Legislation compostability

Changing consumer behavior based on higher sensitivity for environmental issues and an increased interest in environmentally friendly products Increased interest of retailers to differentiate in the market Support by municipal authorities (providing a composting infrastructure) Legislative frameworks to enhance the use of biodegradable products (e.g., in Erance, Spain, Italy)... 

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a thermoplastic polyester characterized by mechanical and optical properties similar to polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It is obtained from natural sources, completely biodegradable and compostable in controlled conditions as already stated in previous chapters. PLA offers some key points with respect to classic synthetic polymers, since it is a bioresource and renewable, while raw materials are cheap and abundant compared to oil. From a commercial point of view, a non-secondaiy approach, it can embellish with the word green so fashioned for the major stream consumers. Legislation can also help the commercial diffusion of biopolymers. As an example, a decisive leap has been made with the control of non-biodegradable shopping bags distribution in the European Commission and many of its member states. In addition, PLA has received some interest from the industrial sectors because of its relatively low price and commercial availability compared with other bioplastics. This is the veiy key point for any successful polymer application. In fact, the current price of commercial PLA falls between 1.5 and 2 kg , which is sufficiently close to other polymers like polyolefins, polyesters or poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Clearly, the PLA market is still in its infancy, but it is expected that the decrease in the production costs and the improvement in product performance will result in a clear acceleration in the industrial interest for PLA uses. It is estimated that PLA consumption should reach... 

Recently, the main obstacles for developing compostable polymer materials have been reported as price, performance, manufactnring process (scale-np) and legislative issnes. Below are some developments in these areas. 

The potential of compostable polymers materials depends on a further reduction in price, development of the cost of fossil resources, process optimization and scaling up supported by full life cycle assessment analysis, legislative measures, and development of composting infrastructures and the environmental awareness of consumers. 

Chapter 9 presents the future prospects for compostable polymer materials. The price evolution ditring the last decade, manufacturing capacity, recent legislative measures as well as potential markets are presented. 

Furthermore, in the USA, the OK Compost Home scheme has been taken over by the Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative for their specifications on home compostability. In 2011, OK Compost Home was referred to in Californian state legislation. 

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