TABLE OF CONTENTS The comparison of the main assumptions made in the various studies and the comparison with the current state-of-the-art reveals a number of uncertainties with the most important being:
LCA data for PCL and PVOH are generally considered to be subject to major uncertainties. In view of the widespread use of these compounds in biodegradable materials and given the strong impact on the final results especially for some starch polymers, reliable LCA data need to be generated.
The data used for composting are are subject to major uncertainties. This is partly explicitly stated by the authors [19], partly it becomes obvious by comparing the assumptions made in the various studies (wherever these are described in detail). According to COMPOSTO [23] 40%-60% of the carbon absorbed in the vegetable material is released to the atmosphere during composting. To avoid the underestimation of GHG emissions, the COMPOSTO Studies [17, 23] assume that 60% of the absorbed carbon is released. The assumption can be considered as safe if compared to Schleiss and Chardonnens [41] who state that the average carbon dissipation in the form of CO 2 amounts to 40% (average of all composting plants in Switzerland). While these data refer to the average of all inputs and outputs of a composting plant, the question arises whether it also holds true for the materials discussed here, i.e., for biodegradable polymers. Since biodegradable polymers decompose to a large extent within a short period of time the question arises as to...
