Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment

Replacing conventional plastic with biodegradable plastic can help reduce this problem. But biodegradable plastics are not a “silver bullet”, because biodegradable does not mean that the plastic material will biodegrade anywhere, or in a reasonably short period of time. Beyond this, it would be better to reduce the amount of plastic we use, or to promote reuse and recycling.

These are the conclusions and policy recommendations of reports by the consortium Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) and the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) of the European Commission. Nominated by the Swiss Academies, Michael Sander from ETH Zurich, contributed to this work.