Transitioning to Full Biodegradable Materials – An Inevitable Trend and Public Demand in Europe and America

The idea of piling up hundreds of thousands of tons of plastic waste in a relatively small country is a terrifying concept. This is no way to live—opening the door only to be met with the stench of plastic waste, while strong winds send filth and rubbish flying everywhere. This is especially true for some small European nations, where the entire country may be smaller than a single province or even a city in China or Russia. In such densely populated areas where every inch of land is precious, the thought of garbage piling up like mountains is unbearable.

It's painfully clear that the plastic waste a person uses in their lifetime will not decompose even after their death. Far from leaving wealth for their descendants, this waste becomes a source of illness and even death. Viruses, hazardous substances, and heavy metals use plastic as a protective shield—as long as the plastic doesn't degrade, these toxins remain active. When future generations till the soil to plant crops, tend to gardens, or simply clean up the yard, they may break open plastic shells, releasing trapped viruses and poisons. You may pride yourself on leaving your children a fortune, but this plastic waste is like leaving them a pile of excrement—or worse, a ticking time bomb.

Perhaps you don't yet fully understand fully degradable materials, or maybe you've never used them and have no interest in doing so. But consider this: the corn, apples, and vegetables you eat every day are completely harmless because they're natural. Fully degradable materials are made from food—often crops that aren't favored for taste—through processes similar to sugar production, transforming them into plastic alternatives. They can repel water, yet when discarded, sunlight and moisture cause them to break down rapidly, returning to nature as organic fertilizer to nurture more crops.

The pollution caused by white waste—most of which is traditional plastic—has reached alarming levels. Conventional plastic may seem cheap, but the cost of cleaning up the environment is exorbitant. This consumption pattern is like spending one dollar on a meal only to spend hundreds more afterward on cleaning up the mess—it’s simply not worth it. Microplastics have entered our food chain, and while the full extent of their harm remains unknown, one thing is certain: no one wants plastic particles in their body, as plastic has no place in human biology.

The production of fully degradable alternatives is now well-established. Every single-use plastic box, bag, or wrapper should be replaced with degradable materials—not as a last resort, but as an immediate solution.