pieces of plastic could be released in the next ten years.

Sources: The Guardian | UNEP

VIDEO: CUT DOWN ON PLASTIC BAGS: