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Green
Plastics
Plastic-
A word nobody owns
Let's be clear before we begin- "plastic" simply
describes the property of being able to form or mold. When
we use the term plastic, we tend to think of the hydrocarbon
plastics used in the manufacture of just about everything
these days from kitchenware to organ implants. The problem
is these materials are chemically persistent, and have accumulated
to toxic levels in our rivers, streams, oceans, landfills,
and our life forms, our bodies.
What's
the harm in plastics?
Hydrocarbon plastics are made from numerous petroleum based
chemicals and additives. Many of these have been proven
to be carcinogenic, and have other harmful
effects on the balance of animal life. The persistence
of the chemical make up of these compounds cause the products
made from them to become a non-biodegradable "blanket"
which is now so pervasive in our environment that it is
suffocating, strangling, and starving
the animal life on this planet.
One
startling statistic by a Southern California research
project cites there is "six times more plastic
than plankton floating in the North Pacific". Are you
aware of the massive amounts of garbage
dumped into the oceans?
In general,
consumers believe that products they come into contact with
are safe to use, and approved by some government agencies.
This is not true at all. For instance, despite knowing that
PVC is a carcinogen since 1970, we are still producing and
using massive amounts of this compound for household use,
and billions
of pounds of PVC are being thrown away in the US each year.
Don't
be fooled by recycling- Recycling is not a solution
In reality most plastics are very difficult to recycle and
are not usually recycled into the same type of product that
they were collected from, if they are recycled at all. The
polymer chains of hydrocarbon plastics break down each time
they are melted, making them less useful or reliable for
plastic bottles for instance. Many consumers falsely believe
that this material is being recycled into the same products
they recycle, which isn't so. The increasing demand for
plastic containers (13 billion pounds in the US in 2004)
demands the use and manufacture of virgin hydrocarbon plastics.
We are not stopping the toxic spill through recycling. There
is increasing demand, and increasing production.
In addition,
recycling efforts in voluntary states is ineffective, causing
most plastics used there to go directly to landfill. Go
to Container
Recycling Institute's study on the downward trend of
consumer recycling.
So how can we stop the problem?
We must realize that there is no safe place for this toxic
bio-accumulation to be sequestered, and we are still increasing
production of hydrocarbon plastics at a rate of about 80
billion pounds per year through the manufacture of virgin
plastics for bottles, plastic bags, packaging, and every
other application that our current lifestyle demands. We
need smarter science, and more modest lifestyles.
Making
Smarter Plastics
'Hydrocarbon' (molecules from petroleum) and 'carbohydrate'
(a molecule from plants) sound alike, because they are.
Both are 'polymers' - large molecules made from combining
smaller molecules made of carbon-and-hydrogen chains. "Polymer
materials have been designed in the past to resist degradation.
The challenge is to design polymers that have the necessary
functionality during use, but destruct under the stimulus
of an environmental trigger after use. Designing plastics
used in single-use disposable packaging and consumer goods
to be biodegradable and ensuring that they end up in composting
systems is environmentally and ecologically sound. This
can be done using carbohydrates as the source of the polymers
that make up the plastic material." See COMPOSTABLE
PLASTICS & ROLE OF COMPOSTING IN WASTE MANAGEMENT &
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE by professor Ramani Narayan.
Also
see from the University of Minnesota more
information on starch-based plastics.
What
are Green Plastics?
Green plastics are plastics made from renewable,
benign, compostable material. "Carbohydrate material
(from plants) is more plentiful in the biosphere than all
other organic matter combined…(they are) agricultural
feedstocks that could provide a large sustainable source
of biodegradable plastics materials" says E.
S. Stevens of Binghamton University. Professor Stevens
wrote a series of articles for BioCycle
Magazine. He is also the author of Green
Plastics.
There
are now several major manufacturers of benign biopolymer
resins which can substitute for the toxic predecessors.
These resins are beginning to be introduced in their most
practical applications, like plastic grocery bags and food
service plates and utensils, and perishable product packaging.
How
we can all make a change:
-
Replace hydrocarbon plastics with compostable materials
for our daily living ......Buy
Green Plastics
Enact
government legislation to phase out the use of toxic,
pervasive compounds .......Advocate for change
Education
on hydrocarbon plastics and biopolymer substitution :
From IENICA ( Interactive European Network for Industrial
Crops and their Applications) A series of white papers on
Bioplastics
Learn
how and where to find certified green plastics:
US: Biodegradable
Plastics Institute
European
Union: DIN
Certco Certification
Japan:
Biodegradable
Plastics Society of Japan
-
Tom Wright
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