OXO-Biodegradable Plastic

OXO-Biodegradable Plastic

OXO-biodegradable plastic is plastic that accelerates the process of degradation in the presence of oxygen heat and UV light. It can be recycled during its useful life just like normal plastic. Degradation is a process that takes place in almost all materials. Conventional Polyethylene (PE) and Polypropylene (PP) plastics will typically fragment quite quickly, but will then take decades to become biodegradable. But OXO-biodegradable products utilize a catalyst to speed up the molecular conversion of the polyolefins and to incorporate oxygen atoms into the resulting low molecular mass molecules.

This chemical conversion enables the further breakdown of the material by naturally occurring micro-organisms, who utilize the material as a food source. Oxo-biodegradable plastics have been studied by scientists for many years, most recently at the Technical Research Institute of Sweden and the Swedish Institute of Agricultural Sciences. They found 91% biodegradation within 24 months.