Oyster farming utilizes several plastic materials including oyster pipes (20cm-long polyethylene tubes to provide spaces for farmed oysters) and Styrofoam floats of oyster rafts. The number of oyster pipes used in Hiroshima Bay are estimated to be more than 200million, and some of them are lost due to ship collisions. Introduction of biodegradable materials used for oyster pipes could reduce the environmental problems associated with the lost and drifted pipes. To identify the strength of biodegradable oyster pipes, strength tests have been conducted since 2018, in addition to exiting studies to reduce pollutions caused by broken styrofoam floats.
Selected Papers No.24