Biodegradation of <scp>water‐soluble</scp> and <scp>water‐dispersible</scp> polymers for agricultural, consumer, and industrial applications—Challenges and opportunities for sustainable materials solutions

Abstract The development of more sustainable material solutions is one the key challenges today. New materials are subject to an overall risk assessment which their impact on environment important aspect. biodegradability a may support positive assessment. Water‐soluble and water‐dispersible polymers widely used in daily life very broad range applications. In anticipation further tightening regulatory requirements as consequence introduction sustainability targets industry, next decade or so, industry replace currently predominantly non‐biodegradable high value water‐soluble by biodegradable alternatives, wherever sustainably possible. This review provides overview detergent formulations for home care, water treatment crop protection. These have been engineered near perfect performance at minimum costs. We address faced when introducing alternatives existing product chains, we highlight opportunities improve fine‐tune biodegradation these materials. intended contribute novel polymers, both academia industry.