Disposal of biodegradable plastics

These days there are a number of technological developments in the field of biodegradable plastics both in industrial and in public research. Not only renewable but also petrochemical raw materials are used for synthesis of these biodegradable plastics because the ability to decompose does primarily not depend from the raw material but rather from the chemical structure of the plastics. The success of these inventions is mainly influenced by the rules of the environment and the market. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the company external boundary conditions. In this content, the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation conducted a sociodemographic of technological, legal, economical and sociodemographic company boundary conditions about the exploitation and disposal of biodegradable plastics. The results of this investigation support the marketing activities of companies that produce or deal with biodegradable plastics.