Oxo Degradable

Oxo degradable plastic technology provides the safest and most cost effective method of degrading plastic. Plastic is a familiar component of modern living, used in all sorts of packaging, household and commercial applications because of it’s many benefits such as strength, barrier properties, durability, printability, clarity and others. However the very strength and durability which makes plastic such a useful and economic material can be a major problem when disposal is required. Science has now found a new solution - oxo degradable/biodegradable plastics.

Of all the plastic that is used, over 50% of it ends up in landfills and the remaining balance becomes waste and litter in our environment, our highways, streams, oceans and recreation areas. Less than 6% is recycled. Oxo degradable plastics degrade anywhere in the presence of oxygen and do so at a rate much faster than conventional plastics.

Oxo degradation results from the addition of a very small amount of a pro degradant material to the plastic in the manufacturing process. This additive is made from a previously wasted by-product of oil refining. The additive causes a programmable controlled-life degradation which is triggered by UV light and heat. During the degradation process the plastic becomes brittle and fragments into very small pieces while also losing most of its original molecular weight. The rate of degradation is controlled by the amount of additive used and can be programmed to be as little as a few months to as much as five years. The rate of degradation used is dependent on the amount of time needed from production, to warehousing to conversion and ultimate use. Oxo degradable products retain all of the dynamic qualities of standard plastics and the manufacturing process is the same as it is for conventional plastics.

Paper Tyger Green is also made with FSC certified papers and bonded with solventless adhesives. In addition, Chase Corp’s Webster, MA facility is an Energy Star partner.

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