New 3D Movie Glasses Will Be Compostable

3D  movies are hot. First Avatar. And then Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. The format is even coming to television.

Now comes the announcement that the special glasses required to watch 3D will be offered in biobased plastic resins. Cereplast, Inc. designer and manufacturer of proprietary bioplastics, and Oculus3D, a company focused on film-based 3D projection technology, announced that Oculus3D will introduce the world’s first biodegradable/compostable 3D glasses for movie theaters

Major 3D movie releases will require more than 10 million pairs of glasses to be shipped to movie theaters across the globe for each movie. While many theaters collect 3D glasses at the conclusion of each show, damaged glasses, or pairs not returned end up in trashcans and ultimately in landfill sites.

The CO₂ emissions for the more than 10 million plastic glasses made from hydrocarbons is equivalent to the harmful emissions generated by burning 50,000 gallons of gasoline or 917 barrels of oil. The Oculus3D eyewear will feature Cereplast’s Compostables® resin made with Ingeo® polylactic acid (PLA) made from corn. These resins allow for the manufacturing of glasses made of renewable material and create a truly compostable product. According to Cereplast, the 3D glasses will return to nature in less than 180 days with no chemical residues or toxicity left in the soil if discarded at a compost site.

Photo: Oculus3D