▎ 摘　　要

NOVELTY - Method (M1) for producing a polymer, involves providing a feedstock, where the feedstock comprises food waste, hydrolyzing the feedstock with an enzyme and fermenting the feedstock with a microbe to produce a mixture, isolating lactic acid from the mixture, converting the lactic acid to poly(lactic) acid, adding, reacting, grafting, and/or cross-linking an additive to the poly(lactic) acid to produce a polymer mixture and forming the polymer with the polymer mixture. USE - The method is useful for producing a polymer for producing a biodegradable filament and plastic alternative, a single use plastic alternative, a fiber, a filament, a yarn, a textile or a fabric. The polymer is a fastener, an accessory, a fiber, and/or a filament (all claimed). ADVANTAGE - The polymer is biodegradable. The method is cost-effective. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are included for the following: a polymer comprising poly(lactic) acid and an additive, where the polymer is biodegradable and exhibits a tensile strength of 30-90 MPa and a Young modulus of 500-2700 MPa; a plastic alternative, a single use plastic alternative, a fiber, a filament, a yarn, a textile or a fabric comprising the polymer; a method (M2) for producing a lactic acid, involves providing a feedstock comprising food waste chosen from starch-based food waste, fructose-based food waste, cellulose-based food waste, sucrose-based food waste, or their combinations, contacting the feedstock with an enzyme blend comprising one or more enzymes, fermenting the feedstock with an immobilized fungal strain to produce a fermentation mixture and isolating lactic acid from the fermentation mixture, where the contacting step comprises grinding, sterilizing, and/or hydrolyzing the feedstock; and a method for producing a biodegradable filament, involves (a) providing a polymer made by the method, (b) providing the polymer and (c) extruding or pelletizing the polymer into multifilament fibers.