Addition of biodegradability lending additives to plastic materials

A method for lending biodegradability to a plastic material that itself is not otherwise biodegradable, the method comprising:

• providing a plastic material that is not biodegradable on its own;
• providing a starch-based polymeric material formed from a chemical reaction and/or alternation of starch and a plasticizer, wherein said starch-based polymeric material:
• (1) is substantially devoid of starch in native form;
• (2) has a crystallinity of less than about 20% and resists recrystallization;
• (3) has a water content of no more than about 2% by weight and (4) when blended in a mixture with the plastic material that is not biodegradable on its own, the blend exhibits a lack of sea-island features within said blend;
• providing at least one degradation additive that in combination with at least one of oxygen, ultraviolet light, or microbial action enables biodegradation of the plastic material that is not itself biodegradable;
• and
• blending the starch-based polymeric materials, the plastic material and the at least one degradation additive;
• wherein at least 25% of the carbon atoms of the plastic material become carbon atoms of at least one of carbon dioxide or methane within about three years in simulated landfill conditions, simulated compost conditions or simulated marine conditions.

A biodegradable composition comprising:

• a non-biodegradable polymer;
• a starch-based polymeric material formed from a chemical reaction and/or alternation of starch and a plasticizer, wherein said starch-based polymeric material:
• (1) is substantially devoid of starch in native form;
• (2) has a crystallinity of less than about 20% and resists recrystallization;
• (3) has a water content of no more than about 2% by weight and (4) when blended in a mixture with the non-biodegradable polymer, the blend exhibits a lack of sea-island features within said blend;
• and
• a degradation additive comprising at least one of (i) an OXO additive comprising a salt of a transition metal, the transition metal comprising at least one of cobalt, iron, manganese, magnesium, nickel or zinc, (ii) a sugar or other organic material that provides nutrition and/or a cultured environment for microorganisms that biodegrade the non-biodegradable polymer, or (iii) an inorganic salt that provides nutrition and/or a cultured environment for microorganisms that biodegrade the non-biodegradable polymer.