ABSTRACT
For years, plastics manufacturers labored to imbue plastics with qualities that make them resistant to the environment in which they are used. Naturally, such inertness and durability are highly desirable in durable goods. Unfortunately, this longevity has spilled over into materials meant only for transient utility. The ubiquitous results of the spillover are litter and pollution in lakes and marine environments as well as a disproportionate occupancy of landŠll space. Exacerbating the pollution problem is the slow or imperceptible rate of degradation of most plastics wherever they are found. There is no question as to the necessity to replace wood and some metals with appropriate plastics in order to free the former for specialized use only. So it would be essential to develop new breeds of plastics that would be environmentally friendly and yet meet their utilitarian purpose-in other words, a generation of plastics with a useful life span after which they should degrade at a measurable rate when discarded in a favorable environment.
