Why is biodegradable plastic useful

Instead of feeding their plastic-producing bacteria sugars from corn or sugarcane, these scientists tweaked cyanos to constantly excrete the sugar that they naturally produce. The plastic-producing bacteria then consume the sugar produced by the cyanos, which are reusable. Cyanobacteria can be used to feed the microbes that create bioplastic.

Stanford University researchers and California-based startup Mango Materials are transforming methane gas from wastewater treatment plants or landfills into bioplastic. The methane is fed to plastic-producing bacteria that transform it into PHA, which the company sells to plastic producers.

It is used for plastic caps, shampoo bottles or biopolyester fibers that can be combined with natural materials for clothing. The bioplastic will biodegrade back into methane, and if it reaches the ocean, can be digested naturally by marine microorganisms.

The Centre for Sustainable Technologies at the University of Bath in England is making polycarbonate from sugars and carbon dioxide for use in bottles, lenses and coatings for phones and DVDs.

Traditional polycarbonate plastic is made using BPA banned from use in baby bottles and the toxic chemical phosgene. The Bath researchers have found a cheaper and safer way to do it by adding carbon dioxide to the sugars at room temperature. Soil bacteria can break the bioplastic down into carbon dioxide and sugar. Ecovative packaging made of mycelium aims to replace plastic altogether. Photo: mycobond. And then there are those developing innovative ways to replace plastic altogether.

Japanese design company AMAM is producing packaging materials made from the agar in red marine algae. The U. Department of Agriculture is developing a biodegradable and edible film from the milk protein casein to wrap food in; it is times better at keeping food fresh than traditional plastic film. And New York-based Ecovative is using mycelium, the vegetative branching part of a fungus, to make Mushroom Materials, for biodegradable packaging material, tiles, planters and more.

But as researchers around the world work to develop greener varieties and more efficient production processes, bioplastics do hold promise to help lessen plastic pollution and reduce our carbon footprint. There is a considerable amount of debate on this issue, for sure.

Of course, this would mean a massive alteration in current technology and procedure — something that translates into an immediate rise in expenditure until things level off. Something the manufacturers of traditional-based plastics will fight against in order to halt immediate losses of profit.

So I am asking: who funded this analysis and report? Where did the principle funding for this report originate?

It is paid for by the Earth Institute at Columbia University. On my beach, in my water, and in a landfill are Not complete disposal.

Very good article. Here in the Netherlands plastics is a major social issue so companies are looking for alternatives. There is a company here called Vibers which is able to make plastic from elephant grass. Brilliant and stops us using so much plastic! Bio-plastics are a better solution because they will eventually biodegrade and they use much less fossil fuels.

Thank you, Shelby Hack. It seems to have been overlooked that biodegradable is not the same as recyclable. On the basis of a report from the Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites IfBB in Hanover, European Bioplastics estimates that bio-based plastics currently use less than 0. But Christoph Lauwigi, who represents the working group on waste and resources with Friends of the Earth Germany BUND worries about the side effects of a growth in the bioplastic market. In the German Plastic Atlas , he explains that an increase in bio-based plastics could raise the pressure on arable land, potentially leading to water shortages, desertification and the loss of habitats and biodiversity.

He also notes that the reliance on industrial agriculture for the production of new plastics might increase monoculture cropping and the use of pesticides. One criticism of bio-based plastics is that they increase pressure on arable land. But scientists are searching for feedstocks that might be more environmentally friendly than conventional crops, such as waste materials or algae.

At this point however, these sources cannot be processed as effectively yet as the current feedstocks, she adds. They do not break down as quickly and completely in the environment as the term might imply and can thus harm wildlife and ecosystems. But there are a few applications where using biodegradable plastics may provide a net benefit to the environment. In some countries, bags that are compostable under industrial conditions are used to collect organic waste.

They can offer a cleaner and more convenient way than nondisposable containers for people to collect food scraps for composting. Fewer organics in the trash means less fermentation, allowing waste management operators to come by less often to pick up the trash. This can not only save money but also boost the recycling rates of other materials such as paper, glass, plastic and metal, he says. Collecting organic waste separately also diverts food scraps from landfills and dumps, where they can produce methane — a powerful greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.

Bioplastics can be an improvement over conventional plastics for mulching crops but are not without challenges of their own. However, not every country has the infrastructure in place to use compostable bags to these ends.

Biodegradable plastics are currently also marketed as mulching films for agriculture , which farmers can just leave on the fields to plow under. For decades, plastic mulch film has been spread out on fields to support crop growth and save pesticides and water. Is biodegradable film a safe alternative? If they are proven to biodegrade in the soil, they would leave less pollution behind.

But wind or animals might carry pieces of broken film into the air, rivers or oceans, to places where they might not be able to biodegrade. Sign up now to receive our newsletter. So check the label: What does it say? Where and how is it supposed to biodegrade?

How can you safely dispose of the product? List 2. Finally, be cautious when you read that a material is oxo-biodegradable. These are conventional plastics like polyethylene mixed with metal compounds that make them fall apart faster. Biodegradability is becoming an increasingly popular and lucrative product feature, for example, plants and flowers planted in pots that can be placed straight into the soil to biodegrade naturally.

Legal requirements such as plastic bag bans in a number of countries have led to an increased demand for environmentally-friendly solutions. The growing use of bioplastic helps to reduce the amount of waste produced, which in turn has a positive effect on the environment. Biobased, non-biodegradable plastics will account for the majority of these. Many countries have their own laws and regulations for the use of plastics and bioplastics.

You can find a first overview here. About bioplastics. Our biomaterials. The biggest potential area of impact for compostable plastics is in food service. From coffee cups to sandwich packaging to takeaway containers, putting food in compostable plastics means that — in an ideal world, at least — the plastic and any food waste still stuck to it can be composted together.

Farm workers in Mexico harvest white nopal, the juice from which can be used to manufacture bioplastics Credit: Getty Images. By reducing the amount of traditional plastics that contaminate food waste, we can at least ensure that some of that wasted food is eventually used as compost, rather than ending up in landfill or incineration.

But since , a new European biodegradability standard for these mulches means that farmers can buy plastic that they can plough back into the field safe in the knowledge that it will break down and not harm the soil.

Industry, too, is beginning to use bio-lubricants used to keep machines running smoothly rather than fossil fuel-based ones. If they spill, and all machine oils eventually spill, then they will not damage the environment. But while mulches and oils might break down in the environment, we know most food packaging does not. So how do we make sure compostable packaging is actually composted? But he admits industry needs to demystify how compostables should be treated in order for this to work.

A clearer labelling system, similar to the way recyclability is marked on food packaging, is in the works, but it will take a few years to be implemented, he says. Bioplastic cutlery, like these, often end up in landfill when councils do not have the capability of processing them Credit: Getty Images. Closed-loop schemes with a dedicated collection for compostable plastics, like the one launched with Vegware in the UK Parliament last year, offer some hope.