ABSTRACT
In recent years, many researchers have shown great interest in developing new materials that are environmentally and user friendly in nature. As is well known, synthetic polymer materials have been widely used in every eld of human activity during last decades, that is, post-Staudinger times. These articial macromolecular substances usually originate from petroleum and most of the conventional ones are regarded as non-degradable. However, petroleum resources are limited and blooming use of non-biodegradable polymers has caused serious environmental problems. In addition, nonbiodegradable polymers are not suitable for temporary use such as sutures. Thus, polymer materials that are degradable and/or biodegradable have received more and more attention since the 1970s. The abundance of plastic waste has led to the serious plastic waste problems, called White Pollution and landll depletion, due to their high volume-to-weight ratio and resistance to degradation. White pollution refers to two negative effects on the environment: visual pollution and potential hazards that result from the ineffective management and disposal of plastic waste. Visual pollution refers to the unpleasant appearance and landscape due to plastic rubbish scattered in the environment. Potential hazards refer to long-term and deep-seated environmental problems that arise when plastic waste is thrown away randomly in the natural environment.
