Biodegradable, compostable PLA is nothing new, but it requires certain industrial composting conditions to break down. A very small percentage of developers claim that their PLA is suitable for home composting and this is not always the case.
Scientists from the Toulouse Institute of Biotechnology and the Carbios company decided to approach this problem globally. They introduced PLA with built-in enzymes, allowing the material to quickly self-degrade in home composting conditions. The great thing about this is that an enzyme has been developed that can withstand the melting temperature of PLA - 170oC. Further, when subjected to home composting and methanization, it breaks down plastic and does so much faster than the 26 weeks required by regulations and without releasing microplastics or toxic substances.
The new development is expected to lead to a generation of plastic packaging that is compostable at ambient temperatures. Because PLA with enzymes is believed to remain intact during normal storage, making it an excellent material for creating flexible packaging such as sauces, containers for storing products with a short shelf life such as yoghurt, coffee capsules, etc.
The new development is called Carbios Active and does not require changes to existing production lines to be used. It can also be directly integrated into plastic recycling processes.
Carbios Active is already produced at a plant in France. The existing production is capable of producing 2,500 tons of this additive per year. This is roughly equivalent to 50,000 tons of PLA with added enzymes per year.
Materials used from the sites carbios.com, packagingeurope.com.