Biodegradable Plastic Piping?

Question

Does anyone know if there are any kinds of biodegradable plastic piping? Or even biodegradable plastic that's thick and sturdy enough to make piping out of and that would hold up if buried?

Answer 1

Why would you want to put down a pipe which would start to leak?

If you are concerned about what might be left in the soil, use tile

pipe for drain pipes.  They're essentially made from earth.

EDIT:  Now that you've clarified the purpose, I second the suggestion to use cardboard.  Another possibility is to roll paper in the form of a tube and bake it at 400°F for half an hour; this will make it semi-rigid and not as easily collapsed by wetting.

Answer 2

Perhaps you should make your own, or at least attempt it. By using modern biodegradable plastic bottles/bags to fabricate what you need. Maybe even wrap biodegradable plastic bags around cardboard tubing to ensure the tubing lasts for the whole extent of the experiment.

Answer 3

technically all plastic is biodegradable over time.  Im not sure why you would want to put one that is less biodegradable then the ones we use now in the ground.  Some of the ones they use here are supposed to last around 100 years or so without needing to be replaced.

Answer 4

Just use cardboard tubes. Thick cardboard will hold up well enough for what you describe I think, and no plastic is going to degrade if buried. Air and sunlight are needed enable them to degrade.

Answer 5

Have you tried making piping out of unwanted newspapers?

Mulch the papers with glue (wallpaper glue is good) and slap them around a plastic pipe, several layers thick.  When dry, remove the pipe, and hey presto,you have a paper pipe which is bio-degradeable!

You may want to first line the outside of the pipe with grease proof paper or light oil, so the paper pipe comes off easily.

Regards

Suki