Plastics and “green choice” usually don’t go together as most plastic materials are made from petroleum, these include: polyethylene, PVC, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyester, nylon and acrylic.


plastics-in-the-ocean

Most plastics don’t decompose. This means plastic can stick around indefinitely, destroying marine ecosystems. (noaa.gov)


In the past decades, the search for an eco-friendly alternative to petroleum based plastics has led to the development of several bioplastics; materials specifically made from renewable resources and therefore diminishing the amount of energy required to produce them. Some are made from plants, most often from sugar cane or cornstarch, although they can also be produced from potatoes, or other plants, these plastics are often referred to as PLA (PolyLactic Acid or PolyLactide) or Cellulose Acetate.


plastics-in-the-ocean

To transform corn into plastic, corn kernels are immersed in sulfur dioxide and hot water, where their components break down into starch, protein, and fiber. The kernels are then ground and the corn oil is separated from the starch. (columbia.edu)


Bioplastics are generally considered to be more eco-friendly than traditional plastics, this isn’t necessarily true, and bioplastics have a significantly lower carbon-footprint than traditional plastics over their lifetime. But in order to degrade bioplastics, most of them need high temperature industrial composting facilities to break down the material in less than 3 months, but it will take about 1,000 years to degrade in a landfill.


Landfill-full-of-plastic-waste-Drowning-in-Waste-WOIMA-Corporation

Landfills prevent waste from biodegrading, especially plastics. (thisisplastics.com)


Very few cities have the infrastructure needed to degrade bioplastics and the problem magnifies when these plastics are not separated correctly from other plastic types such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate). The problem is when plastics get recycled, they are not compatible and the resulting plastic batch may get rejected as a consequence.


plastics-recycling-centers

Plastics need to be classified in order to be recycled correctly.


The alternatives bioplastics are limited, PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) is one of them, a plastic made from living things. PHA is a unique polyester made naturally by certain bacteria, generally from organic waste. It is used to make plastic bags and single use containers; in the medical field is where this material shines, thanks to its biodegradability it can be used to make sutures, bone plates, orthopedic pins, etc.


PHA-bioplastics

Plastic bags and other articles made from PHA plastic. (wur.nl)


PHA is biocompostable and marine degradable and has no toxic effects, but currently is difficult and expensive to produce.

Source: University of Florida, Columbia University

Columbia University
https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2017/12/13/the-truth-about-bioplastics

University of Florida
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/media/sfylifasufledu/flagler/sea-grant/pdf-files/microplastics/Bioplastics-vs-petroleum-plastic-final.pdf

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