Abstract
Plastics often stay in the environment for a long time, especially fossil-fuel-based plastics as they don’t degrade. For example, in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch 79,000 tonnes of floating plastic have gathered in a 1.6 million square km (about 618,000 square miles) area. Instead of degrading, these plastics stay trapped until they break down into microplastics. Both large and small plastic particles can harm the environment and animals. That is why alternatives have been developed that don’t stay around as long. These are biodegradable plastics. Biodegradable plastics are more environmentally friendly but it is still important to prevent littering and properly manage waste because they often don’t break down as well as we think.
Credit: This chapter is based on two scientific articles by Shinhyeong Choe and Laurent C. M. Lebreton and their colleagues. (Full citation and link available at the end of the chapter).
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This Chapter Is Based On:
Choe, S., Kim, Y., Won, Y., & Myung, J. (2021). Bridging Three Gaps in Biodegradable Plastics: Misconceptions and Truths About Biodegradation. Frontiers in Chemistry, 9(671), 750.
On Great Pacific Garbage Patch:
Lebreton, L., Slat, B., Ferrari, F., Sainte-Rose, B., Aitken, J., Marthouse, R., Hajbane, S., Cunsolo, S., Schwarz, A., Levivier, A., Noble, K., Debeljak, P., Maral, H., Schoeneich-Argent, R., Brambini, R., & Reisser, J. (2018). Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is rapidly accumulating plastic. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 1–15.
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Fig. 7.1 Elime on Shutterstock
Fig. 7.2 Christoph Burgstedt on Shutterstock
Fig. 7.3 Dr. Erlijn van Genuchten
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van Genuchten, E. (2023). How Plastic Pollution Impacts our Environment. In: A Guide to a Healthier Planet. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34479-4_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34479-4_7
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