From Eddie Gomez on his EcoSummit presentation:
“Plastics are increasingly causing pollution problems in natural environments due to their recalcitrant nature. Various new materials have recently begun to be marketed that claim to biodegrade or compost during waste treatment. These materials include conventional plastics amended with additives that are meant to confer biodegradability or compostability as well as plastics made from biopolymers, and natural-fiber-based materials.
“Different industries are particularly interested in these materials as alternatives to conventional plastics that are neither compostable nor biodegradable.”
View this Washington Post photo gallery as one example of plastics’ “recalcitrant nature.”