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Frequently, glass can be a better alternative to polymers when it comes to UV degradation. Most of the commonly used glass types are highly resistant to UV radiation. Explosion protection lamps for oil rigs for example can be made either from polymer or glass.
Things like vegetables may degrade within days, while glass and some plastics take many millennia to decompose. A standard for biodegradability used by the European Union is that greater than 90% of the original material must be converted into CO 2 , water and minerals by biological processes within 6 months.
Glass disease, also referred to as sick glass or glass illness, is a degradation process of glass that can result in weeping, crizzling, spalling, cracking and fragmentation. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Glass disease is caused by an inherent instability in the chemical composition of the original glass formula. [ 3 ]
A plastic bucket used as an open-air flowerpot photodegraded after some years. Photodegradation is the alteration of materials by light. Commonly, the term is used loosely to refer to the combined action of sunlight and air, which cause oxidation and hydrolysis.
Also, the company "Recycling Technologies", has come up with a simple process that can convert plastic waste to an oil called Plaxx. The company is led by a team of engineers from the university of Warwick. [241] [242] Other companies working on a system for converting plastic waste to fuel include GRT Group and OMV. [243] [244] [245]
Biodegradable waste includes any organic matter in waste which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, methane, compost, humus, and simple organic molecules by micro-organisms and other living things by composting, aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion or similar processes.
In typical parlance, the word biodegradable is distinct in meaning from compostable.While biodegradable simply means an object is capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms, "compostable" in the plastic industry is defined as able to decompose in aerobic environments that are maintained under specific controlled temperature and humidity conditions.
Some bioplastics biodegrade more efficiently in water bodies and marine systems; however, this causes danger to marine ecosystems and freshwater. [73] Hence it is accurate to conclude that biodegradation of bioplastics in water bodies which leads to the death of aquatic organisms and unhealthy water can be noted as one of the negative ...