Biodegradable Plastic
Choose Biodegradable Plastic to End Oil Dependence & Landfill Growth-
There has been much hype surrounding the environmental dangers of plastic, as the non-biodegradable substance contains toxic chemicals that endanger the earth and human health alike. At present, regrettably, there are absolutely no safe methods to dispose of plastic waste. Not to mention, plastic also continues the US dependence on oil. According to the Energy Information Administration, plastic consumes around 331 million barrels of oil a year – accounting for about 4.6 percent of the US petroleum consumption. To help America gradually dissolve oil dependence, more biodegradable options have been created using sustainable materials such as corn, hemp and chicken feathers. Plastic made from corn has been manufactured since 1989, but didn’t achieve industry recognition until recent years. NatureWorks, one of the largest lactic acid factories around the globe, is also one of the first companies producing the resin polyactic acid (PLA) from corn. This resin is formed into pellets – much like petroleum based plastic – to construct both films (ie. saran wrap, trash bags) and injection molded objects (ie. forks, packaging). Corn-based plastics are biodegradable; however, they can only biodegrade quickly in controlled composting facilities. These factories allow compost to reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit for ten straight days to incite the biodegration process.
Without these facilities, it would be practically impossible to compost these plastics. According to Smithsonian Magazine, PLA left in a normal backyard compost may not biodegrade at all. Likewise, plastic made from hemp has been widely recognized for years, when Henry Ford created the “hemp car” in 1941. Around 2001, a British-based company called Hemp Plastics renewed applications for this prodigious plant. The company created a 100 percent hemp feedstock plastic and produces cd/dvd cases, spice grinders, kitchen scales, and even musical instruments. According to Sustainable Life Media, European automotive companies have also began replacing fiberglass with biodegradable plastic/hemp composites. Hemp is also a viable replacement for oil, as it produces a biomass yield of 3.5 tons per acre. In contrast, plastic made from feathers is a relatively novel creation. Walter Schmidt and Justin Barone from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) recently patented a method to convert chicken feathers into plastic. US poultry farms discard a total of 4 billion tons of chicken feathers annually, which happen to be a significant cause of agricultural waste. Creating plastic from chicken feathers consumes half the amount of heat and pressure needed for conventional plastic. The process disintegrates the sulfur-sulfur bonds in the keratin, and when the plastic becomes solid the keratin does as well – which makes the plastic very durable. Additionally, scientists can determine how quickly the plastic degrades, ranging from several months for flower pots to several years for automotive parts. As our nation moves toward more environmentally-friendly, sustainable alternatives, biodegradable plastics can help slow landfill growth and even diminish foreign oil dependence.
(45 votes, average: 4.42 out of 5)
Loading ...
This is great news for the decreasing our dependency on oil in the US. I didn’t know chicken feathers could be transformed into plastic. This would surely eliminate much agricultural waste as well as produce a durable plastic. I have referenced this site on my blog for my readers as well! Keep us current on all eco news!
Oil and gas are not being extracted to make plastic. They are being extracted to make fuels and the plastic is made from a by-product which used to be wasted.
Plastic has a much better LCA than most packaging materials (Denkstatt report – Austria. Vegetable-based plastics are not “sustainable” and in June 2009 Germany’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Research concluded that oil-based plastics, especially if recycled, have a better Life-cycle Analysis than compostable plastics.
It is correct that compostable plastics will degrade only in the special conditions found in an industrial composting process, and they are not therefore much use in alleviating the long-term problem of plastic waste in the open environment.
The answer is to use oxo-biodegradable plastics (see http://www.d2w.net)which will convert themselves at the end of their useful life into a material which can be bioassimilated in the same way as a leaf. They do not leave harmful residues and they cost little or no more than ordinary plastic.
Plastic is made from petrochemicals. As the name implies, a main ingredient in petrochemicals is oil. So, yes, oil is extracted for the purpose of making plastic.
There are other sustainable materials that are being used as alternative to plastic as well.
One that I’m a fan of is bagasse – a highly sustainable fibrous material that is a by-product of the sugarcane production process. Sugarcane grows very rapidly and bagasse packaging products like compostable food containers tend to be quite strong and compost faster than PLA products (most folks don’t have a problem composting bagasse in their home composting systems). Further they’re not made from oil
.
Great information–thanks for the update. I work for an eco-buying group in SF and we try and educate people on information like this. It’s is important that people understand the changes in green technology and what is actually eco-friendly vs what is greenwashing. Thanks!
World’s first ‘Safe for Eyes’ certified rechargeable study light for children.No ultra-violet or infra-red radiation. No heat radiation.Perfect luminosity and ideal illumination. Soothing light eliminates eye strain.Up to 6 hour back-up with mains and solar charging port.StudyLite has been developed keeping foremost needs of students in mind.It is the only study lamp that is certified to be safe for eyes.It is also very eco-friendly and safe for children to use. You can visit for further details at:at:http://studylite.in/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=19
Alicia,
We at Eastern BioPlastics have developed a way to take chicken feathers and convert them into both fully biodegradable plastics as well as feather/traditional plastic composites.
Please visit our website at http://www.easternbioplastics.com
Biodegradable plastic and packaging is a modern necessity for our ever-endangered environment. Now PLA has been used to line the indoors of Paper Cups in place of the oil based lining additional usually used, create Plastic Cups, Plates, Carrier Bags, Food Packaging and even Nappies. Eco Pure is our proprietary blend of organic materials that does not modify the base resin to which it is added.
Thanks a lot for your information
Actually, to simply say that plastic is made from oil is likely to lead to a misleading conclusion – plastic is made from a component of oil that cannot be made into gasoline or diesel, and this component used to be burned off. By making it into plastic, we are making use of what used to be a waste product of fuel production. Furthermore, with our proprietary technology, conventional plastics can be made to biodegrade in landfills. PLA, which many tout as the future of plastic, consumes 2.68 pounds of corn to make one pound of PLA. We would have to use 18% of American farm acreage to make the 7 million tons of plastic that we make into disposable products that end up in our landfills – and that acreage could instead feed 568 million people. With 1.4 billion people hungry, is it really responsible or compassionate social policy to make our plastic out of food? See: http://earthnurture.com to learn more.
Leave your response!
Submit Your News
Green Energy News is now MOBILE!
Follow Us & Subscribe!
Great Links
Tags
Recent Posts
Most Commented
Most Viewed
Switch to our mobile site
RED EPIC Rental Los Angeles | RED SCARLET Rental