Bioplastics

[Chalk Downlanders]

Hi Folks
As you are all aware, discarded plastic products are a real menace to wildlife and ourselves. I have been doing some research into this problem but I just can't find the answers I am looking for. Any help you can give me would be most appreciated.

By Bio-plastics, I mean: plastics made entirely from plant material.
By Degradable plastics, I mean: Oil based plastics that break down in landfill sites.

1 What do degradable plastics break down into, and do these waste products harm wildlife?

2 Are Bio-plastics better for the environment? Taking into account of the energy and chemicals used in their growing and manufacture?

3 Are there any plastic products that cannot be substituted with bio-plastics?

Thanks
Chalk

[Jez]

I think i know what you mean by bio-plastics. I recieved a local paper the otherday asking me to put the plastic cover in my compost bin as it only takes a year to break down. Coming to think don't the coop use this bio-plastic for there carrier bags or they used to? litter is the bane in my life aswell yours i'm forever cleaning up after others. 1 thing i have to critisize about blairs respect campaign is the lack of bins. You can't blame the children for dropping litter. Bins are like policemen theres never one around when you need one! I will be happy to ask my council for as to where they source this bio-plastic and pm you if that's okay?

[Chalk Downlanders]

[quote=Jez;! I will be happy to ask my council for as to where they source this bio-plastic and pm you if that's okay?[/QUOTE]

Thanks Jez. A company name might help me with my reserch

Chalk

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Chalk Downlanders

Hi Folks
As you are all aware, discarded plastic products are a real menace to wildlife and ourselves. I have been doing some research into this problem but I just can't find the answers I am looking for. Any help you can give me would be most appreciated.

By Bio-plastics, I mean: plastics made entirely from plant material.
By Degradable plastics, I mean: Oil based plastics that break down in landfill sites.

1 What do degradable plastics break down into, and do these waste products harm wildlife?

2 Are Bio-plastics better for the environment? Taking into account of the energy and chemicals used in their growing and manufacture?

3 Are there any plastic products that cannot be substituted with bio-plastics?

Thanks
Chalk

New Scientist is a good source for (relatively) non technical coverage of the developments in plastic technology - you may find something useful in:

Recycled plastic to get clean bill of health - earth - 09 May 2007 - New Scientist Tech


Ionic liquid offers greener recycling of plastics - tech - 21 June 2007 - New Scientist Tech

Giant microwave turns plastic back to oil - earth - 26 June 2007 - New Scientist Environment

Biorefineries: Curing our addiction to oil - earth - 04 July 2007 - New Scientist Environment

The last article is only available in full to subscribers, or as a one off purchase, it does cover a lot of the conflicts between demands for biomass for fuel and biomass for petrochemical replacement, including plastics.

For what it's worth my own non expert opinion is that bioplastics while being an important development as a replacement for petroleum based products, will not be inherently safer for wildlife. Being strangled or choked by a six pack sleeve made from corn sugars will be no less lethal than the same product made from petroleum. Having a compostable material may have some benefits but ultimately the best solution is the reuse of materials whether they are agriculturally, or geologically sourced.

CM

[Chalk Downlanders]

Thanks for the replys. This is a real "bummer" of a subject. I am still none the wiser. I had the following email from Greenpeace.

-----Original Message-----
Subject: Bio-plastics

Hello
I could not find anything on your site about bio-plastics. Do you have
an official opinion on these products?

More importantly, can all plastic products be replaced by bio plastics, and
is it best for the planet to do so?


Regards
Chalk

Originally Posted by Greenpeace

Dear Chalk,

Thank you for this email. Bioplastics are a very complicated area. The
latest (third) generation are genuinely biodegradable, so they solve one
environmental problem, but they create a problem for recyclers if they
are mixed into other plastics, and there are people who think the
methane produced by their decomposition makes them less environmentally
friendly than plastic. A further problem is that most bioplastic
currently comes from the US, which means that it is at least partly made
from GM maize.

I would imagine that it's more or less impossible to produce a
bioplastic which is biodegradable and can still perform the same roles
as the most durable toughened plastics, but it might be the case that it
is more sustainable to make non-biodegradable plastics from corn starch
than from oil. I'm afraid I really can't give you a knowledgeable answer
about all plastics which involves predicting the development of
bioplastics over quite a distance, so 'dunno' is my answer to that one.

Whether, assuming it is possible, it would be good for the planet I
rather doubt, as it would probably involve using large areas of land to
grow the necessary crops, which would have lots of harmful knock-on
effects, such as driving up the price of food. It would also reduce the
demand for oil, which might reduce the price, which would probably be a
bad thing.

Greenpeace do not have an official position on any of this as yet, but I
imagine that our approach would probably follow the 'reduce, re-use,
recycle' formula, where the number one task is to remove unnecessary
plastic items from the market, the second is to make the remainder
reusable (this would more often than not mean switching to another more
durable material - glass for bottles, cotton or hemp for bags, etc. -
and only then would you consider whether you wanted the remaining
plastics to be recyclable as plastic or as compost.

Regards,

Graham Thompson
Supporter Services
Greenpeace UK

If they don't know, who does?

Any one know the email addy for the government bloke in charge of this sort of thing?

Chalk

[Varan Komodosky]

I dream of comedy biodegradable plastic shopping bags that disintegrate and lose their bag-integrity before the shopper gets home...

[Paul mabbott]

Can't help really - I'm a firm believer that plastic should only be used for things demanding a long life: when plastics were first developed industrially, their big selling point was that they didn't break or corrode like potery or metals. Absolutely true which is why they shouldn't be for transient products.

Waitrose are going in the right direction: they will take your bags back and re-use them ...

Anyway, what attracted my attention was the mention of Greenpeace - I have one of their credit cards which brags of being the only card not made with pvc. Excellent, the only problem is it only lasts for about 2 years ....

Originally Posted by Chalk Downlanders

Thanks for the replys. This is a real "bummer" of a subject. I am still none the wiser. I had the following email from Greenpeace.

-----Original Message-----
Subject: Bio-plastics

Hello
I could not find anything on your site about bio-plastics. Do you have
an official opinion on these products?

More importantly, can all plastic products be replaced by bio plastics, and
is it best for the planet to do so?


Regards
Chalk






If they don't know, who does?

Any one know the email addy for the government bloke in charge of this sort of thing?

Chalk

[m1.carson]

Hi,

Not up on degradable plastic, but one thing I was told some years ago is, please put a knot in your plastic bags, it stops creatures from crawling in and getting stuck.

Max.

[Varan Komodosky]

Ireland had the sweetest idea to stop the proliferation of plastic bags. The government made it legal only to sell the bags, not give me free and put a (relatively) hefty tax at point of sale.
"Tuesday, 20 August, 2002, 14:36 GMT 15:36 UK
Irish bag tax hailed success


Stores including Tesco have welcomed the tax

A tax on plastic shopping bags in the Republic of Ireland has cut their use by more than 90% and raised millions of euros in revenue, the government says.
The tax of 15 cents per bag was introduced five months ago in an attempt to curb litter, and the improvement had been immediate and "plain to see", said Environment Minister Martin Cullen said that the 3.5 million euros in extra revenue raised so far would be spent on environmental projects.

The "plastax" is being closely watched by other countries, particularly neighbouring Britain.

Bangladesh has banned polythene bags altogether while Taiwan and Singapore are taking steps to discourage their use.

"The levy has been an outstanding success in achieving what it set out to do," said Mr Cullen.

"Over one billion plastic bags will be removed from circulation while raising funding for future environmentally friendly initiatives."

He added: "It is clear that the levy has not only changed consumer behaviour in relation to disposable plastic bags, it has also raised national consciousness about the role each one of us can, and must play if we are to tackle collectively the problems of litter and waste management."


The environment ministry estimated that about 1.2 billion free plastic bags were being handed out every year in the republic, leaving windblown bags littering Irish streets and the countryside.

In the three months after the tax was introduced, shops handed out just over 23 million plastic bags - about 277 million fewer than normal, the government said.


Free bags are often discarded thoughtlessly

Shoppers are being encouraged to use tougher, reusable bags.

The ministry said that if the current trend continued, the tax would bring in 10 million euros in a full year.

Other countries around the world are also taking action to curb plastic bag litter.

In March, Bangladesh banned polythene bags after it was found that they were blocking drainage systems and had been a major culprit during the 1988 and 1998 floods that submerged two-thirds of the country.

Taiwan and Singapore are also moving to ban free plastic bags and in South Africa they have been dubbed the "national flower" because so many can be seen flapping from fences and caught in bushes."
Sorry about the huge post there.

[nightshade]

Bio plastics were featured on a tv show some months back and it was the cost that reduced their popularity with plastics manufacturers.
There are old technology products such as cellophane and pressed moulded fibre (such as egg boxes), that would be eminently recyclable and adaptable to most packaging requirements; plastics are used to extend shelf-life nothing more

[peppermint]

I have to say that from what i have just read in Varan's post, i like the idea and direction Ireland have headed on the plastic bag issue. I think they should not be free, then people might think twice about throwing them on the streets and countryside. It will also make people think before they go shopping and bring their own bags a bit more often.

[ron1863]

Our local Co-Op has just changed to biodegradable plastic. Why can't all plastic's that are used to hold food, rubbish etc be made of this material. There's nothing worse than walking in the countryside and seeing plastic bags hanging from trees and plastic water bottles lying around.