Biodegradeability: (Bio)Plastic and its (re)use
Plastic Bags and Landfills: A Perspective from SJSU NEWS on Vimeo.
Even though plastic, which is present in many aspects of our lives, has many applications and usages, it is not biodegradeable. The reason of the continuation of manifacturing plastic is that it “only takes up 5 percent of the world’s oil supplies and, in doing so, provides us with an exhaustive supply of material”. You might think “what about replacing plastic with biodegradeable material?” Aluminum and glass are more expensive and not as versatile as plastic. Wood processed products also have their downsides, such as the chemical treatment and clear-cutting.
Today, researchers are working on the synthesis of bioplastics that are based on “renewable biomass resources”. Some of the bioplastics are made to be biodegradeable, and their main applications are: packaging, easily-discarded items (e.g. utensils, bottles), and storage (e.g. food containers). The other that are produced to be nonbiodegradeable are used in areas that need endurability.
While bioplastics will eventually provide a clean, recyclable, nontoxic alternative, energy and environmental analyst Christopher Flavin, author of “The Future of Synthetic Materials” insists that oil-based plastics aren’t going anywhere just yet. He predicts that the next 20 years will see bioplastics absorb a mere 5 percent of the global plastic market [source: Kahn].
Meanwhile, we can use daily plastic products in an environmental friendly manner. For example, we can re-use plastic bags. I recommend you to read “10 Smart Uses for Old Plastic Bags” and “5 Unusual Uses for Plastic Bags” for ideas of re-using old plastic bags.
According to 2007 estimates, most plastic bags are only used an average of 12 minutes and then discarded. Consider that the world uses a staggering 1 million bags a minute and you begin to see how big the problem is [source: Batty].
Take action and conserve the world!
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Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioplastic
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/can-we-replace-plastic.htm
November 9th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
One thing I always think about when I hear about reducing plastic bag use is how to take out my garbage. My mum had once decided that she would reduce plastic bag use by simply putting the garbage directly into the bin, no bag. Well, the garbage people told us we aren’t allowed to do that. I only take grocery bags from stores because I know that I need to reuse them for my garbage. Otherwise, I wouldn’t need them at all!
November 9th, 2011 at 11:16 pm
Those ’10 smart uses for old plastic bags’ do really work! What about plastic bottles? We can reuse the plastic Tupperware and wash it as much as we want, but I heard reusing plastic bottles isn’t good for health. Maybe because they can’t be cleaned as well?
November 10th, 2011 at 11:00 am
Pretty much the only time I use plastic bags is to pick up the nice treats my dog leaves me. I would love to find biodegradable doggie bags!
November 10th, 2011 at 9:50 pm
From a naive point of view, plastic bags are very useful–they are waterproof, light, cheap, and even quite durable.
I started refusing plastic bags a couple years ago but couldn’t find any good replacement for garbage bags. Biodegradable ones would be great.
Although, the attitude towards plastic bags might still be a problem. The statistic of the world using 1 million bags a minute is scary.
Even if it becomes biodegradable, we’re still creating lots of garbage.
It made me rethink my use of plastic bags as disposables.