Biodegradation is the partial or complete breakdown
of a polymer as a result of microbial activity, into
carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, as a result of hydrolysis,
photodegradation and microbial action (enzyme
secretion and within-cell processes). The probability of biodegradation taking place is highly dependent on
the type of polymer and the receiving environment.
The literature on the biodegradation of a wide range
of synthetic polymers has been extensively reviewed by
Eubeler et al. (2009, 2010). Partial biodegradation can
lead to the production of nano-sized fragments and
other synthetic breakdown products (Lambert et al.
2013).