Hypothesis |
If 30 fragments of oxo-biodegradable plastic and 30 fragments of bioplastic are placed in conditions analogous to those of a public park for 37 days, the oxo-biodegradable plastic fragments will undergo more decomposition than their bioplastic counterparts because oxo-biodegradable plastics use a prodegradant to accelerate the degradation process, and integrate oxygen into the material which promotes microbial breakdown of the material. Bioplastic does not use these mechanisms to facilitate decomposition, so the degradation rate is expected to be lower in bioplastic than it is in oxo-biodegradable plastic.