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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Waste Management in Agroecosystems
Volume 8 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1433460
This article is part of the Research Topic RAMIRAN 2023: Managing Organic Resources in a Changing Environment View all 12 articles

Decomposition of biodegradable plastic bags for kitchen waste collection in industrial composting

Provisionally accepted
Asma Sikander Asma Sikander *Stefan Deegener Stefan Deegener Ina Körner Ina Körner
  • Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    With the growing awareness of microplastics in the environment, the question of microplastics as remnants of biodegradable plastic (BDP) products is gaining momentum. BDP bags for kitchen waste collection are often certified as fully compostable as proof of industrial compostability. Frequently certification is done using DIN 13432 (2020) under standardized laboratory conditions within twelve weeks. Composting plants often process biowaste into compost in a shorter time under inhomogeneous conditions. This study investigates the decomposition behavior of commercially available BDP bags for kitchen waste collection at an industrial composting plant within a practically realistic time frame of six weeks. The research determines the decomposition behavior under practice conditions. Four bag types, two made from thermoplastic starch (TPS) blends and two from polylactic acid (PLA) blends underwent composting. The decomposition was evaluated by examining the remaining macro-(> 8 mm), meso-(2-8 mm), and microparticles (1-2 mm) in the compost with different methods. After six weeks, the mass-based decomposition rate of TPS blend bags exceeded 95%. In contrast, PLA blend bags failed to reach a decomposition rate of 90%. The study did not depict very small particles <1mm. However, they are present. The study findings indicate that composting time and conditions, inhomogeneities, as well as the bag type are crucial factors influencing the decomposition of BDP bags. Concerns are raised about the usefulness of DIN 13432 as certification scheme for industrial conditions.

    Keywords: biowaste management1, kitchen waste collection2, biodegradable plastic bags3, industrial composting4, certification5, microplastic6

    Received: 15 May 2024; Accepted: 01 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sikander, Deegener and Körner. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Asma Sikander, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.