Eli5:What’s the difference between biodegradable plastic and normal plastic ?
In: Chemistry
Biodegradable means it will break down into organic matter, or decompose (like foods or bodies). Normal plastic only photodegrades, meaning it breaks down into tiny pieces eventually, but it will always be there as plastic, and never really “go away”.
Biodegradable plastic is carefully designed by us to be degradable in a specialized compost facility into inert components. Regular plastic is designed to last as long as possible and be stable under various conditions. All of this is experimented with in labs before mass production starts.
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