Researchers from the University of Plymouth in the UK looked at the degradation of five plastic bag materials widely available from retailers in that country. The results surprised the team of scientists, who found "biodegradable" shopping bags still intact after three years in the environment. The bags were left exposed to air, soil and the sea – environments that carrier bags often end up in when they are discarded. But the biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable and conventional plastic formulations remained functional as carrier bags after being in the soil or the marine environment for more than three years. For a biodegradable bag to be able to do that was the most surprising.

Source: News 24 April 30, 2019 13:52 UTC