BIOPLASTIC: WHY IS NOT THE SOLUTION WE THINK IT IS
BIOPLASTIC: WHAT IS IT?
Plastic can be defined as BIO when it has at least one of the following characteristics:
-It is biobased, i.e. it is composed, at least in part, of materials deriving from biomass (materials of organic origin that have not undergone the fossilization process)
-They are biodegradable, i.e. they can be degraded by microorganisms
The first consideration to make is that biobased is NOT synonymous with biodegradable: the fact that a type of plastic is produced from bio-based materials does not necessarily mean that it is also biodegradable.
We can identify 3 types of bioplastics:
- Non-biodegradable bioplastics consisting, in whole or in part, of bio-based materials. Among them we can find biobased PE and PET, both manufactured from sugar cane instead of fossil resources, and biobased PA, produced from vegetable oils.
- Bio-based and biodegradable bioplastics, including, for example, starch mixtures.
- Biodegradable bioplastics made from raw materials of fossil origin
HOW IT IS PRODUCED:
To create bioplastic there is a different production according to the chosen raw material.
Bio-based bioplastics can be produced partially or entirely with plant biomass, for example using renewable resources such as plants, algae, marine organisms or organic waste (sugar cane or corn starch).
These materials are fermented in contact with bacteria and yeasts, to create many products. Some bioplastics, defined as durable, are instead mixed with petroleum-based plastic polymers.
Bioplastics are usually considered more sustainable, but what is the truth?
A 2010 study from the University of Pittsburgh found that wasn’t necessarily true when the materials’ life cycles were taken into consideration.
The study compared seven traditional plastics, four bioplastics and one made from both fossil fuel and renewable sources. The researchers determined that bioplastics production resulted in greater amounts of pollutants, due to the fertilizers and pesticides used in growing the crops and the chemical processing needed to turn organic material into plastic.
The bioplastics also contributed more to ozone depletion than the traditional plastics and required extensive land use. B-PET, the hybrid plastic, was found to have the highest potential for toxic effects on ecosystems and the most carcinogens and scored the worst in the life cycle analysis because it combined the negative impacts of both agriculture and chemical processing.
WHAT IS THE REALITY BEHIND THE BIOPLASTIC:
Let’s have a look at all the side effects that nobody talks about.
Most need high-temperature industrial composting facilities to break down and very few cities have the infrastructure needed to deal with them.
As a result, bioplastics often end up in landfills where deprived of oxygen, they may release methane, a gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
"Bio-based and biodegradable plastic are not any safer than other plastics," Lisa Zimmermann from Goethe Universit?t in Frankfurt.
In addition to the greenhouse gases produced, growing the crops to make these materials also requires significant amounts of fossil fuels, farmland, and water - all precious resources that can and should be used to grow actual food.
SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES:
Renmatix is utilizing woody biomass, energy grasses and crop residue instead of costlier food crops. Its technology separates sugars from biomass using water and heat instead of acids, solvents, or enzymes in a comparatively clean, quick and inexpensive process
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.
The Happy Turtle Straw, Switzerland-based, is utilizing potatoes, tapioca, and rice flours to make 100% plant-based straws and coffee stirrers, with 0% PLA. They naturally biodegrade in 90 days, and their mission is to contribute to reducing plastic pollution and protecting marine life, finding a new sustainable alternative to plastic and bioplastic.
Find their products here: https://www.thehappyturtlestraw.com/our-straws/
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