In recent years, at least a half-dozen countries have embraced plastics made with an additive intended to break them down into carbon dioxide, water and harmless organic matter. Proponents of these compounds, generally labeled oxo-biodegradables, promote them as a solution to the 80 million tons of plastic that foul forests, fields and waterways every year.
Sounds great, but independent scientists say there’s scant support for claims that oxo-biodegradable plastics disappear in nature, at least within a meaningful time frame—and governments worldwide are increasingly listening to them. The European Union banned such compounds in 2021, Switzerland and New Zealand followed in 2022, and last year Hong Kong and the Canadian province of British Columbia introduced restrictions. The UK and New York state are currently considering the idea.