Have you noticed degradable plastic bags cropping up at various stores? I have railed in the past that this approach makes no sense. Now a major European recycling group has issued a statement calling use of degradable additives in plastics “nonsense” that can do more harm than good. It’s an unusually strong statement in the normally clubby world of plastics suppliers. There’s no new ground here, but the group states clearly and strongly the major arguments:
1) Plastics have value as recovered commodities,
2) The biodegradable additives don’t reduce the carbon footprint of packaging,
3) The degradable additives jeopardize recycling streams, and
4) They will not solve the littering problem.
The European Plastics Recyclers Association don’t address the issue of the degradability of plant-based plastics, which may reduce the carbon footprint of packaging, but have the additional problem of pulling corn, potatoes and other plants from human food supply.
Bioplastics are entering a boom phase, and will be a centerpiece of the National plastics Exposition in Chicago next week. Plaant-based are growing because they are taking a new tack. Most of the big players are moving away from the packaging angle and toward the OEM engineering angle. The emphasis in that push will be on the carbon footprint issue.
Your post is interesting, but I am afraid that you are confusing bio-degradable bags and photo-degradable bags. Thus there are some factual errors in your article. Photodegradable bags, such as ECOgrade bags, are not bio-degradable, and therefore do not have the issues associated with your comments. Specifically,
1) Plastics have value as recovered commodities,
AGREED: Certain photo-degradable bags, such as ECOgrade, can be recycled, and therefore maintain this value.
2) The biodegradable additives don't reduce the carbon footprint of packaging,
TRUE FOR BIODEGRADABLE, BUT NOT PHOTODEGRADABLE. Photodegradable bags contain 46% less plastic resin, and produce 34% less Greenhouse Gas in preproduction, as well as use less energy in manufacture. They do not produce GHG upon degradation.
3) The degradable additives jeopardize recycling streams, and
NOT TRUE FOR CERTAIN TYPES, SUCH AS ECOGRADE. ECOgrade does not contain toxins that jepordize recycling, and do not degrade once mixed in the recycling stream
4) They will not solve the littering problem.
Depends how you define this. We all beleive people should not litter. But if littered, photodegradable bags will degrade and go away, minimizing risk to wildlife and the resulting "urban tumbleweed"
The European Plastics Recyclers Association don't address the issue of the degradability of plant-based plastics, which may reduce the carbon footprint of packaging, but have the additional problem of pulling corn, potatoes and other plants from human food supply.
AGAIN, THIS IS BIO-DEGRADABLE: Photodegradable bags do not contain corn, potatioes, and other food items.
THiese are common confusions, and misspercetions. I hope this clarification helps clear this up. For more information you can view FAQs at http://www.gxtgreen.com/page/menu_3/12908.html
Inspired by the hooks a parasitic worm uses to penetrate its host's intestines, the Karp Lab has invented a flexible adhesive patch covered with microneedles that adheres well to wet, soft tissues, but doesn't cause damage when removed.
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego are designing a robotic arm that takes inspiration from the loose, flexible, yet very strong structure of the armored plates on a seahorse's tail.
Researchers at the Missouri University of Science & Technology have designed a new nanoscale material that can transmit light faster than the 186,000 miles per second it usually takes to travel through air.
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