29 Utilization of Indigenous Plants as an Additive for the Manufacture of Biodegradable Plastics Dale P. Cataquis * , Maila R. Angeles, Cinderella D.S. Dancel National University, Philippines *Corresponding Author: dcataquis@national-edu.ph Abstract: Plastic is the major toxic pollutants that threaten the environment. This study examines some of the indigenous plants such as the potato tuber, cassava tuber, and gabi tuber as a biodegradable plastic. The effect of glycerine (plasticizer) to the density and tensile strength of the finished product was investigated, and the formation of the layers becomes visible. The bioplastics made from cassava, taro, and potato were glossy and translucent. The products resemble the Elastomers Silicone and the Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) type of plastic which is commonly used for packaging. The density and flexibility were both affected directly by the type of starch used. The bioplastic made from pure cassava has the highest moisture content of 70.800%, this means that this plastic shows signs of high electrical properties while bioplastic made from pure taro shows the lowest percentage of water absorbed, this signifies that among the six samples presented, bioplastic from pure taro is the most dielectric. There are no apparent changes in the dimensions of the six samples after one week by exposing to open air. The results indicate that the physical appearances of the bioplastics were not greatly affected by the atmospheric temperature and pressure. The samples were disintegrated after two weeks embedded in the soil and lost some mass that was presumably had been degraded to the soil. Keywords: Indigenous plant biodegradable plastic; Elastomers Silicone; Polyvinyle Chloride; starch 1. INTRODUCTION Plastic is the major threat of the environment (Needhidasan, 2014; Derraik, 2002). It remains on the ground, generates heat, and proves to be detrimental to the environment. Discarded plastic carry bags thrown all over the places have become a common sight, especially in cities and rural areas. Also, plastics affects the fertility of the soil (Jalil, Mian, & Rahman, 2013). Conversion of municipal garbage wastes to useful manure through disposal by landfilling gas has also become difficult due to the presence of non-biodegradable plastic bags mixed in the garbage due to lack of proper sorting facilities at source (Atalia, Buha, Bhavsar, & Shah, 2015). The general objective of this study is to be able to produce biodegradable plastics using indigenous plants as an additive. To reduce the solid wastes generated from the process of non-biodegradable plastics and to determine whether the production of biodegradable plastics using starch materials from indigenous plants as an additive is possible. Biodegradable plastics are those that can be completely degraded in landfills, composters or sewage treatment plants by the action of naturally occurring microorganisms (Reddy, Reddy, & Gupta 2013; Adhikari et al.,