MGL have partnered with Symphony Plastic Technologies plc, who have developed an innovative, practical and safe solution to the huge environmental problems caused by the millions of tonnes of plastic waste clogging up our planet.
 d2w® and the internationally recognised droplet logo are registered trademarks used to identify a range of totally degradable flexible and semi-rigid plastic products as well as a variety of unique additives. When included in the normal manufacturing process, these cause plastics to break down totally safely into water, carbon dioxide and a small amount of bio-mass.
Traditional plastics are a particularly versatile and resilient material - indeed, its strength has been one of the reasons for its huge success in all sorts of applications in our everyday lives. Until now, however, that same quality has meant that huge volumes of waste plastics have remained clogging our landfills and other waste sites. Also, a significant proportion of litter - which is very unsightly and sometimes dangerous to wildlife - is discarded plastic materials.
It is a fact that over 90% of all plastic ever made still exists somewhere today!
How it works
The degradation of the plastic is initiated at the time it is manufactured by the inclusion of a small amount of a special additive. This additive works to break down the carbon-carbon bonds in the plastic, leading to a loss of strength and other properties. Stabilisers work to ensure that a sufficiently long useful life is provided for each specific application. For example, a refuse sack might require a useful life of say 18 months before beginning to lose its strength whereas a bread bag might only require a few weeks.
Where some plastics require the presence of bacteria to start degrading, the d2w® range does not - this will happen even if the plastic is left in the open air! This is very important if we are to address the serious litter problems caused by waste plastic. For this reason in particular, d2w® 'totally degradable' plastic is superior to 'bio-degradable' which requires the plastic to be in a biologically active environment (for example, by being buried in the ground) before the degradation process is initiated.
www.biodeg.org www.degradable.net |
