Health Alert: Professor urges use of biodegradable polymers instead of plastic
Professor Oladele Osibanjo, says that the ultimate solution to curbing plastic waste is for firms generating them to switch from non-biodegradable polymers to biodegradable polymers. Biodegradable polymers are designed to degrade upon disposal by the action of living organisms. Extraordinary progress has been made in the development of practical processes and products from polymers such as starch, cellulose and lactic acid. Osibanjo, a retired Professor of Chemistry, said this in an interview with on Wednesday in Lagos. He noted that food and beverages companies as well as packaging firms were the greatest culprits generating single-use non-biodegradable polymers. The Professor added that because switching to biodegradable polymers would take time, the firms could, in the interim, put in place a “take-back or collection system” for the waste generated by their products. “Water sachets are the cheapest and handiest non-biodegradable waste. Every minute ...