The analysis of biodegradation process of selected paper packaging waste

In recent years, a significant surge in the mass of generated waste with varying morphological composition has been observed. Packaging made of both plastic and paper has an increasing share in the municipal solid waste stream. The multiplicity of packaging means that proper methods and installations are needed to appropriately manage the waste generated from it. A special type of packaging waste is made of paper and cardboard and it is considered as biodegradable waste. It can be processed in both mechanical (material) and biological treatment processes. Thanks to the microorganisms involved in biological treatment processes, the organic matter present in waste should be decomposed (biodegradable). The main aim of the study was to analyze the dynamics of the biodegradation process of selected packaging waste made of paper and cardboard in various research environments. The waste used for the analysis differed primarily in grammage. The dynamics of the decomposition rate of the examined waste was analyzed for materials placed in 4 different research environments. The analysis showed significant differences in the rate of biodegradation of the tested waste. Differences were also found in the rate of material decomposition in individual research environments. Materials with low grammage such as paper towels and sandwich paper wrapper were the fastest to biodegrade.