Recycling of biowaste

Plastic carrier bags are also a problem in the organic recycling of biowaste (kitchen and garden waste) in countries where waste streams are collected separately. 

In Germany, 60-70% of the biowastes are collected separately and recycled by composting or digestion, but in the EU-15 countries only 6% and 22% are incinerated, and 72% is landfilled (Kehres 2008). For composting the selective collection of waste is important because of the separation of biowaste. 

This second aspect is essential in LCA applications to organic waste management scenarios, where bioplastics can compete with traditional nonbiodegradable materials. The use of bioplastics in the substitution of traditional nonbiodegradable plastics could in some cases improve the overall recyclability of the mixed waste fraction, whenever plastics and biowaste are mixed [26]. A typical situation where bioplastics can replace common plastics is found in town festivals where plates and cutlery are normally delivered in polystyrene. In such cases, separate collection of the different... 

The importance of the composting as biowaste recycling for the sustainable development in Europe can be summarized in the following two points ... 

As discussed earlier, composting is an important disposal infrastructure because greater than 50% of the municipal soild waste (MSW) stream is biowastes like yard trimmings, food, non-recyclable paper products (see Figure 5). 

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