Are plastics biodegradable?
Some reports were made earlier that the plastics are biodegradable but slowly. This was based primarily on the fact that the plastics become brittle after some time. But, the closer scrutiny reveals that this is because of the degradation of the plasticizers not the basic polymer. Plasticizers are esters of long chain fatty acids and alcohols and are, in fact, the additives rendering flexibility to plastics. Pesticizers biodegradation makes the plastic brittle, but the polymer structure of the plastic remains unaffected hence Nonbiodegradable indefinitely.
