Decomposition of bio-degradable plastic polymer in a real on-farm composting process

Background The current wide diffusion of bio-degradable plastic made up by starch-based polymeric composite has focused the attention on the allocation of bio-polymers for the direct recycling in composting processes. Actually, the acknowledged current methods to estimate the bio-degradability are mainly based on laboratory tests and measurements under controlled conditions, while scarce information are available on the effective transformation of bio-film derivatives in real composting facilities. The aim of this paper was to determine at molecular level the decomposition of specific starch-based thermoplastic mulching film for horticultural crops, in a real on-farm composting system for the attainment of mature compost for agricultural application.