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Compounding one problem with another? A look at biodegradable microplastics

The Science of The Total Environment 2024 29 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 65 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Martín Esteban González‐López, Gary Ossmar Lara-Topete, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Juan Daniel Castanier-Rivas, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause María Fernanda Bahena-Osorio, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Jürgen Mahlknecht, María Fernanda Bahena-Osorio, Joshua Larsen, Frank J. Loge, Misael Sebastián Gradilla‐Hernández, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Jürgen Mahlknecht, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Joshua Larsen, Jürgen Mahlknecht, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Frank J. Loge, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Jürgen Mahlknecht, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Jürgen Mahlknecht, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Jürgen Mahlknecht, Jürgen Mahlknecht, Jürgen Mahlknecht, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Misael Sebastián Gradilla‐Hernández, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Jürgen Mahlknecht, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Martín Esteban González‐López, Stefan Krause Jürgen Mahlknecht, Jürgen Mahlknecht, Stefan Krause Stefan Krause Stefan Krause

Summary

This review examines whether biodegradable plastics truly solve the microplastic problem, finding that many do not fully break down under real-world conditions. Incomplete decomposition of biodegradable plastics can generate micro-sized particles that may be just as harmful as conventional microplastics. The authors warn that marketing plastics as "biodegradable" without ensuring complete breakdown could actually worsen environmental microplastic contamination.

Polymers
PLA

Environmental concerns about microplastics (MPs) have motivated research of their sources, occurrence, and fate in aquatic and soil ecosystems. To mitigate the environmental impact of MPs, biodegradable plastics are designed to naturally decompose, thus reducing the amount of environmental plastic contamination. However, the environmental fate of biodegradable plastics and the products of their incomplete biodegradation, especially micro-biodegradable plastics (MBPs), remains largely unexplored. This comprehensive review aims to assess the risks of unintended consequences associated with the introduction of biodegradable plastics into the environment, namely, whether the incomplete mineralization of biodegradable plastics could enhance the risk of MBPs formation and thus, exacerbate the problem of their environmental dispersion, representing a potentially additional environmental hazard due to their presumed ecotoxicity. Initial evidence points towards the potential for incomplete mineralization of biodegradable plastics under both controlled and uncontrolled conditions. Rapid degradation of PLA in thermophilic industrial composting contrasts with the degradation below 50 % of other biodegradables, suggesting MBPs released into the environment through compost. Moreover, degradation rates of <60 % in anaerobic digestion for polymers other than PLA and PHAs suggest a heightened risk of MBPs in digestate, risking their spread into soil and water. This could increase MBPs and adsorbed pollutants' mobilization. The exact behavior and impacts of additive leachates from faster-degrading plastics remain largely unknown. Thus, assessing the environmental fate and impacts of MBPs-laden by-products like compost or digestate is crucial. Moreover, the ecotoxicological consequences of shifting from conventional plastics to biodegradable ones are highly uncertain, as there is insufficient evidence to claim that MBPs have a milder effect on ecosystem health. Indeed, literature shows that the impact may be worse depending on the exposed species, polymer type, and the ecosystem complexity.

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