With increased awareness on the importance of gloves arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, people are expected to continue using them even after the pandemic recedes. This scenario in a way increased the rubber solid waste disposal problem; therefore, the production of biodegradable gloves may be an option to overcome this problem. However, the need to study the shelf life of biodegradable gloves is crucial before commercialization. There are well-established models to address the failure properties of gloves as stated in the American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM) D7160. In this study, polysaccharide-based material-filled natural rubber latex (PFNRL) gloves, which are biodegradable gloves, were subjected to an accelerated aging process at different temperatures of 50–80 °C for 1–120 days. Prediction models based on Arrhenius and shift factors were used to estimate the shelf life of the PFNRL gloves. Based on the results obtained, the estimated time for the PFNRL gloves to retain 75% of their tensile strength at shelf temperature (30 °C) based on Arrhenius and shift factor models was 2.8 years. Verification on the activation energy based on the shift factor model indicated that the shelf life of PFNRL gloves is 2.9 years, which is only a 3.6% difference. The value obtained is aligned with the requirement in accordance with ASTM D7160, which states that only up to a maximum of 3 years’ shelf life is allowed for the gloves under accelerated aging conditions.

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The addition of sago starch into natural rubber (NR) latex compounds was aimed to accelerate the degradation process of the end products including gloves as an alternative to reduce solid waste disposal problem. In this research work, the degradation of sago starch filled natural rubber (SS/NR) latex gloves by a mixed culture from buried soil sample was investigated. The Gram staining test of mixed culture showed the Gram-negative bacteria are the dominant species as an effective bacterium to degrade the SS/NR latex gloves. The starch hydrolysis test was performed to confirm the existence of starch-degrading bacteria in mixed culture that consume sago starch from the gloves. Based on the biodegradation rate results obtained, the existence of starch-degrading bacteria together with rubber-degrading bacteria were observed, which accelerate the biodegradation of SS/NR latex gloves by 53.68%. Meanwhile, the biodegradation rate for sago starch unfilled natural rubber (control) latex gloves were only 50.31%. Thus, the addition of sago starch has shown an increased in the biodegradation rate, which can be used as alternative method to overcome the solid waste disposal problem.

The production of prototyped biodegradable natural rubber (NR) latex gloves with the addition of sago starch as a fillers in latex compounding using Lab Scale Batch Dipping Machine has been investigated. As biodegradable gloves, the progress of biodegradation of NR latex gloves is also being determined through weight loss measurement test. Results showed the optimum dwell time of latex dipping was achieved at 6 sec with optimum tensile properties and within normal examination glove thickness. The weight loss of biodegradable NR latex gloves after one month soil burial showed additional of sago starch into latex compounding can accelerate the biodegradation process.

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