<p>You can make it biodegradable but it is very hard you need oxygen a temperature of 140+ degrees and a 2/3 cocktail of organic substrate these are usually absent outside of a industrial composting facility.</p>
<p>I had the same question when I got my printer - it's better to just buy recycled filament or recycle your own but PLA is a byproduct of milk production so its pretty naturally sourced anyway.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-27T01:48:58.973Z
Hi and welcome. Don't forget to take the [tour]... :-)
Greenonline
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-27T12:15:18.333Z
Naturally sourced means nothing. PLA still accumulates plastic waste. I agree, you're probably better off using recycled filament but I have one of those printers that use proprietary spools with chips... Im stuck with this until I get a new one
JCSB
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-27T15:18:09.373Z
@JCSB: You can just replace the firmware (and possibly also the board) to fix that, without replacing the whole printer. Price will be something like $0-35 plus time spent installing it.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-27T20:19:00.927Z
Can you give more details about the '2/3 cocktail of organic substrate'? And the time it would take under these conditions?
Bob Ortiz
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-26T22:06:46.793Z
2021-10-27T01:48:17.500Z
2021-10-27T01:48:17.500Z
scifiguy
<p>I am using PLA for 3D printing, and I know it does not degrade well in the wild. I would like to know if there is a chemical process I could use to treat it at home.</p>
<p>Specifically, I am looking for a cleaner alternative than throwing my 3d printing scraps in the garbage, so I wouldn't be generating toxic components when doing this, ideally. I want the plastic to degrade (in a few years, maybe?) when I put it underground while limiting the amount of toxic matter propagating in the soil.</p>
<p>I have read that hydrolyzing PLA could help to achieve this. I also found threads on dissolving it (<a href="https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/83476/how-to-dissolve-pla-polylactic-acid">How to dissolve PLA (polylactic acid)?</a>). But as I am looking for an eco-friendly process, I think I need to stay away from this as the fumes may be very toxic and polluting</p>
<p>Posts like this one <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3598/can-i-really-throw-failed-pla-prints-on-compost">Can I really throw failed PLA prints on compost?</a> mention a few requirements for PLA to degrade but don't talk about a way to achieve these conditions.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-17T01:09:41.043Z
A good question, and I was going to leave a semi-informative comment, however, I have added the content of the comment as a [new answer](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/16748/4762) to t[he question that you linked to](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/q/3598/4762) instead. The [article](https://www.3dnatives.com/en/pla-filament-230720194/#!) doesn't offer any process for accelerated degrading, unfortunately.
Greenonline
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-17T13:56:43.310Z
Almost anything you can do is going to have more net environmental harm than benefit. You probably should start by just crushing/shredding the material and trying mixing it with an established organic composting system to see what happens. For this to be environmentally friendly you should be using the purest PLA you can get, unpigmented, and not any sort of "PLA+" with ABS or other stuff mixed in.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-18T21:20:37.120Z
Great question, have you checked with your local council to see where your green waste goes , weather they use an industrial composter, and if it’s ok to put it in your green waste bin otherwise? Sometimes they have special facilities where you can drop off bio plastics like PLA. Kudos for saving the planet :)
Artichoke
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-20T13:19:25.487Z
@HotGlue I haven't called them, but I tried bringing PLA scraps to the local ecocenter and they wouldnt let me explain what type of plastic it was, so I assume they threw it away.. :(
JCSB
<pla><recycling><biodegradability><composting>
How to treat PLA (Polylactic acid) plastic to make it biodegradable?
JCSB
# How to treat PLA (Polylactic acid) plastic to make it biodegradable?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-22)

I am using PLA for 3D printing, and I know it does not degrade well in the wild. I would like to know if there is a chemical process I could use to treat it at home.

Specifically, I am looking for a cleaner alternative than throwing my 3d printing scraps in the garbage, so I wouldn't be generating toxic components when doing this, ideally. I want the plastic to degrade (in a few years, maybe?) when I put it underground while limiting the amount of toxic matter propagating in the soil.

I have read that hydrolyzing PLA could help to achieve this. I also found threads on dissolving it ([How to dissolve PLA (polylactic acid)?](https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/83476/how-to-dissolve-pla-polylactic-acid)). But as I am looking for an eco-friendly process, I think I need to stay away from this as the fumes may be very toxic and polluting

Posts like this one [Can I really throw failed PLA prints on compost?](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/3598/can-i-really-throw-failed-pla-prints-on-compost) mention a few requirements for PLA to degrade but don't talk about a way to achieve these conditions.

**Tags:** pla, recycling, biodegradability, composting
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: A good question, and I was going to leave a semi-informative comment, however, I have added the content of the comment as a [new answer](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/16748/4762) to t[he question that you linked to](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/q/3598/4762) instead. The [article](https://www.3dnatives.com/en/pla-filament-230720194/#!) doesn't offer any process for accelerated degrading, unfortunately.  
> **username_2**: Almost anything you can do is going to have more net environmental harm than benefit. You probably should start by just crushing/shredding the material and trying mixing it with an established organic composting system to see what happens. For this to be environmentally friendly you should be using the purest PLA you can get, unpigmented, and not any sort of "PLA+" with ABS or other stuff mixed in.  
> **username_3**: Great question, have you checked with your local council to see where your green waste goes , weather they use an industrial composter, and if it’s ok to put it in your green waste bin otherwise? Sometimes they have special facilities where you can drop off bio plastics like PLA. Kudos for saving the planet :)  
> **username_0**: @HotGlue I haven't called them, but I tried bringing PLA scraps to the local ecocenter and they wouldnt let me explain what type of plastic it was, so I assume they threw it away.. :(  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2021-10-26. Score: 3

You can make it biodegradable but it is very hard you need oxygen a temperature of 140+ degrees and a 2/3 cocktail of organic substrate these are usually absent outside of a industrial composting facility.

I had the same question when I got my printer - it's better to just buy recycled filament or recycle your own but PLA is a byproduct of milk production so its pretty naturally sourced anyway.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi and welcome. Don't forget to take the [tour]... :-)  
> **username_0**: Naturally sourced means nothing. PLA still accumulates plastic waste. I agree, you're probably better off using recycled filament but I have one of those printers that use proprietary spools with chips... Im stuck with this until I get a new one  
> **username_2**: @JCSB: You can just replace the firmware (and possibly also the board) to fix that, without replacing the whole printer. Price will be something like $0-35 plus time spent installing it.  
> **username_5**: Can you give more details about the '2/3 cocktail of organic substrate'? And the time it would take under these conditions?  

---

