Plastics and waste
Oxodegradable Plastic
Conventional plastic with additives that make it fragment into microplastics under heat or UV exposure — restricted in the EU because it does not genuinely biodegrade.
Definition
Oxodegradable plastic is conventional plastic, typically polyethylene, containing additives that cause it to break into small fragments when exposed to oxygen, heat or ultraviolet light. Because fragmentation does not amount to biodegradation — the fragments persist as microplastics — the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive restricts placing oxodegradable plastic products on the market.
References
regulatory restriction and rationale
evidence that fragmentation is not biodegradation
Overview
What it means
Oxodegradable products were marketed as environmentally friendly, but evidence shows they disintegrate rather than mineralise, potentially worsening microplastic pollution and contaminating recycling streams. The EU restriction reflects a precautionary reading of that evidence.
How it is used
The term appears in plastics regulation, green claims scrutiny and waste management; distinguishing oxodegradable from genuinely compostable plastics (certified to standards such as EN 13432) is a recurring consumer-protection issue.
Why it matters
Oxodegradable plastics are a flagship case of false environmental solutions: a material presented as an answer to plastic pollution that fragments into a harder-to-manage form of the same problem.
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