Assessment of Disintegration of Compostable Bioplastic Bags by Management of Electromechanical and Static Home Composters

Lorenzo Maria Cafiero, Margherita Canditelli, Fabio Musmeci, Giulia Sagnotti and Riccardo Tuffi
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Lorenzo Maria Cafiero: Department for Sustainability, ENEA—Casaccia Research Center, 00123 Rome, Italy
Margherita Canditelli: Department for Sustainability, ENEA—Casaccia Research Center, 00123 Rome, Italy
Fabio Musmeci: Department for Sustainability, ENEA—Casaccia Research Center, 00123 Rome, Italy
Giulia Sagnotti: Technical Assistance Unit, Sogesid c/o Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea, 00147 Rome, Italy
Riccardo Tuffi: Department for Sustainability, ENEA—Casaccia Research Center, 00123 Rome, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Interest in small scale composting systems is currently growing, and this in turn raises the question of whether the compostable bags are as suitable as in industrial composting facilities. In this work the physical degradation percentage of compostable lightweight bioplastic bags in two types of composter was examined. The main goal was to understand whether the mild biodegrading conditions that occur in electromechanical or static home composters are sufficient to cause effective bag degradation in times consistent with the householders’ or operators’ expectations. Bags, which complied with standard EN 13432, were composted in a number of 600 L static home composters, which were run in different ways (e.g., fed only with vegetables and yard waste, optimizing the humid/bulking agent fraction, poorly managed) and a 1 m 3 electromechanical composter. Six months of residence time in static home composters resulted in 90–96 wt% degradation depending on the management approach adopted, and two months in the electromechanical composter achieved 90 wt%. In the latter case, three additional months of curing treatment of the turned heaps ensured complete physical degradation. In conclusion, in terms of the level and times of physical degradation, the use of compostable bioplastic bags appeared promising and consistent with home composting practices.

Keywords: composting; electromechanical composter; static home composter; compostable bioplastic bags; physical degradation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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