Question

What does biodegradable mean? Are plastics biodegradable?

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot]

Biodegradable means that a material can be broken down into smaller pieces by microorganisms, such as bacteria or fungi, in the environment.

Not all plastics are biodegradable. Most traditional plastics such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) are not biodegradable. However, there are some types of plastics that are biodegradable, such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). These biodegradable plastics break down more easily and quickly in the environment compared to traditional plastics, but they still require specific conditions and processes to properly biodegrade.