Abstract
The biodegradabilities of various plastics by anaerobic digested sludge were measured and compared with the biodegradabilities under simulated landfill conditions. Bacterial poly(3-hydroxy-butyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHB/HV; 92/8, w/w), a natural aliphatic polyester, degraded nearly to completion within 20 days of cultivation by anaerobic digested sludge, while synthetic aliphatic polyesters such as poly-lactic acid, poly(butylene succinate), and poly (butylene succinate-co-ethylene succinate) did not degrade at all in 100 days. Cellophane, which was used as a control material, exhibited a similar degradation behavior to PHB/HV. Under simulated landfill conditions, PHB/HV degraded quite well within 6 months. Synthetic aliphatic polyesters also showed significant weight losses through 1 year of cultivation. The acidic environment inside simulators generated by the degradation of biodegradable food wastes which comprised 34 % of municipal solid waste seems to cause the weight loss of synthetic aliphatic polyesters.
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