A recent investigation conducted by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography marked the inaugural endeavor to monitor the biodegradation capabilities of natural, synthetic, and blended fabrics directly within the ocean.
Sarah-Jeanne Royer, the lead author, executed the experiment off the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier. The findings revealed that natural and wood-based cellulose fabrics exhibited degradation within a month. Conversely, fabrics composed of Polylactic Acid (PLA), touted as biodegradable plastic, and the oil-based constituents of textile blends displayed no signs of degradation, even after being submerged in the ocean for over a year.
Royer emphasized the imperative to establish standardized tests to assess the actual biodegradability of materials marketed as compostable or biodegradable within a natural setting. She pointed out that what may biodegrade in an industrial context does not necessarily exhibit the same behavior in the natural environment, potentially leading to the accumulation of marine and environmental pollutants.
Fimbres Wood, Lauren. “Not so Biodegradable: New Study Finds Bio-Based Plastic and Plastic-Blend Textiles Do Not Biodegrade in the Ocean.” Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 24 May 2023.
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