DEVELOPMENT OF BIOPLASTICS GAINS SPEED

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea ranked third in generating global plastic waste per person as of 2016, generating a whopping amount of 88 kilograms of plastic waste per person. One of the key challenges we face in battling environmental threats is dealing with non-biodegradable plastics. That is why researchers are speeding up efforts to develop technologies that can decompose bio-degradable plastics using plants or microorganisms, but challenges still lie ahead.

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Never-ending strings of plastic. This is biodegradable plastic extracted from E.coli by a Korean conglomerate. Bio-degradable plastics decompose into water and carbon dioxide under certain conditions. An experiment shows that after 11 weeks in seawater they were more than half-decomposed. It's the first development of plastics that decompose not only in soil but in seawater as well. They are as durable as conventional plastics.

[Soundbite] Lee Eun-hye(CJ CheilJedang) : "We are developing various combination technologies, so consumers cannot tell the difference between biodegradable and conventional plastics."

This company extracts plastic material from corn starch. As a plant-based material, it is believed to help speed decomposition when mixed with biodegradable plastics.

[Soundbite] Chang Jae-soo(Samyang Innochem) : "When isosorbide is added to existing biodegradable plastics, their decomposition improves by up to 20%."

Three years from now the bioplastic market is predicted to reach 34 trillion won as demand for eco-friendly materials grows. However, there are obstacles to overcome. Korea has no guidelines or facilities for collecting biodegradable plastics. International certifications can only be applied for at overseas institutions.

[Soundbite] Prof. Hwang Seong-yeon(KyungHee Univ.) : "Currently consumers have no choice but to discard biodegradable plastics in garbage bags to have them incinerated."

The government plans to carry out a pilot project for collecting biodegradable plastics and create conditions for domestic businesses to apply for international certifications within Korea.