This is how it works in practice when you grow cucumbers with certified soil-biodegradable mulch films made of our biopolymer ecovio® (PBAT): Farmers in Poland show how they use the durable mulch films that are certified acc. to EN17033: from laying out to transplanting to harvest and clearing - and finally ploughing in the mulch films into the soil to biodegrade. Naturally occurring soil microbes recognize the structure of the film as food they can metabolize. Thus, the cucumber farmers do not have to laboriously remove and recycle the mulch films made of ecovio® as with conventional mulch films made of polyethylene (PE), which do not biodegrade. This results in many benefits for the farmers and society: Above all, it reduces the amount of persistent microplastics in agricultural soil caused by remains of thin PE mulch films and thus contributes to a sustainable food production that keeps agricultural soil healthy and productive for a longer time.
Learn more at: http://www.ecovio.basf.com/mulchfilm