Future plastic materials will be very different from those that are used today. The increasing importance of sustainability promotes the development of bio-based and biodegradable polymers, sometimes misleadingly referred to as ‘bioplastics’. Because both terms imply “green” sources and “clean” removal, this paper aims at critically discussing the sometimes-conflicting terminology as well as renewable sources with a special focus on the degradation of these polymers in natural environments. With regard to the former we review innovations in feedstock development (e.g. microalgae and food wastes). In terms of the latter, we highlight the effects that polymer structure, additives, and environmental variables have on plastic biodegradability. We argue that the ‘biodegradable’ end-product does not necessarily degrade once emitted to the environment because chemical additives used to make them fit for purpose will increase the longevity. In the future, this trend may continue as the plastics industry also is expected to be a major user of nanocomposites. Overall, there is a need to assess the performance of polymer innovations in terms of their biodegradability especially under realistic waste management and environmental conditions, to avoid the unwanted release of plastic degradation products in receiving environments.

中文翻译：

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生物基和可生物降解塑料的环保性能：未来之路

未来的塑料材料将与今天使用的塑料材料大不相同。可持续性的重要性日益提高，促进了生物基可生物降解聚合物的发展，有时被误称为“生物塑料”。由于这两个术语都意味着“绿色”来源和“清洁”去除，因此本文旨在批判性地讨论有时会引起冲突的术语以及可再生资源，并特别关注这些聚合物在自然环境中的降解。关于前者，我们回顾了原料开发方面的创新（例如微藻类和食物垃圾）。就后者而言，我们强调了聚合物结构，添加剂和环境变量对塑料生物降解性的影响。我们认为，“可生物降解的”最终产品一旦排放到环境中并不一定会降解，因为用于使其适应特定目的的化学添加剂会延长其使用寿命。将来，随着塑料工业也有望成为纳米复合材料的主要用户，这种趋势可能会继续下去。总的来说，有必要评估聚合物创新技术在生物降解性方面的性能，尤其是在现实的废物管理和环境条件下，以避免在接收环境中不必要地释放塑料降解产物。