Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Har nedbrytbar plast en plats i samhället?

Örnskär, Hanna LU (2018) MVEK02 20181
Studies in Environmental Science
Abstract
The purpose of this essay is to investigate if biodegradable plastics can solve the plastic littering problem. The essay discusses how bio-plastics is defined in society by different stakeholders such as the bio-plastics industry, science and municipal waste companies.
A literature study on the subject of degradation of polymers have been made to find information on how different types of plastic degrade in composts, soil or aqueous mediums by abiotic and biotic factors. Research has also been made into what types of certification schemes are available for compostable and biodegradable plastics.
The result of the scientific investigation on degradation of plastics uncovered there are several types of plastic that can biodegrade or even... (More)
The purpose of this essay is to investigate if biodegradable plastics can solve the plastic littering problem. The essay discusses how bio-plastics is defined in society by different stakeholders such as the bio-plastics industry, science and municipal waste companies.
A literature study on the subject of degradation of polymers have been made to find information on how different types of plastic degrade in composts, soil or aqueous mediums by abiotic and biotic factors. Research has also been made into what types of certification schemes are available for compostable and biodegradable plastics.
The result of the scientific investigation on degradation of plastics uncovered there are several types of plastic that can biodegrade or even be composted but that the studies can not guarantee complete degradation. Also some polymers require special conditions such as high temperatures and if they are not met they do not biodegrade as planned.
Interviews with municipal waste companies in Sweden have been conducted to understand if biodegradable plastics in fact are allowed to biodegrade after use. The interviews revealed that there is no collection of compostable plastic in Sweden, instead the households are advised to sort compostable plastic as combustible waste.
Interviews with companies that sell biodegradable or compostable plastics repeatedly revealed a low knowledge of the raw material and an overbelief in how fast their material can biodegrade. Some companies wished for better regulation and clearer directives from the government concerning biodegradable plastics in Sweden. (Less)
Popular Abstract (Swedish)
Plast ger upphov till stora mängder avfall i världen som riskerar att hamna i naturen. Fenomenet med mikroplastpartiklar från konventionell plast beror på att det mesta av den fossilbaserade plasten inte bryts ner biologiskt utan endast vittrar sönder till mindre delar. Detta examensarbete försöker ta reda på om biologiskt nedbrytbar plast kan lösa detta problem. Genom en litteraturstudie undersöks det aktuella forskningsläget kring nedbrytning av plast i jord, kompost och akvatiska miljöer. I studien beskrivs vilka biotiska och abiotiska faktorer som påverkar polymerers nedbrytningshastighet samt vilka certifieringar och märkningar som används och hur testerna för dessa är utformade.

Resultatet av litteraturöversikten visar att det... (More)
Plast ger upphov till stora mängder avfall i världen som riskerar att hamna i naturen. Fenomenet med mikroplastpartiklar från konventionell plast beror på att det mesta av den fossilbaserade plasten inte bryts ner biologiskt utan endast vittrar sönder till mindre delar. Detta examensarbete försöker ta reda på om biologiskt nedbrytbar plast kan lösa detta problem. Genom en litteraturstudie undersöks det aktuella forskningsläget kring nedbrytning av plast i jord, kompost och akvatiska miljöer. I studien beskrivs vilka biotiska och abiotiska faktorer som påverkar polymerers nedbrytningshastighet samt vilka certifieringar och märkningar som används och hur testerna för dessa är utformade.

Resultatet av litteraturöversikten visar att det finns polymertyper som kan brytas ner biologiskt, men att testens utformning gör att fullständig nedbrytning inte kan garanteras. Vissa polymerer kräver specifika miljöförhållanden i form av en viss temperatur för att nedbrytning ska äga rum

För att ta reda på vilken kapacitet avfallsanläggningar i Sverige har att ta hand om nedbrytbar plast genomfördes ett antal intervjuer med kommunala avfallsbolag. Intervjuerna visade att det inte sker någon särskild insamling av nedbrytbar plast i Sverige. Hushåll rekommenderas att lägga komposterbar plast i plaståtervinningen eller i insamlingen av brännbart material, vilket gör att flertalet hushåll inte har tillgång till den typ av storskalig kompostering som krävs för att materialen ska brytas ner biologiskt.

En marknadsinventering genomfördes genom kontakt med berörda tillverkare och återförsäljare av bioplast i Sverige. Flera av dessa efterlyste ett tydligare regelverk kring vad som får benämnas bioplast samt regler om materialens innehåll. Några återförsäljare ger vid försäljning av bioplast en felaktig bild av plastens förmåga att komposteras. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Örnskär, Hanna LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Bioplast - nedbrytningsmekanismer, konsumentinformation och avfallshantering
course
MVEK02 20181
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Nedbrytbar, plast, polymer, bioplast, biologiskt nedbrytbar, kompost, biodegradable, plastic
language
Swedish
id
8959740
date added to LUP
2018-11-06 15:55:18
date last changed
2018-11-06 15:55:18
@misc{8959740,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this essay is to investigate if biodegradable plastics can solve the plastic littering problem. The essay discusses how bio-plastics is defined in society by different stakeholders such as the bio-plastics industry, science and municipal waste companies.
A literature study on the subject of degradation of polymers have been made to find information on how different types of plastic degrade in composts, soil or aqueous mediums by abiotic and biotic factors. Research has also been made into what types of certification schemes are available for compostable and biodegradable plastics.
The result of the scientific investigation on degradation of plastics uncovered there are several types of plastic that can biodegrade or even be composted but that the studies can not guarantee complete degradation. Also some polymers require special conditions such as high temperatures and if they are not met they do not biodegrade as planned.
Interviews with municipal waste companies in Sweden have been conducted to understand if biodegradable plastics in fact are allowed to biodegrade after use. The interviews revealed that there is no collection of compostable plastic in Sweden, instead the households are advised to sort compostable plastic as combustible waste.
Interviews with companies that sell biodegradable or compostable plastics repeatedly revealed a low knowledge of the raw material and an overbelief in how fast their material can biodegrade. Some companies wished for better regulation and clearer directives from the government concerning biodegradable plastics in Sweden.}},
  author       = {{Örnskär, Hanna}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Har nedbrytbar plast en plats i samhället?}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}