tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/bioplastics-14753/articlesBioplastics – The Conversation2023-06-05T10:11:00Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2067942023-06-05T10:11:00Z2023-06-05T10:11:00ZThe UK’s recycling system is confusing, chaotic and broken – here’s how to fix it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529579/original/file-20230601-21-owb48k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C51%2C6861%2C4553&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/top-view-trash-bins-assorted-garbage-795715315">LightField Studios/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Maybe you have one bin or many boxes. You might even have a compost caddy. Whatever your <a href="https://theconversation.com/recycling-what-you-can-and-cant-recycle-and-why-its-so-confusing-206798">recycling</a> setup, chances are that at some point you’ve been left wondering what should go where and if a particular item is indeed recyclable or if it should just go in the main dustbin.</p>
<p>Research from Wrap, a climate action charity, has found that 82% of UK households regularly add at least one item to their recycling collection that’s not accepted locally. And data from recycling facilities shows that <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/resources/guide/tackling-contamination-dry-recycling#:%7E:text=Evidence%20generally%20points%20to%20contamination,material%20to%20MRFs%20was%20contamination.">over 16% of the recycling is contaminated</a>.</p>
<p>This can include electrical goods, nappies and food, though it more commonly involves packaging caked in remnants of what was – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/science/recycling-peanut-butter-jar.html">think jars</a> still covered in peanut butter or jam, toothpaste tubes, juice cartons, greasy takeaway packaging, damp cardboard and glittery birthday cards. Plastic pots, tubs, trays and bottle tops along with metal lids may also count as contaminants – depending on where you live.</p>
<p>And that’s a big part of the problem. Because what is and isn’t recyclable varies a lot from area to area. In the UK, there are 39 different bin collection regimes across <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105191">391 local authorities</a>. Rules aren’t aligned in terms of what is and isn’t collected for recycling or how items should be prepared: washed or rinsed, crushed or not, lids on or off. It’s different everywhere.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sustainablefutures.manchester.ac.uk/research/case-studies/one_bin_to_rule_them_all/">research</a> into the complexities of the UK’s <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zOS5IP77LOVhtK-uWXquY6aZNIag0Jmk/view">recycling system</a> found all these different rules and requirements have created a lot of confusion in terms of what should and shouldn’t be recycled. In some instances, this confusion can even result in people <a href="https://cardboard.org.uk/news/new-study-reveals-how-recycling-confusion-is-leading-to-rubbish-results/">just not bothering</a> to recycle at all.</p>
<h2>Breaking it down</h2>
<p>On top of each area operating its waste collection in a different way, lots of packaging now comes with confusing logos and messaging. Some of these suggest an item should be recycled (even when it can’t be locally) along with misleading stamps and statements, including “recycle”, “don’t recycle”, and “widely recycled” – which again, may not be the case in your specific area.</p>
<p>We’re also now confronted with lots of multi-material packaging – those envelopes with plastic windows and also cake boxes and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54108336">crisp tubes</a>. </p>
<p>While some might try and “unengineer” such items to try and separate the different material components, others make a judgement based on what something is mostly made of, meaning items can then end up in the wrong bins. If indeed you even have to separate your recyclables by type where you are. Told you it was confusing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Recycling bins filled with waste." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529581/original/file-20230601-25-xch54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529581/original/file-20230601-25-xch54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529581/original/file-20230601-25-xch54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529581/original/file-20230601-25-xch54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529581/original/file-20230601-25-xch54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529581/original/file-20230601-25-xch54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529581/original/file-20230601-25-xch54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What goes where? It depends on where you live.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/trash-recycle-reduce-ecology-environment-591166076">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Then there’s also the fact that many large retailers and organisations now provide collection points to recycle certain types of plastics, such as bread bags, crisp packets and pet food pouches, (which can’t usually go in household recycling bins). </p>
<p>Though in principle these schemes are good, they can lead to confusion, with people thinking that if these items are collected for recycling elsewhere, they can go in the recycling bin at home.</p>
<h2>Crackdown on confusion</h2>
<p>In response to the issue of contaminated recycling, the UK government has plans to crack down on “<a href="https://theconversation.com/recycling-what-you-can-and-cant-recycle-and-why-its-so-confusing-206798">wishcycling</a>” by asking people to be more careful about what they put in their bins. Wishcycling is when people optimistically stick items in the recycling bin hoping they can be collected when in reality they can’t.</p>
<p>This forms part of a wider review of England’s recycling collection based on a consultation which was launched in 2021 by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on how to improve the consistency of recycling in both homes and businesses.</p>
<p>Defra has said it wants to make recycling easier and more consistent so that all councils collect the same materials. This is to be welcomed, as our research has found that <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/waste-and-recycling-making-recycling-collections-consistent-in-england/outcome/consistency-in-recycling-collections-in-england-executive-summary-and-government-response">consistent collections</a> across all regions alongside <a href="https://recyclass.eu/recyclability/design-for-recycling-guidelines/">simplified packaging</a> that people can understand would make it easier for householders to know they are doing the right thing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Recycling processing factory filled with plastic bottles." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529583/original/file-20230601-16-jfnxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529583/original/file-20230601-16-jfnxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529583/original/file-20230601-16-jfnxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529583/original/file-20230601-16-jfnxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529583/original/file-20230601-16-jfnxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529583/original/file-20230601-16-jfnxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529583/original/file-20230601-16-jfnxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">All those bottles have to go somewhere.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-escalator-pile-plastic-bottles-factory-599435528">Alba_alioth/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We also found that people want a simpler system as they want to recycle more. As part of our research, we heard from people who held back plastic milk bottle tops to donate to schemes that promised to recycle them as they were not collected by their local authority. Others were storing plastic fruit netting for fear of it not being appropriately dealt with and ending up causing environmental harm. </p>
<p>Some were driving bin bags full of plastics out of their local authority areas to other locations where family members and friends could feed them into their household recycling collections. All of this indicates that there is clearly a thirst to recycle, limit environmental harm and live more sustainably. </p>
<p>Tackling the confusion around what can and can’t be recycled is also needed because it’s adding to plastics’ bad reputation. Waste professionals we’ve worked with have told us that negative consumer perceptions and the move away from plastics aren’t always helpful because alternatives can carry larger environmental footprints. Though a contentious point, it’s recognised that <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/chemicals-plastics-technical-report">plastic substitutes are not always more sustainable</a>. </p>
<p>Sorting out our broken recycling system is an important step if we really want to be a greener and more environmentally conscious society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206794/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Torik Holmes receives funding from the UKRI-ISCF Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Fund (NE/V01045X/1). He works for The University of Manchester, within the Sustainable Consumption Institute. Adeyemi Adelekan, Maria Sharmina and Michael Shaver are also part of the 'One Bin to Rule Them All' research project team.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Holmes receives funding from the UKRI-ISCF Smart Sustainable Packaging Fund (NE/V01045X/1).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristoffer Kortsen receives funding from the UKRI-ISCF Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Fund (NE/V01045X/1).</span></em></p>The UK needs to fix its recycling system for a more sustainable future.Torik Holmes, Research Associate, Sustainable Consumption Institute and Sustainable Innovation Hub, University of ManchesterHelen Holmes, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of ManchesterKristoffer Kortsen, Post Doctoral Research Associate, Materials Engineering, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2067982023-05-31T16:38:45Z2023-05-31T16:38:45ZRecycling: what you can and can’t recycle and why it’s so confusing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529405/original/file-20230531-23-96zmy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C9504%2C6317&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Recycling can be a bit of a headache.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-beautiful-woman-holding-recycle-cardboard-1703996371">Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When it comes to recycling are you a <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/wishcycling-or-just-a-delusion-2373510">wishcycler</a>? No, I didn’t know what this term meant until recently either – apparently it’s when people try to recycle items that should be thrown away instead. And the government are trying to crack down on it.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/government-local-government-association-b2347953.html">New rules</a> will ask people to stop “over-recycling” and to be more careful about what they put in their recycling bins. This is to reduce the amount of dirty waste that goes to processing centres and landfills.</p>
<p>Many commonly recycled items either need specialist recycling treatment or are so contaminated that they cannot be processed properly. Think toothpaste tubes, takeaway packaging and juice cartons. So if you’re sticking these items in the recycling bin or box, you might want to rethink how you’re disposing of them. </p>
<p>Three years ago the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/wwf-paris-uk-government-antarctica-b2339705.html">UK government outlined its goal of recycling</a> – setting the target for 65% of all household waste to be recycled by 2035 – with no more than 10% of this waste ending up in landfill.</p>
<p>But a recent <a href="https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/recycle-week-80-of-uk-households-still-unclear-on-how-to-recycle-effectively/">survey shows</a> that 80% of UK households are “still unclear” on how to recycle effectively – does it need washing out, can I flatten items and what if the cardboard gets wet? (Wet cardboard is a no on the recycling front I’m afraid).</p>
<p>It’s no wonder that <a href="https://cardboard.org.uk/news/new-study-reveals-how-recycling-confusion-is-leading-to-rubbish-results/">many admit</a> it’s easier just to throw something in the bin instead of working out if it can be recycled.</p>
<h2>Waste not</h2>
<p>My team and I are <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zkenrqIAAAAJ&hl=en">researching</a> how new bio-based and biodegradable plastics can contribute to a more <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-a-circular-economy-29666">circular economy</a> (this is where items are reused and not <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-reduce-your-household-waste-and-stop-it-being-shipped-to-poorer-countries-154123">sent to landfill or shipped abroad</a>. While huge strides are being made in this area, we are still some way off all packaging being made in this way in a cost-effective manner. And so for now recycling is the next best option.</p>
<p>So then why the confusion about recycling? One of the main issues is there are <a href="https://rethinkwaste.org/2020/08/31/why-recycling-is-not-the-same-everywhere/">differences in how recycling waste is collected</a> across the UK – this can even be the case from one street to another. </p>
<p>For anyone confused by recycling rules, the advice is always “check with your local authority”. Households should have been sent a leaflet that explains what can be recycled and how. But if you’ve thrown yours away – or perhaps recycled it - the information should also be on your local authorities’ website.</p>
<p>Typically though, plastic containers such as bottles, food trays, margarine tubs and yoghurt pots are readily recycled. So too is aluminium foil, cans, glass bottles and jars. But again, if you want to optimise your council’s existing recycling infrastructure check your local collection guides.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Recycling boxes filled with recycling." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529410/original/file-20230531-24-xts2tu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529410/original/file-20230531-24-xts2tu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529410/original/file-20230531-24-xts2tu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529410/original/file-20230531-24-xts2tu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529410/original/file-20230531-24-xts2tu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529410/original/file-20230531-24-xts2tu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529410/original/file-20230531-24-xts2tu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Knowing what should go where can be difficult – and is different from area to area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/trash-recycle-reduce-ecology-environment-591166076">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>One of the main reasons there are currently variations in what different authorities <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/wishcycling-government-to-tell-people-to-recycle-fewer-things-to-stop-contamination-by-non-recyclables-reports-12893539">do or don’t recycle</a> is based on what the waste management companies they use to recyclable waste after it’s collected. And this differs area to area.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.recyclenow.com/recycle-an-item/crisp-packets">Crisp packets</a>, for example, cannot typically be recycled via household collections (though in some places they can be). This is because they require complex processes to break them down because they are made of multiple layers of plastic and metallic. Instead, you’re advised to take them to your local supermarket as most chains now allow customers to recycle crisp packets and soft plastics at larger superstores.</p>
<h2>Recycling tips</h2>
<p>As with crisp packets and soft plastics, things such as pet food pouches can be recycled too but again not typically via your household collections – instead, these can often go to larger supermarkets for recycling.</p>
<p>Most <a href="https://takeawaypackaging.co.uk/can-you-recycle-or-reuse-plastic-takeaway-containers/#:%7E:text=Only%20curbside%20recycling%20programs%20will,not%20throw%20in%20general%20recycling.">greasy plastic takeaway packaging can be recycled</a>, too. But it’s a good idea to rinse them to avoid contamination during the recycling process (and to stop your bin smelling in between collections).</p>
<p>Perhaps the biggest problem is with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/08/can-i-recycle-a-pizza-box-we-ask-the-expert">greasy pizza boxes</a>. Due to the way that paper and cardboard are recycled, it’s much more difficult to remove contamination from food, so it’s often best to throw contaminated pizza boxes in the general waste bin. You could always cut off the lid of the pizza box and recycle that.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Inside a plastic recycling plant." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529412/original/file-20230531-27-4oneft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529412/original/file-20230531-27-4oneft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529412/original/file-20230531-27-4oneft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529412/original/file-20230531-27-4oneft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529412/original/file-20230531-27-4oneft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529412/original/file-20230531-27-4oneft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529412/original/file-20230531-27-4oneft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The recycling bin is not the end, but the beginning of a new journey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wide-shot-businessman-worker-talking-on-1840555168">Juice Flair/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>As to what you can’t recycle, one of the biggest issues that could easily be solved is the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/08/can-i-recycle-a-pizza-box-we-ask-the-expert">black plastic trays</a> that many manufacturers use purely as a marketing tool to enhance the visual attractiveness of their products such as steak or even broccoli. </p>
<p>While this tactic might help to sell more units, it, unfortunately, means that these recyclable plastic trays are far less likely to actually be recycled. This is because opaque trays cannot be sorted from other types of plastic in a recycling facility as light cannot pass through them. </p>
<p>Thankfully, we are seeing fewer and fewer <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/12/black-plastic-recycling-supermarkets-waste/">black plastic trays</a> in our supermarkets and some advances have been made meaning that some black plastics can now be recycled. Still unsure? Again, the recurring message is to “check with your local authority”. Or better yet, make a list of what can and can’t be recycled in your area and stick it somewhere you can easily see. </p>
<p>Although it definitely isn’t a case of the more the merrier when it comes to recycling, the better we are as a society at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/02/use-compostable-plastic-and-the-16-other-essential-rules-of-effective-recycling">dealing with our waste</a> and not just sending it to landfill, the better our air and environment will be for us and future generations.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Derry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Confusion about what should and shouldn’t be recycled? You’re not alone – and it’s causing some people to ignore recycling altogether.Matthew Derry, Lecturer in Chemistry, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2060332023-05-24T22:05:47Z2023-05-24T22:05:47ZBiodegradable plastic in clothing doesn’t break down nearly as quickly as hoped – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527803/original/file-20230523-19-o9bcee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C652&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Discarded clothing is responsible for millions of tonnes of plastic waste each year.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shirts-floating-deep-water-blue-1299694219">Yudhistira99/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plastic pollution has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Over <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/42277/Plastic_pollution.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">100 million tonnes</a> of plastic enters the environment each year, with more than <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1260352">10 million tonnes</a> ending up in our oceans. These plastics break down into harmful microplastic particles so small they can be consumed by wildlife.</p>
<p>We all recognise discarded bottles and bags as plastic waste. But the synthetic fibres that are woven into our clothing – polyester, nylon, acrylic and others – are equally problematic. Every year, more than <a href="https://textileexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Textile-Exchange_Preferred-Fiber-and-Materials-Market-Report_2021.pdf">60 million tonnes</a> of plastic fabric is produced, a considerable amount of which ultimately finds it way to landfill. </p>
<p>One promising approach to tackle this crisis is the use of “biodegradable” plastics. These plastics are designed to break down naturally into gases and water, which are then released back into the environment without causing long-lasting damage.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-biodegradable-plastic-is-not-biodegradable-116368">When biodegradable plastic is not biodegradable</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But the reality of biodegradable plastic (or “bioplastic”) falls short of meeting our expectations. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0284681">New research</a>, led by the <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a> in San Diego, California, has found that a popular bioplastic material called polylactic acid does not break down in the environment nearly as quickly as hoped.</p>
<p>The researchers suspended fibre samples from both bio- and oil-based plastic materials, as well as natural fibres such as cotton, in coastal waters and on the seafloor. Over time, they examined these individual fibres under a microscope to see if they were breaking down. While cotton fibres began to break down within a month, synthetic fibres, including bioplastic materials such as polylactic acid, showed no signs of breaking down even after 400 days submerged in the ocean.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527970/original/file-20230524-22-wl6nxw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A figure showing the disintegration time in days for five types of material exposed to coastal waters." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527970/original/file-20230524-22-wl6nxw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527970/original/file-20230524-22-wl6nxw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527970/original/file-20230524-22-wl6nxw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527970/original/file-20230524-22-wl6nxw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527970/original/file-20230524-22-wl6nxw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527970/original/file-20230524-22-wl6nxw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527970/original/file-20230524-22-wl6nxw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Disintegration time in days for five types of material exposed to coastal waters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Royer et al. (2023)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Finding their way into the sea</h2>
<p>The plastic pollution that stems from clothing is a particularly tricky area. Clothes are often not recycled or even recyclable, and they release tiny plastic fibres into the environment through gradual wear and tear. </p>
<p>Clothing fibres can reach our oceans via multiple pathways. Clothes that are washed into the sea, for example, will be broken up physically by wave action or friction with sand particles. This process leads to the release of fibres as the garment frays. </p>
<p>Even by just wearing our clothes, plastic fibres are <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b06892">discharged into the environment</a> – some of which may eventually settle in the ocean. And during the process of washing our clothes, fibres become dislodged and are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X16307639">carried down our drains</a>, also potentially ending up the sea. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-millions-of-microplastic-particles-could-be-flowing-into-uk-rivers-hidden-in-raw-sewage-177869">Hundreds of millions of microplastic particles could be flowing into UK rivers, hidden in raw sewage</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>No matter what we do, clothing fibres will inevitably find their way into the environment. So, it is sensible to give serious consideration to what happens to these fibres once released.</p>
<h2>Why does this matter?</h2>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36006158/">Research</a> has found evidence that polylactic acid microfibres are potentially toxic to marine organisms, including jellyfish. The jellyfish studied changed their pulse frequency when exposed to high concentrations of these plastic fibres, potentially reducing their ability to hunt, avoid predators, and maintain orientation in the water. </p>
<p>The presence of polylactic acid fibres in the marine environment may cause jellyfish numbers and behaviour to change. Such changes could have far-reaching implications for marine ecosystems. Jellyfish are widely distributed across all oceans and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016953471830209X?casa_token=-HSFmAR5BdIAAAAA:liKw9NiK5jjgu0Le49ysJsxWzJ_5QBFLPDtLmfyFv-lT_86bUWoAcPJWQeTSTdXSCjv4p1DPGw">play a crucial role</a> in the marine food web, both as predators and prey. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A compass jellyfish drifting off the Welsh coast." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527964/original/file-20230524-26-jusz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527964/original/file-20230524-26-jusz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527964/original/file-20230524-26-jusz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527964/original/file-20230524-26-jusz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527964/original/file-20230524-26-jusz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527964/original/file-20230524-26-jusz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527964/original/file-20230524-26-jusz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A compass jellyfish drifting off the Welsh coast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/compass-jellyfish-chrysaora-hysoscella-drifting-midwater-2135016713">JDScuba/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The longevity of polylactic acid fibres in the marine environment is another concern. The longer these fibres remain in the environment, the more likely it is they will be eaten by marine organisms. </p>
<p>Bioaccumulation, where microplastics and their associated chemicals accumulate across a marine food web, is then likely to occur. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0240792">Research</a> has found evidence of microplastic bioaccumulation across multiple species and microplastic types. </p>
<h2>Tackling plastic pollution</h2>
<p>No matter how the plastic enters the environment, solutions are needed to <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/42277/Plastic_pollution.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">tackle plastic pollution</a>. Biodegradable plastics are one potential option, but only if they are made from materials that are truly able to break down quickly in the natural environment. They would reduce the time in which plastic materials spend in the environment.</p>
<p>As with conventional plastics, though, bioplastics must still be disposed of correctly. But research has found that the labels and instructions on many biodegradable products are often confusing and misleading. In a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2022.942724/full">study of 9,701 UK citizens</a>, many reported not having understood the meaning of the labels of degradable, compostable and biodegradable plastics. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person holding a biodegradable plastic bag." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527960/original/file-20230524-15-pvzc2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527960/original/file-20230524-15-pvzc2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527960/original/file-20230524-15-pvzc2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527960/original/file-20230524-15-pvzc2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527960/original/file-20230524-15-pvzc2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527960/original/file-20230524-15-pvzc2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527960/original/file-20230524-15-pvzc2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research shows many people misunderstand the meaning of the labels of degradable, compostable and biodegradable plastics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/plastic-strength-test-made-plant-based-2109593699">wisely/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This could lead to biodegradable and non-biodegradable plastics being disposed of incorrectly. Plastic that is released into the environment may not decompose, and will instead break down into small pieces of microplastic. </p>
<p>Polylactic acid <a href="https://edepot.wur.nl/514397">can break down</a> in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.08.034">specialised industrial composting plants</a>. But even then, not all composting processes can handle every type of bioplastic. The plastic material has to meet specific <a href="https://www.en-standard.eu/bs-en-13432-2000-packaging.-requirements-for-packaging-recoverable-through-composting-and-biodegradation.-test-scheme-and-evaluation-criteria-for-the-final-acceptance-of-packaging/">criteria</a> and produce compost of a <a href="https://www.qualitycompost.org.uk/standards/pas100">minimum standard</a>. </p>
<p>As the world uses more biodegradable plastic, we need to make sure this material’s environmental footprint is minimised. With that in mind, improving labelling and disposal instructions and improving access to industrial composting could all help.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206033/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Keiron Roberts receives funding from UNEP and Innovate UK</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fay Couceiro receives funding from Southern Water, OFWAT and multiple charities involved with GB Row Challenge (<a href="https://www.gbrowchallenge.com/">https://www.gbrowchallenge.com/</a>). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Muhammad Ali receives funding from Innovate UK and the construction industry.</span></em></p>Polylactic acid – a popular bioplastic – does not readily break down when released into the ocean, and could disrupt marine ecosystemsKeiron Roberts, Senior Lecturer in Sustainability and the Built Environment, University of PortsmouthFay Couceiro, Principal Research Fellow in Biogeochemistry and Environmental Pollution, University of PortsmouthMuhammad Ali, Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2007362023-03-23T06:02:12Z2023-03-23T06:02:12ZWhy bioplastics won’t solve our plastic problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517101/original/file-20230323-22-vqjx7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=386%2C116%2C4773%2C3326&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last month, Victoria <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/single-use-plastics">banned</a> plastic straws, crockery and polystyrene containers, following similar bans in South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales and the ACT. All states and territories in Australia have now banned lightweight single-use plastic bags. </p>
<p>You might wonder why we have to ban these products entirely. Couldn’t we just make them out of bioplastics – plastics usually made of plants? Some <a href="https://edepot.wur.nl/408350">studies estimate</a> we could swap up to 85% of fossil-fuel based plastics for bioplastics. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, bioplastics aren’t ready for prime time – except for their use in kitchen caddy bins as food waste liners. In Australia, we don’t have widely available pathways to compost or process them at the end of their lives. Nearly always, they end up in landfill. </p>
<p>That’s why many states are including bioplastics in their plastics bans. Avoiding single-use plastics entirely, whether traditional fossil fuel-based plastics or bioplastics, is more sustainable. And as our recycling system <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/australia-is-way-behind-recycling-targets-fall-out-of-reach-20230320-p5ctm6.html">struggles</a>, less plastic of any kind is simply better. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517100/original/file-20230323-18-r5besf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="corn harvest germany" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517100/original/file-20230323-18-r5besf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517100/original/file-20230323-18-r5besf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517100/original/file-20230323-18-r5besf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517100/original/file-20230323-18-r5besf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517100/original/file-20230323-18-r5besf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517100/original/file-20230323-18-r5besf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517100/original/file-20230323-18-r5besf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bioplastics come from plants such as corn - and that comes with environmental impacts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Bio-based, biodegradable and compostable are different</h2>
<p>Bioplastics is a blanket term covering plastics which are biologically-based or biodegradable (including compostable), or both.</p>
<p>Plastics are materials based on polymers – long-repeating chains of large molecules. These molecules don’t have to be oil-based - biologically-based plastics are made from raw materials such as corn, sugarcane, cellulose and algae. </p>
<p>Biodegradable plastics are those plastics able to be broken down by microorganisms into elements found in nature. Importantly, biodegradable here doesn’t specify how long or under what conditions plastic will break down. </p>
<p>Compostable plastics biodegrade on a known timeframe, when composted. In Australia, they <a href="https://bioplastics.org.au/certification/">can be certified</a> for commercial or home compostable use. </p>
<p>These differences are important. Many of us would see the word “bioplastic” and assume what we’re buying is plant based and breaks down quickly. That’s often not true. Some biodegradable plastics are even made from fossil fuels. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517105/original/file-20230323-16-f6yeod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="compost caddy" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517105/original/file-20230323-16-f6yeod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517105/original/file-20230323-16-f6yeod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517105/original/file-20230323-16-f6yeod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517105/original/file-20230323-16-f6yeod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517105/original/file-20230323-16-f6yeod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517105/original/file-20230323-16-f6yeod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517105/original/file-20230323-16-f6yeod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Compostable bin caddies are the main sustainable use for bioplastics at present.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Are bioplastics broadly more environmentally friendly?</h2>
<p>To understand this we need to look at the whole lifecycle of the plastic, how it is made, used and what happens to it at end-of-life. Manufacturing bio-based plastics generally has lower environmental impacts and has <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41748-021-00208-7">less greenhouse gas</a> emissions than fossil fuel plastics. </p>
<p>This isn’t always the case. Producing plastics from plants has an environmental impact from the use of land, water and agricultural chemicals. Increased demand for agricultural land could lead to biodiversity loss and can compete with food production. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-plastic-comes-from-oil-and-gas-which-come-originally-from-plants-why-isnt-it-biodegradable-179634">If plastic comes from oil and gas, which come originally from plants, why isn’t it biodegradable?</a>
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<p>Bioplastics often sub in for familiar single use items such as plastic bags, takeaway coffee cups and cutlery. Around 90% of the bioplastics sold in Australia are certified compostable. In most of these applications a reusable alternative would be the most sustainable option. </p>
<p>Some applications have beneficial environmental outcomes: compostable bags for kitchen food waste caddies <a href="https://www.greenindustries.sa.gov.au/resources/valuing-our-food-waste-sa-s-household-food-waste-recycling-pilot-2010">increase the rate of food waste collected</a>, which means less food waste in landfill and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<p>What about the crucial question of plastic waste and pollution? Sadly, if bioplastics end up in the environment, they can damage the environment in the same way as conventional plastics, such as contaminating soil and water. A turtle can choke just as easily on a bioplastic bag as a conventional plastic bag. That’s because biodegradable plastics still take years or even decades <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/biodegradable-bags-can-hold-a-full-load-of-shopping-three-years-after-being-discarded-in-the-environment">to biodegrade</a> in nature. </p>
<p>Ideally, bioplastics should be designed to be either recyclable or compostable. Unfortunately, some bioplastics are neither. These pose problems for our waste management system, as they often end up contaminating recycling or compost bins when the only place for them is the tip. </p>
<p>In recent research for WWF Australia, we found <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/isf/explore-research/projects/examining-sustainability-claims-bioplastics">widespread greenwashing</a> in the industry, with terms such as “earth friendly” and “plastic-free” adding to the confusion. Regulating the industry and standardising terms would make it easier for us all to choose. </p>
<h2>Compostable plastics almost all end up in landfill</h2>
<p>Compostable plastics are designed to be broken down in the compost. Some can be composted at home, but others have to be done commercially.</p>
<p>The problem is these plastics aren’t being composted most of the time. Australian Standard compostable plastics are accepted in food organics and garden organics bins in South Australia and some councils in Hobart. But everywhere else, access to these services is limited. Many councils in other states will accept food and green waste – but specifically exclude compostable plastics (some accept council-supplied food waste caddy liners). </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-you-toss-biodegradable-plastic-in-the-compost-bin-heres-why-it-might-not-break-down-178542">Do you toss biodegradable plastic in the compost bin? Here’s why it might not break down</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This means most compostable plastics used in Australia end up in landfill, where they emit methane as they break down, where it is not always captured. There’s no benefit using bioplastics if they can’t – or won’t – be recycled or composted, especially if they’re replacing a plastic that’s readily recyclable, such as the PET used in soft drink bottles. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517103/original/file-20230323-28-xc3hu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="plastic waste" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517103/original/file-20230323-28-xc3hu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517103/original/file-20230323-28-xc3hu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517103/original/file-20230323-28-xc3hu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517103/original/file-20230323-28-xc3hu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517103/original/file-20230323-28-xc3hu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517103/original/file-20230323-28-xc3hu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517103/original/file-20230323-28-xc3hu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bioplastics still take time to degrade in landfill- and emit methane as they do so.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where does it make sense to use bioplastics in Australia?</h2>
<p>When you reach for a bioplastic product, you’re probably doing it to reduce plastic waste. Unfortunately, we’re not there yet. We need viable pathways for recycling and composting. </p>
<p>So should we avoid them altogether? If you use compostable bin caddies and compost them at home or your council accepts them, that’s a useful option. But for most other uses, it’s far better to just not use plastic at all. Your reusable coffee cup and shopping bags are the best option. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-biodegradable-plastic-is-not-biodegradable-116368">When biodegradable plastic is not biodegradable</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200736/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elsa Dominish receives funding from various government and non-government organisations. In 2022-23 this includes WWF-Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Florin receives funding from various government and non-government organisations. In 2022-23 this includes the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO). He is also affiliated with the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rupert Legg receives funding from various government and non-government organisations. In 2022-23 this includes WWF-Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Berry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Compostable food waste bin caddies are the main sustainable use for bioplastics at present. Almost all bioplastics are ending up in landfill.Elsa Dominish, Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyFiona Berry, Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyNick Florin, Associate Professor and Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyRupert Legg, PhD Candidate, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1979582023-02-08T18:39:14Z2023-02-08T18:39:14ZMicroplastics: are plastic alternatives any safer for our health?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508162/original/file-20230204-12285-zhdbbd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">file tl gdj</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Plastic pollution is now pervasive in our environment, contaminating everywhere from our homes and workplaces to the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/microplastics-in-virtually-every-crevice-on-earth">planet’s deepest recesses</a>. The problem regularly makes headlines, with the spotlight turned toward <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03793-3">ocean pollution</a> in particular.</p>
<p>The startling images of plastic pollution may seem far removed from our lives, but they should not distract us from a problem that is less visible and so receives far less attention and affects human beings and ecosystems – microplastic and nanoplastic contamination.</p>
<p>In contrast to macroplastics, which result from the degradation of larger objects (found in the form of paint flakes or fibres, for example), microplastics are usually defined as particles whose size or dimensions do not exceed 5 mm. They have no minimum size.</p>
<p>As for nanoplastics, these can be no larger than 0.1 micron, equal to 1/10,000th of a millimetre. Rather instinctively, we were able to predict that the smallest particles could enter organisms, but this had never actually been demonstrated until recently.</p>
<h2>Microplastics in our blood</h2>
<p>In 2022, a study conducted by several teams in the Netherlands showed for the first time ever that microplastics were present in the blood of 22 healthy human volunteers at an <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001258">average concentration of 1.6 mg/L</a>.</p>
<p>The kinds of plastics detected varied greatly, and including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), used to make water bottles and other items; polyethylene, used to produce food containers; and polystyrene, whose uses include fresh produce packaging and yogurt pots.</p>
<p>It should be noted that the study focused solely on particles with dimensions of 700 nm and above, and that there is as yet no information on the smaller particles categorised among the many forms of nanoplastics.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nxEQkVPBJjQ?wmode=transparent&start=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Microplastics detected in human blood for the very first time (Down to Earth, 25 mars 2022).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Adverse health effects in animals</h2>
<p>Although no effects on human health were reported in the study, research conducted on animals or using cellular models (some of which modelled human cells) have documented a host of biological impacts from microplastics, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32111046/">including cellular lesions, oxidative stress and damage to DNA</a>.</p>
<p>In these cases, either the microplastics cause the effects directly or they act as carriers of other harmful substances. Moreover, some of these substances, such as bisphenols or phthalates, are actually found in the composition of some plastics.</p>
<p>Generally, this contamination may manifest as inflammation or fibrosis, whose effects are already observed in humans via other ways of entry, such as the respiratory tract. The lungs, for instance, have been a reported site of contamination <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28531345/">for workers in the plastics industry</a>.</p>
<h2>Migration into food and drink</h2>
<p>How can we explain this contamination of the healthy volunteers in the study? Simply put, it is linked to the food chain, although this method of microplastics exposure remains difficult to characterise or measure, with results varying drastically between <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30861380/">0.2 mg per year</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33130380/">0.1 to 5 g per week</a>.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, a vast number of studies (more than 1,000) clearly indicate that several molecules can migrate into food or drink upon contact. This is the case for reusable plastic sports bottles, which shed a huge quantity of components, and all the more so when <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35091188/">cleaned in the dishwasher</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Nearly 80,000 readers look to The Conversation France’s newsletter for expert insights into the world’s most pressing issues</em>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/fr/newsletters/la-newsletter-quotidienne-5?utm_source=inline-70ksignup">Sign up now</a>]</p>
<p>An effective way to prevent potential health risks from microplastics and nanoplastics would be to reduce our exposure, especially in our digestive tract. It is vital for us to change practices at the consumer level, particularly with for the most vulnerable – pregnant women, infants, young children and adolescents, whose systems of detoxification have not yet matured and whose bodies are still developing.</p>
<p>It should also be noted that these groups are more exposed to plastics per pound of body mass than adults are, further compounding the risks to their health.</p>
<h2>The perils of reheating food in plastic containers</h2>
<p>Positive changes that we can make include reducing our consumption of processed products and packaged raw products; limiting use of containers or components made even partially from plastic (such as cardboard cups, pizza boxes, etc.); and avoiding storing, cooking or reheating food in plastic containers (when using a microwave, for instance).</p>
<p>This is because it has been demonstrated that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33905306/">heat causes plastic components to break down</a>, which, in turn, causes <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304389422017769">particles to leach into our food</a>.</p>
<p>These more positive habits would also help reduce the overall amount of microplastics and nanoplastics in our environment and ecosystems, leading to a natural decrease in the contamination of our digestive system.</p>
<p>Starting from 2025, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221219-france-bans-disposable-packaging-utensils-in-fast-food-restaurants">France</a> will be banning single-use plastic containers in collective catering (especially school cafeterias).</p>
<p>But are the alternatives any better? In France, it is up to each municipality to choose which alternative materials to use, whether these be stainless steel, cellulose (a component of plant cell walls), bamboo or bioplastics.</p>
<h2>Bioplastics may not be any safer</h2>
<p>Containers made from bioplastics are a handy alternative widely used by the agrifood industry, since they are lighter than the more conventional, allegedly “inert” receptacles made of stainless steel or glass.</p>
<p>But what are bioplastics made of? They are sourced from plants, but blended with synthetic materials to ensure that they are as waterproof as traditional plastics.</p>
<p>Upon seeing the prefix “bio”, consumers may be led to believe that they are purchasing a natural product that presents no health risk. In terms of regulations, bioplastics must undergo the same tests other plastic containers, and their rate of migration into food is also capped at 60 mg/kg.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, only a small number of tests (primarily regarding their effects on DNA) have been carried out, none of which examine their potential impacts as hormone disruptors. Recent scientific literature has not yet proved whether or not they are harmless to humans. Lastly, when it comes to biodegradability, all bioplastics still break down into microplastics.</p>
<h2>Stay wary of “alternatives”</h2>
<p>Such questions are important to consider in a world that tends to brush away the environmental impact of certain products by offering alternatives (think of biofuels, “green” hydrogen or e-cigarettes) whose effects themselves are little known. In this respect, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-that-bpa-free-label-isnt-telling-you-34725">substitution of bisphenol A with other bisphenols</a> (such as S and F) should make the scientific community stop and think, as reports increasingly show them to have similar or other deleterious effects.</p>
<p>Given their origin and manufacturing method, it appears only appropriate to ask these same questions with regard to “bioplastics”, so as to prevent consumers from inadvertently becoming a source of environmental contamination when attempting to be eco-friendly. In France, the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (<a href="https://www.anses.fr/fr/proscrire-matieres-plastiques-biodegradables-compost">ANSES</a>) also advises against the use of “biodegradable” or “compostable” single-use plastic bags in household compost bins, as it is not certain that such products break down fully during composting.</p>
<p>It is crucial that local authorities be better informed on the characteristics of bioplastics. This will allow them to design policies that will help protect consumers, especially children, who are particularly vulnerable to pollution.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Translated from the French by Enda Boorman for <a href="http://www.fastforword.fr/en">Fast ForWord</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197958/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xavier Coumoul has received funding from the European Commission, ANR, Anses, Inca, Inserm and Université Paris Cité.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean-Baptiste Fini has received funding from the European Commission, the ANR, the Anses, the CNRS and the MNHN.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicolas Cabaton has received funding from INRAE (Human Food Department), ANSES, ANR, Ecophyto, the European Commission, and is part of a project funded by ANR with JB Fini as scientific coordinator.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sylvie Bortoli has received funding from the ANR, Anses, ITMO Cancer and Inserm.</span></em></p>Alternative food containers, such as those made of bioplastics, are being promoted as a way to reduce our exposure to plastic in food. But there is still a lack of knowledge around their impacts.Xavier Coumoul, Professor of Toxicology and Biochemistry, Université Paris CitéJean-Baptiste Fini, Professeur du MNHN, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)Nicolas Cabaton, Chercheur en Toxicologie, InraeSylvie Bortoli, Ingénieure de Recherche, Université Paris CitéLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1852722022-06-23T11:48:54Z2022-06-23T11:48:54ZWhat is BPA and why is it in so many plastic products?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470073/original/file-20220621-15-8umt72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=81%2C65%2C5381%2C3571&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most plastic products that are clear and strong are made using bisphenol A, or BPA.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/drinking-water-bottle-for-sports-in-female-hand-on-royalty-free-image/1331157592">Beton Studio/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical widely used to make hard, clear plastics. It is an endocrine disruptor that has been linked to <a href="https://theconversation.com/decades-of-research-document-the-detrimental-health-effects-of-bpa-an-expert-on-environmental-pollution-and-maternal-health-explains-what-it-all-means-184630">many negative health effects</a>, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ando.2013.04.002">cardiovascular diseases and diabetes</a>. In 2013, the U.S. government <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2013/07/12/2013-16684/indirect-food-additives-adhesives-and-components-of-coatings">banned its use in baby products that come into contact with food</a>, like bottles or the packaging of infant formula.</p>
<p>At the time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded that some exposure was safe for adults. But other health agencies, including the European Food Safety Authority, have concluded that the levels of BPA the FDA considers safe <a href="https://connect.efsa.europa.eu/RM/s/publicconsultation2/a0l1v00000E8BRD/pc0109">may have adverse health effects for adults as well</a>. </p>
<p>In early June 2022, the FDA signaled that it is reconsidering what amount of exposure to BPA is safe for adults, announcing that it would <a href="https://www.edf.org/media/fda-agrees-reconsider-safety-bpa-food-packaging">reconsider its guidance on the use of BPA</a> in plastics that come into contact with food. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-tWvBjMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">synthetic polymer chemist</a>, I think a lot about how to design new polymers, with particular focus on <a href="https://www.wesleyan.edu/academics/faculty/belling/profile.html">how to do so sustainably</a>. It’s natural to wonder why companies don’t simply replace BPA with another chemical if health is such a concern. The secret to what makes BPA such an irreplaceable ingredient in plastics is the same thing that leads to its health risks – the molecule’s chemical structure. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469367/original/file-20220616-12-e91m82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A chemical diagram showing two hexagonal rings with OH on either side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469367/original/file-20220616-12-e91m82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469367/original/file-20220616-12-e91m82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469367/original/file-20220616-12-e91m82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469367/original/file-20220616-12-e91m82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469367/original/file-20220616-12-e91m82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469367/original/file-20220616-12-e91m82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469367/original/file-20220616-12-e91m82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bisphenol A is made of two carbon rings with small alcohol groups attached and is used to produce strong, clear plastics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bisphenol-A-Skeletal.svg#/media/File:Bisphenol-A-Skeletal.svg">Darkness3560/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is BPA?</h2>
<p>BPA is a small molecule made of two carbon rings with a bonded oxygen and hydrogen attached to either end. BPA can react with other carbon-based molecules to form long chains, with the BPA molecules stitched together by small chemical links.</p>
<p>Nearly all of the BPA produced in the world is used to manufacture plastics, mostly a specific type called polycarbonate. BPA-derived polycarbonates are transparent, incredibly strong, light and don’t begin to melt or lose structural integrity <a href="https://polymerdatabase.com/polymer%20classes/Polycarbonate%20type.html">until they reach very high temperatures</a>. These properties make polycarbonates excellently suited for use in everything from the lenses of eyeglasses to water bottles.</p>
<h2>It’s all about the structure</h2>
<p>In chemistry, structure means everything. The reasons different materials have different properties is due to their chemical structure.</p>
<p>BPA polymers are rigid because the carbon rings in BPA molecules are themselves rigid. Compare this to polyethylene, the thin, flexible material used to make plastic bags. The long chains of repeating molecules that make up polyethylene are very flexible. So the plastics they produce are highly pliable, too. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469369/original/file-20220616-11-jmi2pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A table with many colored sunglasses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469369/original/file-20220616-11-jmi2pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469369/original/file-20220616-11-jmi2pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469369/original/file-20220616-11-jmi2pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469369/original/file-20220616-11-jmi2pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469369/original/file-20220616-11-jmi2pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469369/original/file-20220616-11-jmi2pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469369/original/file-20220616-11-jmi2pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">BPA plastics are strong, transparent, light and have a high melting point, which makes them the perfect material for lenses for your eyeware.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/high-angle-view-of-colorful-sunglasses-for-sale-in-royalty-free-image/979123212?adppopup=true">Nipitphon Na Chiangmai / EyeEm via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do BPAs leach out of plastic?</h2>
<p>When BPA plastics are made, nearly all the individual molecules of BPA are chemically bound to the plastic. So most of the BPA that leaches out of food containers or water bottles results from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2254523/">plastic slowly breaking down</a>.</p>
<p>When BPA polycarbonates are exposed to water and heat – say, when you put a plastic bottle in your dishwasher – the chemical bonds that link these BPA molecules together can break down in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/app.1981.070260603">process known as hydrolysis</a>. Because of its unique structure, BPA polycarbonates are generally more susceptible to hydrolysis than plastics like polyethylene. </p>
<p>Hydrolysis breaks down plastic at a chemical level, and this releases a small amount of BPA molecules into the environment. In one study, researchers found that the process of washing a polycarbonate bottle leached <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.chemosphere.2011.06.060">0.2 to 0.3 milligrams of BPA</a> into each liter of water. For context, this is hundreds of times less concentrated <a href="https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?printable=1&id=20880">than the levels of calcium and sodium in drinking water</a>.</p>
<h2>The search for a BPA replacement</h2>
<p>BPA is an endocrine disruptor, meaning it disrupts how hormones function in the body. Given the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/bpa/faq-20058331#:%7E:text=Exposure%20to%20BPA%20is%20a,2%20diabetes%20and%20cardiovascular%20disease">negative health effects of consuming BPA</a> and the fact that it breaks down when exposed to water, chemists have been searching for replacements for years. </p>
<p>A major concern with designing new plastics is that swapping out BPA for another molecule may not get rid of the negative health effects. Just as the chemical structure of BPA determines the properties of the material, the structure is also what triggers the negative biological effects. Endocrine disruptors like BPA, due to their similar structures to natural hormones, can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0273-8">bind to and activate endocrine receptors</a>.</p>
<p>Research has shown that structurally similar chemical replacements, such as bisphenol F, <a href="https://www.ehn.org/bpa-replacement-2656483035.html">produce similar health effects as BPA</a>. </p>
<p>It’s also not easy to swap in a new molecule that has a different chemical structure because the plastic will then lose the desirable characteristics of BPA polycarbonates. But there is some promising new research. One path of inquiry focuses on making polycarbonates by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11862">reacting rigid bio-based molecules with carbon dioxide gas</a>.</p>
<p>Polycarbonates are a ubiquitious part of modern life. As researchers develop new materials, it is important to consider not only the health risks – as the EPA is doing with BPA – but the environmental effects as well.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185272/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Elling receives funding from the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund</span></em></p>The US Environmental Protection Agency is reexamining the health effects of bisphenol A. A chemist explains why BPA is in plastics and why it’s hard to find a safe replacement.Benjamin Elling, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Wesleyan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1796342022-05-30T12:27:31Z2022-05-30T12:27:31ZIf plastic comes from oil and gas, which come originally from plants, why isn’t it biodegradable?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463442/original/file-20220516-19-av521j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C0%2C5367%2C3535&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic trash accumulates in trees and shrubs along the Los Angeles River.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/plastic-bags-and-other-trash-get-caught-and-accumulate-in-news-photo/1262732934">Citizen of the Planet/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>If plastic comes from oil and gas, which come originally from plants, why isn’t it biodegradable? – Neerupama, age 11, Delhi, India</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>To better understand why plastics don’t biodegrade, let’s start with how plastics are made and how biodegradation works. </p>
<p>Oil, also known as petroleum, is a fossil fuel. That means it’s made from the remains of very old living organisms, such as algae, bacteria and plants. These organisms were buried deep underground for millions of years. There, heat and pressure <a href="https://ocean.si.edu/conservation/gulf-oil-spill/what-are-fossil-fuels">turned them into fossil fuels</a>. </p>
<p>Petroleum contains a lot of a chemical called propylene. To make plastic, refiners heat the propylene together with a catalyst – a substance that speeds up chemical reactions. This causes individual molecules of propylene to hook together like beads on a string. </p>
<p>The chain is called a <a href="https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/explainer-what-are-polymers">polymer</a> – a large molecule made of many small molecules strung together. Its name, polypropylene, literally means “many propylenes.” And the bonds between these molecules are super strong. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463425/original/file-20220516-17-7zcdr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagrams of a polypropylene molecule and polymer" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463425/original/file-20220516-17-7zcdr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463425/original/file-20220516-17-7zcdr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463425/original/file-20220516-17-7zcdr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463425/original/file-20220516-17-7zcdr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463425/original/file-20220516-17-7zcdr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463425/original/file-20220516-17-7zcdr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463425/original/file-20220516-17-7zcdr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This image shows the chemical structure of a molecule of polypropylene (top left), a model of the molecule (top right), and a chain of polypropylene molecules linked together to make a polymer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/polypropylene-polypropene-molecule-it-is-royalty-free-illustration/1358082675">Bacsica.iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<p>When something that is biodegradeable, like a cardboard box, breaks down, microorganisms that are present in nature break down and digest the polymers in it. They do this using <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/enzyme">enzymes</a> – proteins that help speed up the breakdown of compounds such as lignin, a natural polymer found in plant tissues.</p>
<p>If oxygen is present, which usually means the microbes and the thing they are breaking down are exposed to air, the polymers will biodegrade completely. Eventually, all that’s left will be carbon dioxide, water and other biological material. </p>
<p>Oxygen is essential because it helps the microorganisms that degrade the material live longer. Biodegradation is usually fastest in hot, wet environments where there are enough microorganisms – for example, damp leaves on the ground in a warm tropical forest. </p>
<p>But polymers like polypropylene are not abundant in nature. The enzymes in the microorganisms that break down biodegradeable materials don’t recognize the bonds that hold polymers together. </p>
<p>Eventually, the polymers in plastic waste may break down, perhaps after hundreds of thousands of years. But when it takes such a long time, the damage is already done to the environment. Plastic trash can <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/plastic-planet-how-tiny-plastic-particles-are-polluting-our-soil">release harmful chemicals into soil and water</a>, or break into tiny bits that <a href="https://blog.marinedebris.noaa.gov/bite-size-plastic-how-marine-wildlife-snack-our-trash">animals</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/14/sea-to-plate-plastic-got-into-fish">fish</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-oceans-are-full-of-plastic-but-why-do-seabirds-eat-it-68110">birds</a> eat.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463450/original/file-20220516-14-wxew6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A swath of small colored plastic bits on a beach." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463450/original/file-20220516-14-wxew6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463450/original/file-20220516-14-wxew6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463450/original/file-20220516-14-wxew6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463450/original/file-20220516-14-wxew6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463450/original/file-20220516-14-wxew6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463450/original/file-20220516-14-wxew6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463450/original/file-20220516-14-wxew6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the outdoors, plastic trash breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, but it doesn’t biodegrade completely for thousands of years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/detail-of-microplastics-along-the-schiavonea-beach-news-photo/1128486657">Alfonso Di Vincenzo/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>In my laboratory, we’re developing what we hope will be <a href="https://news.osu.edu/study-shows-potential-for-earth-friendly-plastic-replacement/">the plastics of the future</a> – materials that work like regular plastic, but don’t spoil the environment because they can degrade when people are done with them.</p>
<p>We work with bioplastics – materials that are made by tiny living bacteria. The bacteria make these substances for uses such as storing energy or protecting themselves from their surroundings. They can do this over and over, so we have lots of bioplastic to work with. </p>
<p>We blend these polymers with natural rubber, an abundant resource that comes from rubber plants, and with oil removed from waste grounds that are left over from making coffee. The rubber makes our bioplastic flexible, and we chemically modify the coffee ground oil to help make the material flow in the industrial machines that we use to shape it.</p>
<p>Making bioplastics isn’t cheap, because there is not enough of the different ingredients right now that go into making these materials, and it costs a lot of money to set up the equipment to make them. But when enough people want them, the price will come down. I hope that one day these new biodegradable materials will replace plastics made from fossil fuels. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179634/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yael Vodovotz receives funding from PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Kellogg's, the Center for Innovative Food Technology and the Center for Advanced Processing and Packaging. </span></em></p>Plastic is made from oil and natural gas, which started out as fossilized plant and animal material. But buried deep underground for millions of years, those materials changed in important ways.Yael Vodovotz, Professor of Food Science & Technology, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1397332020-06-23T12:22:45Z2020-06-23T12:22:45ZCOVID-19 is laying waste to many US recycling programs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343258/original/file-20200622-55005-9qhx3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4145%2C3133&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A discarded medical glove in Jersey City, N.J., April 27, 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/used-medical-glove-is-seen-on-the-ground-on-april-27-2020-news-photo/1221537920?adppopup=true">Arturo Holmes/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the U.S. recycling industry. Waste sources, quantities and destinations are all in flux, and shutdowns have devastated an industry that was already struggling. </p>
<p>Many items designated as <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/byo-coffe-cup-reusables-coronavirus-covid-19-/574817/">reusable</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/24/business/buffets-salad-bars-coronavirus-reopen-trnd/index.html">communal</a> or <a href="https://abc7news.com/thrift-stores-open-during-covid-goodwill-closing-bankruptcy-is/6202537/">secondhand</a> have been temporarily barred to minimize person-to-person exposure. This is producing higher volumes of waste. </p>
<p>Grocers, whether by <a href="https://www.mma.org/state-local-governments-reassess-plastic-bans-during-covid-outbreak/">state decree</a> or on their own, have brought back single-use plastic bags. Even IKEA has <a href="https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19-information-page-pubc8d251f00">suspended use</a> of its signature yellow reusable in-store bags. Plastic industry lobbyists have also pushed to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/08/plastic-bag-bans-reversed-coronavirus-reusable-bags-covid-19/2967950001/">eliminate plastic bag bans altogether</a>, claiming that reusable bags pose a public health risk.</p>
<p>As researchers interested in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=akEkREoAAAAJ&hl=en">industrial ecology</a> and new schemes for <a href="https://macro.engin.umich.edu/profile/julie-rieland/">polymer recycling</a>, we are concerned about challenges facing the recycling sector and growing distrust of communal and secondhand goods. The trends we see in the making and consuming of single-use goods, particularly plastic, could have lasting negative effects on the <a href="https://reports.weforum.org/toward-the-circular-economy-accelerating-the-scale-up-across-global-supply-chains/from-linear-to-circular-accelerating-a-proven-concept/">circular economy</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342843/original/file-20200618-41230-3wh55x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342843/original/file-20200618-41230-3wh55x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342843/original/file-20200618-41230-3wh55x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342843/original/file-20200618-41230-3wh55x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342843/original/file-20200618-41230-3wh55x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342843/original/file-20200618-41230-3wh55x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342843/original/file-20200618-41230-3wh55x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342843/original/file-20200618-41230-3wh55x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Goodwill’s Canton, Mich. site looks overwhelmed on June 16, 2020, with an oversupply of donations and little immediate chance for resale.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brian Love</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Recyclers under pressure</h2>
<p>Since March 2020, when most shelter-in-place orders began, sanitation workers have noted massive increases in municipal garbage and recyclables. For example, in cities like Chicago, workers have seen up to <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2020/4/7/21212543/coronavirus-chicago-garbage-pickup-streets-sanitation-masks">50% more waste</a>. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://swana.org/">Solid Waste Association of North America</a>, U.S. cities saw a <a href="https://swana.org/news/swana-news/article/2020/06/17/swana-submits-statement-on-recycling-challenges-for-u.s.-senate-hearing">20% average increase</a> in municipal solid waste and recycling collection from March into April 2020. Increased trash can be attributed partly to spring cleaning, but most of it is due to people spending greater time at home. Restaurants struggling to survive under COVID-19 restrictions are contributing to the rise in plastic and paper waste with <a href="https://theconversation.com/using-lots-of-plastic-packaging-during-the-coronavirus-crisis-youre-not-alone-135553">takeout packaging</a>. </p>
<p>Although higher volumes of recyclables are being set on the curb, budget deficits are squeezing recycling programs. Many municipalities are struggling with <a href="https://www.ketv.com/article/omaha-mayor-health-officials-to-provide-covid-19-update-friday-afternoon/32498068#">multimillion-dollar shortfalls</a>. Some communities, such as Rock Springs, Wyoming, and East Peoria, Illinois, <a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2020/05/27/budget-shortfalls-threaten-local-recycling-programs/">have cut recycling programs</a>.</p>
<p>And these stresses are testing a business already faced uncertainty.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340698/original/file-20200609-21219-1bz1icz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340698/original/file-20200609-21219-1bz1icz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340698/original/file-20200609-21219-1bz1icz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340698/original/file-20200609-21219-1bz1icz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340698/original/file-20200609-21219-1bz1icz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340698/original/file-20200609-21219-1bz1icz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340698/original/file-20200609-21219-1bz1icz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340698/original/file-20200609-21219-1bz1icz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While bottle deposit stations remain closed, recyclables pile up in basements and garages.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Rieland</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>Turmoil in scrap markets</h2>
<p>The global recycling economy has suffered since 2018 as first China and then other Asian nations <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-more-developing-countries-reject-plastic-waste-exports-wealthy-nations-seek-solutions-at-home-117163">banned imports of low-quality scrap</a> – often meaning improperly cleaned food packaging and poorly sorted recyclable materials. As in any business, the value of raw recyclables is linked to supply and demand. Without demand from nations like China, which formerly took up to 700,000 tons of U.S. scrap annually, recyclers have scrambled to stay in business. </p>
<p>The pandemic has boosted prices for some materials. One industry leader told us that between February and May 2020, prices doubled for recycled paper and tripled for recycled cardboard. These shifts reflect higher demand for tissue products and shipping packaging under shelter-in-place orders. </p>
<p>However, he also reported that prices for the most-recycled categories of reclaimed plastics – PET (#1) and PE (#2 and #4) – were at 10-year lows. An influx of cheap oil has driven the raw material cost of oil-derived virgin plastics to their lowest levels in decades, <a href="https://millerrecycling.com/oil-prices-recycling#:%7E:text=Higher%20oil%20prices%20can%20also,robust%20market%20for%20recycled%20plastic.">outcompeting recycled feedstocks</a>. </p>
<h2>Difficult economics</h2>
<p>Ideally, revenues from recycling offset municipalities’ costs for collecting and disposing of solid wastes. However, given worker safety concerns, low market prices for scrap materials, a slowed economy and cheaper alternatives for disposal, many communities and businesses across the U.S. have <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/recycling-mrfs-prison-labor-suspensions-coronavirus-covid-19/574301/">temporarily suspended</a> collection of recyclables and bottle deposits. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, as the commercial sector slowed, the distribution of waste generation changed. As people have spent more time producing waste at home, waste collectors implemented <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/coronavirus-covid-waste-recycling-safety-collection-mrf/574359/">new procedures</a> to protect their employees from infection. </p>
<p>Recycling is a very hands-on process that requires workers to manually sort out items from the collection stream that are unsuitable for mechanical processing. Workers and waste collection companies have <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/coronavirus-covid-waste-recycling-safety-collection-mrf/574359/">raised many safety questions</a> about recycling during the pandemic. </p>
<p>Precautions like social distancing and use of personal protective equipment have become commonplace among waste collectors and sorters, though concerns remain. Sorters are increasingly relying on automation, but implementation can be costly and takes time.</p>
<h2>Collections on pause</h2>
<p>Based on monitoring since 2017 by the trade publication <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/curbside-recycling-cancellation-tracker/569250/">Waste Dive</a>, nearly 90 curbside recycling programs had experienced or continue to experience a prolonged suspension over the past several years. About 30 of these suspensions have occurred since January 2020. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340670/original/file-20200609-21219-8h9lae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340670/original/file-20200609-21219-8h9lae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340670/original/file-20200609-21219-8h9lae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340670/original/file-20200609-21219-8h9lae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340670/original/file-20200609-21219-8h9lae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340670/original/file-20200609-21219-8h9lae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340670/original/file-20200609-21219-8h9lae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340670/original/file-20200609-21219-8h9lae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Like many bottle deposit programs, Kroger’s Ann Arbor, Mich. drop-off center shut down on March 23. Michigan bottle deposits across the state resumed on June 15, 2020 with new safety protocols.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brian Love</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On a broader scale, it’s not clear how much more waste Americans are currently producing during shutdowns. Commercial and residential waste aren’t directly comparable. For example, a granola bar wrapper thrown away at the office is tallied differently than if discarded at home. </p>
<p>It is also challenging to quantify the effects of the pandemic while it is still unfolding. Historically, waste output from the commercial and industrial sectors has far outweighed the municipal stream. With many offices and business closed or operating at low levels, total U.S. waste production could actually be at a record low during this time. However, data on commercial and industrial wastes are not readily available. </p>
<p>At the California-based <a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2020/04/28/city-data-shows-covid-19-impacts-on-recycling-tonnages/">Peninsula Sanitary Service</a>, which serves the Stanford University community, total tonnage was down 60% in March. The company attributes this drop to reduced commercial waste, particularly from construction. Similarly, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, noted a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-vancouver-garbage-decrease-covdi-19-1.5544942">10% decrease</a> year over year of waste collection levels for April. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340669/original/file-20200609-21186-1xmd9ik.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340669/original/file-20200609-21186-1xmd9ik.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340669/original/file-20200609-21186-1xmd9ik.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=146&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340669/original/file-20200609-21186-1xmd9ik.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=146&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340669/original/file-20200609-21186-1xmd9ik.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=146&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340669/original/file-20200609-21186-1xmd9ik.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=183&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340669/original/file-20200609-21186-1xmd9ik.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=183&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340669/original/file-20200609-21186-1xmd9ik.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=183&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Expected sectors of plastic waste increase due to COVID-19, based on 2018 plastic usage distribution data from PlasticsEurope and Klemes et al., 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.109883">Brian Love and Julie Rieland</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More plastic trash</h2>
<p>As cities and industries reopen in the coming months, new data will show the pandemic’s effects on consumer habits and waste generation. But regardless of total volume, the mix of materials in household wastes has shifted given the new ubiquity of single-use plastic containers, online shopping packaging and disposable gloves, wipes and face masks. Many of these new staples of pandemic life are made from plastics that are simply not worth recycling if there are any other disposal options. </p>
<p>Today Americans are trying to balance their physical well-being against ever-mounting piles of plastic waste. At a time when reducing and reusing could be dangerous, and recycling economics are unfavorable, we see a need for better options, such as more <a href="https://theconversation.com/bio-based-plastics-can-reduce-waste-but-only-if-we-invest-in-both-making-and-getting-rid-of-them-98282">compostable packaging</a> that is both safer and more sustainable.</p>
<p>[<em>You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-help">Read The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139733/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The COVID-019 pandemic has boosted use of disposable packaging and personal protective equipment, at the same time that many recycling programs are facing budget cuts. The upshot: More plastic trash.Brian J. Love, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of MichiganJulie Rieland, PhD Candidate in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1182082019-06-05T14:22:57Z2019-06-05T14:22:57Z‘Plant blindness’ is obscuring the extinction crisis for non-animal species<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278142/original/file-20190605-40715-15e7ab6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C0%2C3000%2C1989&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/small-daisy-flower-bellis-perennis-growing-1222724668?src=SNV7VRAjdIawiSAlPkRmFw-1-17">Photo Art Lucas/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Up to a million species may go extinct due to human activity <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports">according to a recent report</a>, some within decades. We all know the mammals in trouble – polar bears, giant pandas and snow leopards – but how many of us could name an endangered plant? A 2019 report assessed 28,000 plant species and concluded that <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/summary-statistics">about half of them were threatened with extinction</a>.</p>
<p>This failure to notice and appreciate plants has been termed “<a href="https://theconversation.com/plant-blindness-is-a-real-thing-why-its-a-real-problem-too-103026">plant blindness</a>”, and it’s particularly worrying because there are significantly <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/summary-statistics">more plant species at risk than mammals</a>, despite the latter hogging most of our attention.</p>
<p>Luckily, we developed a one minute cure for plant blindness that’s free and easy to do. Simply stop what you’re doing and look around. Are you in a room with wood or fibreboard floorboards or furniture? Do you see wallpaper, books or tissues? These are all made from plants. Your clothes may be made from plant fibres, such as cotton and linen. Perhaps you have food, fruit juice or a glass of wine nearby. Even if you’re in an office with plastic furniture, carpet tiles and wearing a polyester suit, these were made from oil generated over millions of years from plant and animal remains. Our lives are utterly dependent on plants, so why don’t we see them? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278143/original/file-20190605-40754-1dedxsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278143/original/file-20190605-40754-1dedxsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278143/original/file-20190605-40754-1dedxsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278143/original/file-20190605-40754-1dedxsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278143/original/file-20190605-40754-1dedxsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278143/original/file-20190605-40754-1dedxsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278143/original/file-20190605-40754-1dedxsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Besides the potted plant, there are at least three other materials sourced from plants in this photograph.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/workplace-notebook-laptop-comfortable-work-table-561817636?src=A0_sAw_4u-NzzKKHHi70Sw-1-15">Undrey/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Lost connections</h2>
<p>Our lack of appreciation for plants is a fairly recent thing. Our history tells a very different story. <a href="https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/development-of-agriculture/">The dawn of farming around 12,000 years ago</a> was when people became obsessed with growing plants for food, changing the way we live and our planet forever. Starting with domesticating cereals such as barley, rice and wheat, humanity’s increasing population and sedentary communities depended on their ability to farm, leading to entire civilisations focused on agriculture.</p>
<p>Industrialisation and the more recent “<a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/green-revolution-18302">green revolution</a>” in agriculture led to incredible increases in cereal production and farming efficiency, allowing more people to live in cities rather than work on farms. Our agricultural success is a major reason why, for the first time in our history, <a href="https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Download/">most humans no longer farm</a>, leaving people free to ignore our complete dependence on plants. </p>
<p>Tragically, our talent for farming has come at a huge cost to biodiversity. Right now, half of the habitable land on earth is <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/yields-and-land-use-in-agriculture#breakdown-of-global-land-area-today">used for agriculture</a>, a major reason behind our current extinction crisis.</p>
<p>Should we care about losing the diversity of plant species, as long as we are producing enough food? Absolutely. Plants are the major food producers in most ecosystems, providing nourishment and shelter to microbes, fungi, insects and animal species which themselves <a href="http://www.fao.org/ecosystem-services-biodiversity/background/regulating-services/en/">play key roles in ecosystems</a>.</p>
<p>While some creatures eat one type of plant – such as the bamboo-dependent giant panda – micro-organisms which live in the soil and make land fertile by recycling plant nutrients, perform better <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031405616300178">the more different plant species there are growing</a>. Plant diversity also improves how much carbon is pulled from the atmosphere and stored in the soil – <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/115/16/4027">vital for mitigating climate change</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/biodiversity-collapse-the-wild-relatives-of-livestock-and-crops-are-disappearing-116759">Biodiversity collapse: the wild relatives of livestock and crops are disappearing</a>
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<p>The crops that feed us may increasingly depend on the survival of other plant species. Crops are vulnerable to disease and climate change, but wild and ancient species are often resistant to diseases and can grow on poor soils and in difficult environments. These plants will have genes that could make crops disease-resistant and allow them to grow in harsher conditions with less fertiliser and pesticide. We need this invaluable genetic heritage so that more people can continue to eat well in the future.</p>
<p>Our health is also intimately connected with plant diversity. Just under half of all prescription medicines <a href="https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/julian/media/lrk-disp-plantmedicines.pdf">come directly from plants or by remaking plant chemicals</a>. We’ve screened only a fraction of species for potential medicines – we don’t know how many useful plant chemicals and genes remain to be discovered. Even the most overlooked plants can be enormously important. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278144/original/file-20190605-40723-1sqff8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278144/original/file-20190605-40723-1sqff8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278144/original/file-20190605-40723-1sqff8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278144/original/file-20190605-40723-1sqff8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278144/original/file-20190605-40723-1sqff8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278144/original/file-20190605-40723-1sqff8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278144/original/file-20190605-40723-1sqff8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278144/original/file-20190605-40723-1sqff8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em> (or rockcress) is one of the most well-studied plants in the world – but would most people recognise it?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabidopsis#/media/File:Arabidopsis_thaliana_sl12.jpg">Stefan Lefnaer/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You might be surprised to learn that the species most studied to understand how plants work is a genus of tiny weeds called <em>Arabidopsis</em>. Most people have never heard of them and couldn’t identify them, even though they regularly pull them from their garden. By studying <em>Arabidopsis</em>, scientists learned how plants know when to flower, which is being used to <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/7/4/111/htm">improve our understanding of flowering in vegetable crops</a> – key to improving their yield. They also learned <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/bio/pubs/reports/arabid/chap1.htm">how <em>Arabidopsis</em> defends itself from pathogens</a>, which could be used to make crops resistant to disease.</p>
<p>We can cultivate an appreciation of plants and their importance by improving access to parks, botanic gardens and forests, as well as including plant biology throughout the science curriculum in schools. But we also need to ensure there is a future for the thousands of species threatened with extinction. We need to produce more food on less land, so that natural habitats can thrive. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-conservation-scientists-heres-why-we-havent-lost-hope-for-the-future-110155">We're conservation scientists – here's why we haven't lost hope for the future</a>
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<p>Plants could contribute even more to society’s needs in the future. Technologies already exist for <a href="https://edgy.app/bioplastics-biopolymers-agricultural-waste-industry-standard-2020">making fuels and plastic from the agricultural waste</a> of straw, grain husks and potato peel. These alternatives sadly won’t compete with cheap oil until we pay the full cost of our current lifestyles with a carbon tax. To avoid mass extinctions, we need transformative change in our politics, economics and technology to preserve and sustainably use the incredible natural resources that Earth provides.</p>
<p>A painless first step towards making this change is something you could do every day: our one minute cure for plant blindness. If we stop, think and appreciate how plants enrich our lives, we will learn to respect our agricultural heritage and natural habitats and better manage the trade-offs between them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118208/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah McKim receives funding from BBSRC and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Halpin receives funding from BBSRC and The Royal Society. </span></em></p>We don’t notice the plant species we’re losing, but we won’t be able to ignore the effect of their loss on our supply of food and medicine.Sarah McKim, Principal Investigator of Plant Developmental Biology, University of DundeeClaire Halpin, Professor of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of DundeeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1163682019-05-02T09:28:21Z2019-05-02T09:28:21ZWhen biodegradable plastic is not biodegradable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272029/original/file-20190501-113855-rmhaes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C1200%2C799&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This biodegradable plastic bag had plenty of life left in it, even after three years.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lloyd Russell/University of Plymouth</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The idea of a “biodegradable” plastic suggests a material that would degrade to little or nothing over a period of time, posing less of a hazard to wildlife and the environment. This is the sort of claim often made by plastic manufacturers, yet <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/29/biodegradable-plastic-bags-survive-three-years-in-soil-and-sea">recent research</a> has revealed supposedly biodegradable plastic bags still intact after three years spent either at sea or buried underground. So un-degraded were these bags that they were still able to hold more than two kilos of shopping. </p>
<p>The study’s authors, Imogen Napper and Richard Thompson at the University of Plymouth, tested compostable, biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable, and conventional polythene plastic bags in three different natural environments: buried in the ground, outdoors exposed to air and sunlight, and submerged in the sea. Not one of the bags broke down completely in all of the environments tested. In particular, the biodegradable bag survived in soil and sea almost unscathed. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1GNTcRQ2Onk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>This may come as a surprise, but the reality of “biodegradable” plastic does not yet meet our expectations. There are different types of biodegradable plastics, which offer different degrees of degradability and generally require specific conditions in order to do so.</p>
<p>Plastics are made of very long molecules called polymers, which can consist of many thousands of atoms linked together in a chain. The sheer size of the molecules gives plastics their well-known properties – solid, strong, tough, flexible. Many of the plastics we use every day are reluctant to react with other chemicals, and this is why they’re so durable. But this durability is also why plastics pose a serious problem when they get into places they shouldn’t be – such as the ocean.</p>
<h2>Degradable – to a degree</h2>
<p>Plastic defined as “biodegradable” is made of molecules that can break down naturally, but there is no particular timescale specified for this degradation – under some conditions it can take many years.</p>
<p>Some biodegradable plastic is also said to be “compostable”, and in this case it must adhere to stricter standards. One example is <a href="https://www.vegware.com/news/2018/12/10/all-about-pla-cpla-compostable-bioplastics-made-from-plant-starches/">polylactide</a> (PLA), which is used to make food packaging. Compostable plastic certified to <a href="https://www.bpf.co.uk/topics/standards_for_compostability.aspx">European Standard EN13432</a> must break down under <a href="https://docs.european-bioplastics.org/2016/publications/fs/EUBP_fs_industrial_composting.pdf">industrial composting conditions</a> in less than 12 weeks. </p>
<p>An industrial composting plant supplies the necessary balance of heat, moisture, air and microorganisms to efficiently compost food and other compostable waste. But with a need for temperatures of 60°C or more, these are not conditions that can be provided by being buried in the ground or in a compost heap at home.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272028/original/file-20190501-113830-v2fe68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272028/original/file-20190501-113830-v2fe68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272028/original/file-20190501-113830-v2fe68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272028/original/file-20190501-113830-v2fe68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272028/original/file-20190501-113830-v2fe68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272028/original/file-20190501-113830-v2fe68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272028/original/file-20190501-113830-v2fe68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastic utensils made from biodegradable starch-polyester material.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BiodegradablePlasticUtensils2.jpg">Scott Bauer/USDA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Crucially, neither the terms biodegradable nor compostable imply anything about the material’s ability to break down quickly in a natural environment. In the study, the compostable plastic bag disintegrated exposed to the air and in the sea, but was still present buried in soil after more than two years. These plastics are generally not designed to degrade without special treatment, which means when leaked into the environment as litter – as demonstrated by the Plymouth study – they can be as harmful as typical plastics derived from fossil fuels. There is no international standard for home compostable plastics, although <a href="http://www.tuv-at.be/home/">national standards have been established in Austria and Belgium</a>.</p>
<p>The other type of degradable plastic tested was made from oxo-biodegradable plastic. These are conventional plastics, but they contain additives which, after an appropriate time delay, allow the plastic to <a href="http://www.epi-global.com/en/how-it-works.php">react with oxygen which breaks it down</a> – speeding up the degradation reactions that would otherwise take place over hundreds of years. </p>
<p>But these plastics are also <a href="https://resource.co/article/bbc-criticised-coverage-oxo-biodegradable-plastics-12762">somewhat controversial</a>, as evidence suggests that they do not biodegrade completely as their manufacturers claim, but instead break down into microplastics which may persist in the environment. As a result, the EU is taking steps to <a href="https://www.mrw.co.uk/latest/eu-to-restrict-oxo-biodegradable-plastics/10027160.article">restrict the use of these plastics</a>. </p>
<h2>The rise of bio-plastics</h2>
<p>The ubiquitous nature of plastics worldwide means we need to switch to making them from biological sources if we are to end our dependency on fossil fuels. </p>
<p>There is some evidence that producing plastics from plants has a smaller negative environmental impact than making them from crude oil. But as has been seen with biofuels, this poses new problems through use of land that could otherwise be growing food crops. This is likely to improve as bioplastic industrial processes and more efficient technology become more established. Feedstocks, such as food waste, could also be used.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272030/original/file-20190501-113867-9wedgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272030/original/file-20190501-113867-9wedgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272030/original/file-20190501-113867-9wedgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272030/original/file-20190501-113867-9wedgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272030/original/file-20190501-113867-9wedgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272030/original/file-20190501-113867-9wedgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272030/original/file-20190501-113867-9wedgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Not long before there’s more plastic than fish in the sea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1682478-poster-1280-plasticbags.jpg">MichaelisScientists</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But bioplastics must also be disposed of correctly just as with conventional plastics, and the existence of compostable plastics must not become an excuse to litter. Instead, compostable plastics can be incorporated into a circular economy model, where waste is recovered and converted into useful products, or where compostable plastics and food waste and be returned to the soil as nutrients.</p>
<p>While more sustainable plastic alternatives exist, they cannot be a sustainable solution without the infrastructure required to manufacture, collect and recycle them on a large scale. At the moment, the different types of bio-degradable and conventional plastic in use can pose problems for established recycling systems if they are mixed. While 46% of plastic packaging in the UK is recycled, compostable or biodegradable plastics that are unsupported by existing recycling systems <a href="http://www.allthings.bio/dispose-bio-based-plastics/">go to landfill or incineration</a>.</p>
<p>What is sure is that a solution is needed soon. Currently, around a third of plastic packaging worldwide ends up in the environment – and so without significant changes, there will be <a href="https://newplasticseconomy.org/about/publications/report-2016">more plastic by weight than fish in the oceans by 2050</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116368/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isabel Thomlinson receives funding from the EPSRC.</span></em></p>Biodegradable bags still strong enough to carry shopping after three years in the ground show that ‘biodegradability’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.Isabel Thomlinson, PhD Researcher, Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1133062019-03-12T10:45:41Z2019-03-12T10:45:41ZStemming the tide of trash: 5 essential reads on recycling<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263227/original/file-20190311-86699-1a266tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Where does it go from here?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/caucasian-boy-girl-putting-clear-green-139546277">spwidoff/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A year after China upended global materials markets by <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-chinas-crackdown-on-foreign-garbage-force-wealthy-countries-to-recycle-more-of-their-own-waste-81440">banning imports of much solid waste</a>, the effects are still rippling around the globe. Many U.S. recyclers are awash in materials they formerly sent to China for processing. Some cities with few options are burning recyclables in incinerators. </p>
<p>What would it take to reduce U.S. waste management headaches? These five essential reads offer some insights.</p>
<h2>1. Embrace the circular economy</h2>
<p>Waste is inevitable when products are designed to be used and then thrown away. Clyde Eiríkur Hull, professor of management at Rochester Institute of Technology, offers an alternative: a circular economy in which products are used, then <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-should-wage-a-war-on-waste-instead-of-battling-the-world-over-trade-100712">recycled and remanufactured into new products</a>.</p>
<p>Major U.S. companies, including GM, Caterpillar and Staples, are saving money through recycling and remanufacturing. But Hull says this could be greatly scaled up if the federal government required products to be designed with future reuse in mind and taxed goods that did not comply. </p>
<p>“In an entirely circular economy, the U.S. would most likely still import stuff from abroad, such as steel from China. But that steel would wind up being reused in American factories, employing tax-paying American workers to manufacture new goods,” he writes.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EuiTlN6F_hs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">China’s waste ban has created a glut in the U.S. and sent prices for scrap materials plunging.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Get serious about recycling plastic</h2>
<p>Of all materials in the waste stream, plastics pose the biggest challenge. They are used in a myriad of consumer goods, including many single-use items such as straws and cutlery, and can take centuries to break down. Kate O'Neill, professor of global environmental policy at the University of California, Berkeley, compares plastic waste to J.R.R. Tolkien’s One Ring, which “can be permanently destroyed only through incineration at extremely high temperatures.”</p>
<p>O'Neill identifies a number of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-plastic-waste-crisis-is-an-opportunity-for-the-us-to-get-serious-about-recycling-at-home-93254">steps to boost plastic recycling</a> in the United States. They include better consumer education about sorting and disposal; less reliance on single-stream collection, which mixes plastics with other materials; more investment in scrap processing facilities; and steps to manage specific plastic products that are hard to recycle, such as 3D printer waste. </p>
<h2>3. Pursue plant-based plastics – and composting</h2>
<p>Conventional plastics are derived from fossil fuel, but they can also be <a href="https://theconversation.com/bio-based-plastics-can-reduce-waste-but-only-if-we-invest-in-both-making-and-getting-rid-of-them-98282">made from renewable biological compounds</a> that break down more easily, such as plant sugars. A key challenge with these products is making items that are strong enough to hold up during use but still biodegradable. </p>
<p>“A straw and cup that disintegrate halfway through your road trip are not much use at all,” observes Michigan State University biochemist Danny Ducat, whose lab is using photosynthetic bacteria to synthesize bioplastic feedstocks.</p>
<p>Bioplastics also require investments at the end of their life cycles, Ducat notes. Like other plant-based materials, such as food scraps, they will only degrade readily in composting facilities, where microbes break them down in the presence of oxygen. Buried in landfills, they will persist for decades or centuries, much like conventional plastics. They also are likely to persist if they end up in other cold places with little oxygen, such as the Arctic or deep ocean waters. </p>
<p>“This means that any breakthroughs in materials science need to be coupled with sustainable methods for bioplastic production and a well-oiled system to direct bioplastic goods into composting facilities,” Ducat writes.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vgJ3et8KK_o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Paper-based packaging is an alternative to plastic, especially for food products.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Recycle more steel and aluminum</h2>
<p>Recycling is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-recycling-more-steel-and-aluminum-could-slash-imports-without-a-trade-war-97766">much more developed for metals</a> than it is for plastics. In the United States, about 65 percent of old steel products and 40 to 65 percent of discarded aluminum products are recycled. But Daniel Cooper, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, asserts that more could be done. </p>
<p>As Cooper explains, the United States exports or throws away a lot of cheap scrap metal, and imports expensive new metal. “As an already industrialized country, the U.S. needs little new metal to meet domestic demand,” he points out. More federal support for metals recycling, he asserts, could slash new steel and aluminum imports. </p>
<p>In addition to saving the money and resources that go into producing new metals, such a policy would cost Americans much less than the tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on imported steel and aluminum.</p>
<h2>5. Reconsider waste incineration</h2>
<p>Is burning trash instead of recycling it such a bad thing? Bucknell University economist Thomas Kinnaman thinks it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-garbage-ban-upends-us-recycling-is-it-time-to-reconsider-incineration-98206">worth a new look</a>.</p>
<p>As Kinnaman acknowledges, waste incineration is much less popular in the United States than in other regions, including Japan and western Europe. Early U.S. waste combustion plants generated high levels of air pollutants, including hazardous substances such as dioxins, and often were sited in low-income and minority communities.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1092805236467601412"}"></div></p>
<p>But new incinerators burn waste more thoroughly and trap pollutants more effectively. “As a result, dioxin emissions from incinerators with modern abatement technologies are currently near zero. Modern incinerators also include processes to generate electricity, heat water for district heating services, recycle the metals found in the ashes and build tiles from the remaining slag,” Kinnaman states.</p>
<p>Incineration still has clear disadvantages. It’s more expensive than landfilling, and Kinnaman sees some evidence that once countries burn more than 40 percent of their waste, it starts to replace recycling. Nonetheless, he contends, expanding its use in the United States – which currently burns less than 13 percent of its solid waste – could be more socially responsible than shipping plastic scrap to developing countries that are ill-equipped to dispose of it.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This is a roundup of previously published stories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
China, which once processed much of the world’s scrap, has slashed imports of “foreign garbage.” What can the US do to step up recycling at home?Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1062092018-11-29T11:38:43Z2018-11-29T11:38:43ZThe surprising way plastics could actually help fight climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247819/original/file-20181128-32180-3tqo68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=68%2C15%2C544%2C356&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Over 99 percent of today's plastics come from oil, but new bio-based options are becoming available.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flaticon.com">Icons by Vectors Market, Freepik and srip</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What do your car, phone, soda bottle and shoes have in common? They’re all largely made from petroleum. This nonrenewable resource gets processed into a versatile set of chemicals called polymers – or more commonly, plastics. Over <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/PET_PNP_PCT_DC_NUS_PCT_A.htm">5 billion gallons of oil each year</a> are converted into plastics alone.</p>
<p>Polymers are behind many important inventions of the past several decades, like <a href="https://theconversation.com/3d-printers-a-revolutionary-frontier-for-medicine-83031">3D printing</a>. So-called “engineering plastics,” used in applications ranging from automotive to construction to furniture, have superior properties and can even help solve environmental problems. For instance, thanks to engineering plastics, <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/bp/chi-branded-aranet-automotive-improving-automobile-fuel-efficiency-with-plastics-story.html">vehicles are now lighter weight</a>, so they get better fuel mileage. But as the number of uses rises, <a href="https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319165097">so does the demand for plastics</a>. The world already produces over 300 million tons of plastic every year. The number could be six times that by 2050.</p>
<p>Petro-plastics aren’t fundamentally all that bad, but they’re a missed opportunity. Fortunately, there is an alternative. Switching from petroleum-based polymers to polymers that are biologically based could decrease carbon emissions by hundreds of millions of tons every year. <a href="http://www.jbc.org/content/early/2018/01/16/jbc.TM117.000368.short">Bio-based polymers</a> are not only renewable and more environmentally friendly to produce, but they can actually have a net beneficial effect on climate change by acting as a carbon sink. But not all bio-polymers are created equal.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247863/original/file-20181129-170250-q1nrzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247863/original/file-20181129-170250-q1nrzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247863/original/file-20181129-170250-q1nrzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247863/original/file-20181129-170250-q1nrzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247863/original/file-20181129-170250-q1nrzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247863/original/file-20181129-170250-q1nrzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247863/original/file-20181129-170250-q1nrzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247863/original/file-20181129-170250-q1nrzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bioplastics don’t depend on drilling for oil since they get their carbon from CO₂ already in the atmosphere.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/oil-pump-458865643">QiuJu Song/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Degradable bio-polymers</h2>
<p>You may have encountered “<a href="https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/videos/chemmatters-april2010-bioplastics.pdf">bioplastics</a>” before, as disposable utensils in particular – these plastics are derived from plants instead of oil. Such bio-polymers are made by feeding sugars, most often from sugar cane, sugar beets, or corn, to microorganisms that produce precursor molecules that can be purified and chemically linked together to form polymers with various properties. </p>
<p>Plant-derived plastics are better for the environment for two reasons. First, there is a dramatic reduction in the energy required to manufacture plant-based plastics – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es7032235">by as much as 80 percent</a>. While each ton of petroleum-derived plastic generates 2 to 3 tons of CO₂, this can be reduced to about 0.5 tons of CO₂ per ton of bio-polymer, and the processes are only getting better.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247820/original/file-20181128-32233-sytab0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247820/original/file-20181128-32233-sytab0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247820/original/file-20181128-32233-sytab0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247820/original/file-20181128-32233-sytab0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247820/original/file-20181128-32233-sytab0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247820/original/file-20181128-32233-sytab0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247820/original/file-20181128-32233-sytab0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247820/original/file-20181128-32233-sytab0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s one thing for a cup to easily disintegrate, quite another for your car’s components.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sapphir3blu3/3390966069">Michelle Kinsey Bruns/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, plant-based plastics can be biodegradable, so they don’t accumulate in landfills.</p>
<p>While it’s great for disposables like plastic forks to biodegrade, sometimes a longer lifetime is important – you probably wouldn’t want the dashboard of your car to slowly turn into a pile of mushrooms over time. Many other applications require the same type of resilience, such as construction materials, medical devices and home appliances. Biodegradable bio-polymers are also not recyclable, meaning more plants need to be grown and processed continually to meet demand.</p>
<h2>Bio-polymers as carbon storage</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy16osti/65509.pdf">Plastics, no matter the source, are mainly made of carbon</a> – about 80 percent by weight. While petroleum-derived plastics don’t release CO₂ in the same way that burning fossil fuels does, they also don’t help sequester any of the excess of this gaseous pollutant – the carbon from liquid oil is simply converted into solid plastics.</p>
<p>Bio-polymers, on the other hand, are <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-plastics-made-from-plants-could-be-the-answer-to-the-worlds-waste-problem-89475">derived from plants</a>, which use photosynthesis to convert CO₂, water and sunlight to sugars. When these sugar molecules are converted into bio-polymers, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/carbon-sequestration-5324">carbon is effectively locked away</a> from the atmosphere – as long as they’re not biodegraded or incinerated. Even if bio-polymers end up in a landfill, they will still serve this carbon storage role.</p>
<p>CO₂ is only about 28 percent carbon <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/the-biggest-source-of-mistakes-c-vs-co2-c0b077313b/">by weight</a>, so polymers comprise an enormous reservoir in which to store this greenhouse gas. If the current world annual supply of around 300 million tons of polymers were all non-biodegradable and bio-based, this would equate to a gigaton — a billion tons — of sequestered CO₂, about 2.8 percent of <a href="https://www.co2.earth/global-co2-emissions">current global emissions</a>. In a <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/">recent report</a>, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change outlined capturing, storing and reusing carbon as a key strategy for mitigating climate change; bio-based polymers could make a key contribution, up to 20 percent of the CO₂ removal required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.</p>
<h2>The non-degradable biopolymer market</h2>
<p>Current carbon sequestration strategies, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/carbon-capture-and-storage-a-vital-part-of-our-climate-change-response-3972">geological storage</a> that pumps CO₂ exhaust underground or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/magazine/dirt-save-earth-carbon-farming-climate-change.html">regenerative agriculture</a> that stores more carbon in the soil, lean heavily on policy to drive the desired outcomes.</p>
<p>While these are critical mechanisms for climate change mitigation, the sequestration of carbon in the form of bio-polymers has the potential to harness a different driver: money. </p>
<p>Competition based on price alone has been challenging for bio-polymers, but <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy16osti/65509.pdf">early successes</a> show a path toward greater penetration. One exciting aspect is the ability to access new chemistries not currently found in petroleum-derived polymers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247798/original/file-20181128-32236-1mq90mv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247798/original/file-20181128-32236-1mq90mv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247798/original/file-20181128-32236-1mq90mv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247798/original/file-20181128-32236-1mq90mv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247798/original/file-20181128-32236-1mq90mv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247798/original/file-20181128-32236-1mq90mv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247798/original/file-20181128-32236-1mq90mv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247798/original/file-20181128-32236-1mq90mv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Petro-plastic bottles can only be recycled a couple times max.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/en/plastic-bottles-bottles-recycling-115077/">hans/pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-cant-all-plastic-waste-be-recycled-100857">Consider recyclability</a>. Few traditional polymers are <a href="https://mbdc.com/project/cradle-to-cradle-book/">truly recyclable</a>. These materials actually are most often downcycled, meaning they’re suitable only for low-value applications, such as construction materials. Thanks to the tools of genetic and enzyme engineering, however, properties like <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.iecr.6b02931">complete recyclability</a> – which allows the material to be used repeatedly for the same application – can be designed into bio-polymers from the beginning. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5151099/">Bio-polymers today</a> are based largely on natural fermentation products of certain species of bacteria, such as the production by Lactobacillus of lactic acid – the same product that provides the tartness in sour beers. While these constitute a good first step, emerging research suggests the true versatility of bio-polymers is set to be unleashed in the coming years. Thanks to the <a href="http://www.jbc.org/content/early/2018/01/16/jbc.TM117.000368.short">modern ability to engineer proteins and modify DNA</a>, custom design of bio-polymer precursors is now in reach. With it, a world of new polymers become possible – materials in which today’s CO₂ will reside in a more useful, more valuable form.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247821/original/file-20181128-32221-7qcsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247821/original/file-20181128-32221-7qcsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247821/original/file-20181128-32221-7qcsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247821/original/file-20181128-32221-7qcsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247821/original/file-20181128-32221-7qcsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247821/original/file-20181128-32221-7qcsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247821/original/file-20181128-32221-7qcsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247821/original/file-20181128-32221-7qcsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Planes are starting to be made of polymers as well – bio-polymers are the next step.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F-WWCF_A350_LBG_SIAE_2015_(18953559366).jpg">Eric Salard/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>For this dream to be realized, more research is needed. While early examples are here today – like the partially <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/plantbottle-technology">bio-based Coca-Cola PlantBottle</a> – the bioengineering required to achieve many of the most promising new bio-polymers is still in the research stage – like a <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6368/1307">renewable alternative to carbon fiber</a> that could be used in everything from bicycles to wind turbine blades. </p>
<p>Government policies supporting carbon sequestration would also help drive adoption. With this kind of support in place, significant use of bio-polymers as carbon storage is possible as soon as the next five years – a timeline with the potential to make a significant contribution to helping solve the climate crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106209/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph Rollin receives funding from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenna E. Gallegos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One big problem with plastics is that they’re largely made of petroleum. Sourcing bio-polymers from plants and bacteria has some big benefits – and the technology is starting to take off.Joseph Rollin, Postdoctoral Researcher in Bioenergy, National Renewable Energy LaboratoryJenna E. Gallegos, Postdoctoral Researcher in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/982822018-08-16T10:34:39Z2018-08-16T10:34:39ZBio-based plastics can reduce waste, but only if we invest in both making and getting rid of them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230455/original/file-20180802-136652-h12bs5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Food packaging is one of the top uses for plastic in consumer goods.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/frozen-food-refrigerator-vegetables-on-freezer-522227719?src=Fy5Wf1UhghnB1lwZq4LqiQ-1-15">BravissimoS</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With news that companies like Starbucks, Hyatt and Marriott have agreed to <a href="http://time.com/money/5333715/starbucks-hyatt-ban-plastic-straws/">ban plastic straws</a>, it’s a fitting time to consider the role of plastic in our daily lives. Plastics are an often overlooked modern wonder – cheap and multipurpose substances that can be fashioned into myriad products. </p>
<p>Drinking straws are just the literal tip of humanity’s plastic addiction. In 2016 global plastic resin production reached nearly <a href="https://www.plasticseurope.org/application/files/5715/1717/4180/Plastics_the_facts_2017_FINAL_for_website_one_page.pdf">335 million metric tons</a>. By some estimates, it could grow to approximately 650 million metric tons by 2020, roughly 100 times the <a href="https://www.livescience.com/18589-cost-build-great-pyramid-today.html">weight of the Pyramid of Giza</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://prl.natsci.msu.edu/">Our lab</a> is one of a number of research teams looking for potential solutions to society’s plastic problems. We study a tiny photosynthetic bacteria, which we are using as a production platform to convert light and carbon dioxide into renewable compounds, including bioplastic alternatives. Bio-based plastics are a promising option for reducing plastic waste, but scaling them up will require substantial investments, both in making them and in special facilities for disposing of them.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230487/original/file-20180802-136652-1gue5os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230487/original/file-20180802-136652-1gue5os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230487/original/file-20180802-136652-1gue5os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230487/original/file-20180802-136652-1gue5os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230487/original/file-20180802-136652-1gue5os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230487/original/file-20180802-136652-1gue5os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230487/original/file-20180802-136652-1gue5os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230487/original/file-20180802-136652-1gue5os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Worldwide, only 14 percent of plastic packaging is recycled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/Foundation_New-Plastics-Economy_5.jpg">Ellen MacArthur Foundation</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>Long-lived waste</h2>
<p>Much of the world’s plastic output is manufactured into single-use objects, such as drinking straws. Indeed, food packaging and food-related objects, such as cups, carryout containers, shrink wrap and plastic bags, account for a large proportion of all plastics made. </p>
<p><a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782.full">Less than 10 percent</a> of all waste plastic is recycled worldwide. Most plastic food packaging cannot be easily recycled if it has any food remnants stuck to it, because these residues can interfere with various stages of processing. As a result, many recycling plants will not accept food packaging.</p>
<p>What about other plastic waste? About 12 percent is incinerated, but nearly 80 percent ends up in landfills or the environment. In the ocean, currents aggregate plastic trash in large <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/mar18/nop14-ocean-garbage-patches.html">floating “islands” of garbage</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A NASA simulation shows how ocean currents steer plastic waste into huge floating garbage patches.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Whether they are buried or floating at sea, plastics can take hundreds of years to break down. In the process they can wash up on shore, creating <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/15/38-million-pieces-of-plastic-waste-found-on-uninhabited-south-pacific-island">litter and tourism headaches</a>. Furthermore, large plastic objects, and even the microparticles they can wear down into, are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-oceans-are-full-of-plastic-but-why-do-seabirds-eat-it-68110">harmful to a variety of wildlife, including seabirds</a>, <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/whale-dead-plastic-bags-thailand-animals/">marine life</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/plastic-trash-making-coral-reefs-sick">corals</a>. </p>
<h2>Plastic from plants</h2>
<p>A wide variety of bio-based plastics made from renewable biological compounds have been under study for many years. Today, many can serve as drop-in replacements for the fossil-fuel based plastics that most of us are familiar with, such as polystyrene and polyethylene. </p>
<p>Most bioplastics are currently made by taking sugars derived from plants, such as corn and sugarcane, and using microorganisms to convert them into raw materials that can be eventually formed into plastic resin. But there is a trade-off between making bioplastics biodegradable on the one hand and still durable enough for their purpose on the other. A straw and cup that disintegrate halfway through your road trip are not much use at all. </p>
<p>Many of the most promising bioplastics in production and in development can be rapidly degraded under controlled conditions, such as those in a <a href="https://www.pca.state.mn.us/waste/compost-facilities">large-scale composting facility</a>. Here, bioplastics may be intermingled with other organics and mixed regularly to ensure that there is adequate aeration to promote rapid decomposition. One such facility that is particularly engaged in testing and improving the degradation of bioplastics is <a href="https://cedar-grove.com/">Cedar Grove</a>, operated out of Washington state. The end result is a rich compost that is suitable for fertilizing gardens and crops.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230667/original/file-20180805-41366-1rfz8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230667/original/file-20180805-41366-1rfz8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230667/original/file-20180805-41366-1rfz8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230667/original/file-20180805-41366-1rfz8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230667/original/file-20180805-41366-1rfz8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230667/original/file-20180805-41366-1rfz8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230667/original/file-20180805-41366-1rfz8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230667/original/file-20180805-41366-1rfz8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">At Jepsen Prairie Organics in Vacaville, California, shredded organic waste is laid out in rows and covered to conserve heat as bacteria convert the materials into compost.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://sfenvironment.org/solution/what-happens-during-composting-and-why-do-we-do-it">San Francisco Department of the Environment</a></span>
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<p>However, even bio-based plastics will still languish for decades or centuries if they are thrown in the trash and buried in landfills. Below the surface layer of a landfill, the conditions are often dry, cool and lacking in oxygen. All of these factors discourage the growth of microbes that can accelerate the breakdown of bioplastics. By contrast, compostable plastics are largely degraded within three months inside industrial compost facilities, where conditions are managed to promote aeration and temperatures are often substantially higher because of all of the microbial activity. </p>
<p>Similarly, it is unlikely that any developed materials will be biodegradeable under all environmental conditions. For example, they may not break down in the Arctic or at the bottom of the ocean. Conditions in such environments, such as low temperatures and oxygen levels and high pressure, can inhibit the growth of organisms that act to break the bonds within plastic polymers, leading to much slower rates of breakdown. </p>
<p>This means that any breakthroughs in materials science need to be coupled with sustainable methods for bioplastic production and a well-oiled system to direct bioplastic goods into composting facilities. </p>
<h2>Using microbes to make bioplastics</h2>
<p>Making plastic from plant sources is certainly more sustainable than fossil fuel-based approaches, but it requires land and fresh water to grow and process the feedstock materials. Our research lab is looking for ways to train photosynthetic microbes (cyanobacteria) that can naturally <a href="https://prl.natsci.msu.edu/news-events/news/better-together-a-bacteria-community-creates-biodegradable-plastic-with-sunlight/">harness the sun to make these same bioplastic compounds</a>. </p>
<p>In this process, these microbes perform the same role as plants, using sunlight and carbon dioxide to create sugars that can be converted to bioplastics. In fact, cyanobacteria are more efficient solar converters and don’t require soil or fresh water, so this approach could reduce competition for land and resources. </p>
<p>While it’s easy to malign the lowly plastic straw, it’s hard to come up with substitutes that are as cheap, lightweight and durable and are environmentally benign. I believe progress is possible, but only if scientists can collectively come up with bioplastic alternatives and social policies support the composting infrastructure to dispose of them suitably.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98282/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danny Ducat receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy. </span></em></p>Bio-based plastics made from natural sources break down more easily than conventional plastic, without producing toxic byproducts. But for this to happen they have to be composted, not buried in landfills.Danny Ducat, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/997412018-07-12T20:05:23Z2018-07-12T20:05:23ZHow to break up with plastics (using behavioural science)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227337/original/file-20180712-27024-g44m2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Single-use plastics are convenient, but it's time to phase them out.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Sander Wehkamp/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia is responsible for over <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/02/13/4178113.htm">13 thousand tonnes</a> of plastic litter per year. At the end of June 2018, the Australian government released an <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/WasteandRecycling/%7E/media/Committees/ec_ctte/WasteandRecycling/Report/report.pdf">inquiry report</a> on the waste and recycling industry in Australia. One of the recommendations was that we should phase out petroleum-based single-use plastics by 2023. </p>
<p>This means a real social shift, because the convenient plastic products that we use once and throw away are ubiquitous in Australia. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-banning-plastic-bags-we-need-to-make-sure-were-not-creating-new-problems-81253">In banning plastic bags we need to make sure we're not creating new problems</a>
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<p>Bans, as Coles and Woolworths recently adopted for plastic bags, are one option – but are not suitable for every situation. They can also feel like an imposition, which can inspire backlash if the community is not on board. Behavioural science can offer a path to curb our plastic use. </p>
<h2>Technology alone is not the solution</h2>
<p>First off, plastic is not evil: it’s flexible, durable, waterproof and cheap. The issue is the way we dispose of it. Because plastic is so versatile it has been adopted across a range of single-use “throw away” consumer products. </p>
<p>Many people are working on technological solutions to our plastic problems. These range from better recycling techniques and biodegradable “plastics” made from <a href="https://inhabitat.com/biodegradable-algae-water-bottles-that-provide-a-green-alternative-to-plastic/">algae</a> or starch, to (my favourite) using the <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)30231-2">wax moth caterpillar</a> or “<a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6278/1196">mutant bacteria</a>” to consume plastic waste. </p>
<p>But these options are slow and expensive. They can also have other environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption. </p>
<p>There are lots of reusable alternatives to many single-use products. The challenge is getting people to use them. </p>
<h2>Behavioural science to the rescue</h2>
<p>My research involves applying insights from various disciplines (like economics, psychology, sociology or communication) to understand how governments and businesses can encourage people to change their behaviour for environmental, social and economic benefits.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/plastic-free-campaigns-dont-have-to-shock-or-shame-shoppers-are-already-on-board-98944">Plastic-free campaigns don't have to shock or shame. Shoppers are already on board</a>
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<p>Research has found that simply providing information through awareness campaigns is unlikely to change behaviour. What media attention and campaigning can do is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296315006566">increase the public visibility of an issue</a>. This can indirectly influence our behaviour by making us more open to other interventions and by signalling social norms – the unwritten rules of acceptable behaviour. </p>
<p>Successful behaviour change campaigns must empower individuals. We should be left feeling capable of changing, that changing our behaviour will impact the problem, and that we are not alone. One positive example is modelling sustainable behaviours, like using KeepCups or beeswax wraps, in popular TV shows.</p>
<p>Once we’re aware of an issue, we may need a little help to move from <em>intention</em> to <em>action</em>. One strategy for providing this push is a small financial disincentive, like Ireland’s famous <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10640-006-9059-2">“plastax”</a> on single-use plastic bags. Many cafés also offer discount coffees to reward bringing reusable cups. </p>
<p>We can also encourage retailers to “change the default”. Japan increased the refusal rate of plastic bags <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344914000020">to 40%</a> after six months of cashiers simply asking people <em>if</em> they wanted a bag. </p>
<p>This approach could be used for other products too. For example, imagine your drink not coming with a straw unless you specifically ask for it. This would cut down on waste, while also avoiding the unintended consequences of banning a product that is important for <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-25/the-problem-with-banning-plastic-straws/9689346">people with a disability</a>. </p>
<p>Given that there is already strong support for reducing our reliance on single-use plastics, another simple solution would be to provide prompts in key locations, like carparks and workplaces, to remind people to bring their reusables. </p>
<p>While we may have the best of intentions to carry reusables, our old habits can often get in the way. Defaults and prompts can help to bring our good <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344914000020">intentions in line with our actual behaviours</a>.</p>
<p>Consumer demand also encourages manufacturers to make more convenient reusable options, like <a href="https://stojo.co/">collapsible coffee cups</a> and <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/908228738/finalstraw-the-worlds-first-collapsible-reusable-s/">metal keychain straws</a>. Businesses can also make reusables more accessible by introducing product-sharing schemes like the <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2018/01/24/germany-citys-answer-disposable-coffee-cups-genius">Freiburg Cup in Germany</a> or <a href="https://boomerangbags.org/">Boomerang Bags in Australia</a>. </p>
<h2>No ‘one size fits all’ solution</h2>
<p>Different situations need different solutions. Product sharing or reusable coffee cups might work in an office or café where the same customers return regularly, but would be impractical at a gallery or museum where customers vary each day. </p>
<p>For societal-level change multiple approaches are more effective than any one initiative alone. For example, if we wanted to phase out plastic cutlery nationally, we could start with an awareness campaign that encourages people to carry reusable alternatives. Then, once the community is on board, implement a small fee with some reminder prompts, and finally move to a ban once the majority have already changed their behaviour. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-stealth-microplastics-to-avoid-if-you-want-to-save-the-oceans-90063">Ten 'stealth microplastics' to avoid if you want to save the oceans</a>
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<p>The key to successfully phasing out our reliance on single-use plastic products is to change the norm. The more we talk about the problem and the solutions, the more businesses will seek out and offer alternatives, and the more likely we are to mobilise together.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99741/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Borg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How do you help a country get over plastic? By creating awareness and minor inconveniences and by providing lots of reminders.Kim Borg, Doctoral Candidate & Research Officer at BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/955872018-06-04T09:32:18Z2018-06-04T09:32:18ZSeaweed, Indonesia’s answer to the global plastic crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220556/original/file-20180527-117628-15bynxj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C4%2C997%2C556&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The most dangerous element from discarded plastic waste is microplastics.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The impacts of global plastic use have reached an alarming level. Based on the latest <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/19/the-world-has-made-more-than-9-billion-tons-of-plastic-says-new-study.html">data</a>, 9 billion tonnes of plastics have been produced since the 1950s, creating 7 billion tonnes of waste. Plastic waste not only damages <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X11005133?via%3Dihub">the environment</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749113005642">threatens animal life</a> but also harms human populations. </p>
<p>One of the most dangerous elements of plastic waste is tiny pieces of debris known as microplastics. These are damaging the environment, mostly the ocean, and in much greater amounts than originally thought. A recent study shows <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124006;jsessionid=123F0E078E457FC6106D3ACEE956F209.c3.iopscience.cld.iop.org">the number of microplastics</a> has reached up to 51 trillion particles, or 236,000 metric tonnes, globally. These tiny particles can end up in people’s stomachs <a href="https://theconversation.com/plastic-in-drinking-water-what-are-the-risks-to-human-health-83844">via drinking water</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-do-australians-with-an-average-seafood-diet-ingest-11-000-pieces-of-plastic-a-year-55145">eating seafood</a>, which could present <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/acs.est.5b01090">health risks</a>. </p>
<p>Various attempts to minimise plastic use have been introduced. One involves developing plastic materials, known as biodegradable plastics or bioplastics, that decompose naturally in the environment. </p>
<p>My research aims to show how seaweed can be the best material for use in bioplastics. Indonesia could play a key role in developing seaweed-based plastics.</p>
<h2>Policies against plastic</h2>
<p>A number of countries have recently introduced <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5667635/">policies</a> to encourage the use of degradable plastics and recycling to minimise plastic use.</p>
<p>The UK will <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/04/25/uk-to-ban-all-plastic-straws-q-tips-and-single-use-plastics/">ban</a> all sales of single-use plastic, including plastic straws and cotton swabs, next year. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/23/new-york-plastic-straws-ban-proposal-city-council-policy">Cities in the US</a> have declared war on plastic straws. Seattle has launched a campaign dubbed “Strawless in Seattle”, while New York is considering a ban on plastic straws.</p>
<p>In 2017, Kenya introduced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/28/kenya-brings-in-worlds-toughest-plastic-bag-ban-four-years-jail-or-40000-fine">the toughest plastic bag ban</a> with a penalty of four years in jail or a $40,000 fine. </p>
<h2>Finding solutions</h2>
<p>However, it is impossible to stop plastic use. </p>
<p>So far, plastic is the most convenient and versatile material for various purposes and brings huge benefits to our lives. People’s continued dependency on plastic has encouraged the rise in its <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/plastic-compounding-market">production</a>. </p>
<p>The plastic industry is huge and is expected to continue expanding. In 2014, <a href="https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/global-plastics-packaging-market-hit-375-billion-2020/23800481624973">the plastic packaging industry</a> was valued at US$270 billion and this is projected to increase to $375 billion by 2030.</p>
<p>One way to control plastic use is through recycling. However, things are not as easy as expected. Plastic products come in a hundred or more varieties. These variations are so huge it is difficult to sort them out for the recycling process. </p>
<p>Therefore, only about 9% of plastic waste is recycled. Around 12% is incinerated. The rest ends up mostly in landfill or the <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/">ocean</a>. </p>
<p>Bioplastics offer an alternative. Bioplastics are commonly made from plants or bacteria and are more environmentally friendly as well as <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/pdf/cordis_rp_bioplastics_brochure_accessibility_v2.pdf">sustainable</a>. </p>
<h2>Strong demand for bioplastics</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.european-bioplastics.org/market-data-update-2016/">Global bioplastic production capacity</a> will increase to 6.1 million tonnes in 2021 from 4.2 million tonnes in 2016 due to people’s increasing awareness of eco-friendly products. </p>
<p>People have started using bioplastics in their daily lives, with uses ranging from shopping bags and disposable housewares to electronics. </p>
<p><a href="https://bioplasticsnews.com/bioplastics-feedstock-alliance/">Big brands</a> such as Coca-Cola, Heinz, Unilever, Nestle, Danone and Nike have started using bioplastics for their packaging. </p>
<h2>Why seaweed?</h2>
<p>The materials commonly used to produce bioplastics are corn, sugarcane, vegetable oil and starch. However, using these ingredients for plastics has raised some concerns. </p>
<p>First, the production of bioplastic requires a huge investment in the land, fertilisers and chemicals. Second, the use of these plants for plastics will trigger <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/apr/26/waste.pollution">a competition</a> between plants for food versus plants for plastics, which could lead to food price hikes and food crisis. </p>
<p>Seaweed is so far the best candidate for bioplastics as it manages to answer both of the challenges above. First, it is cheap. Unlike other terrestrial plants, seaweed can grow without fertiliser. It does not take up huge space on land as it grows offshore. By using seaweed for bioplastics, the production of agricultural commodities for food will remain intact, so no food price hikes or food crisis.</p>
<h2>Indonesia’s role</h2>
<p>Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world and two-thirds of its territory is water. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest seaweed producers, accounting for more than a third of global seaweed production. Indonesia’s seaweed <a href="https://www.usc.edu.au/research-and-innovation/sustainability-and-environment/australian-centre-for-pacific-islands-research/research-areas/tropical-aquaculture/improving-seaweed-production-and-processing-opportunities-in-indonesia">exports</a> were valued at around US$200 million in 2014, with production reportedly increasing at about 30% per year.</p>
<p>Indonesia is also <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5555e.pdf">the world’s largest producer of red seaweed</a>, whose carbohydrate element is <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.4982288">the key ingredient for bioplastics</a>. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AB738E/AB738E04.htm">report</a> suggests Indonesia is a highly suitable place for red seaweed farming due to its climate, nutrients and geographical conditions. </p>
<p>Indonesia is also one step ahead of other countries in developing seaweed-based plastics. Indonesian start-up <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-evoware/indonesian-startup-wages-war-on-plastic-with-edible-seaweed-cups-idUSKBN1DN0XA">Indonesia Evoware</a> has invented cups and food containers made from farmed seaweeds and sold them commercially. </p>
<p>The invention shows seaweed’s huge potential as an alternative material for bioplastics. More research is needed to ensure seaweed-based plastics can be applied to other plastic products. In the future, we hope seaweed-based plastics will be comparable with conventional plastics. </p>
<p>Given its potential, Indonesia should play a key role in developing ecofriendly-plastics from seaweed to avert a global plastic crisis. When water bottles or shopping bags from seaweed-based plastics become waste, we will have nothing to worry about as the waste will just go back to where it came from.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95587/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bakti Berlyanto Sedayu receives funding from Australia Awards Scholarships. He works for Indonesia's ministry of maritime affairs and fisheries. </span></em></p>Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of the seaweed that offers a solution for the global plastic crisis.Bakti Berlyanto Sedayu, PhD candidate, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/943502018-04-12T21:25:43Z2018-04-12T21:25:43ZThe battle to ban plastic bags<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214302/original/file-20180411-554-neo4o6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A plastic bag floats in the ocean in this 2016 photo.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Creative Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are increasing concerns <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/plastic-debate-bags-the-question-what-to-do-with-all-our-junk-1.4496435">about the use of plastics</a> in our day-to-day lives. </p>
<p>Single-use plastics of any kind, including grocery bags, cutlery, straws, polystyrene and coffee cups, are significant yet preventable sources of plastic land-based and marine pollution. </p>
<p>In Canada, bans on plastics have so far been left up to municipalities, and some are taking action. <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-has-officially-banned-single-use-plastic-bags-but-heavy-duty-bags-are-ok-1.4470689">Both Montreal</a> and <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/plastic-bag-ban-legal-victoria-1.4510936">Victoria recently decided to ban plastic bags</a> in stores, with business owners subject to huge fines if caught providing these to customers.</p>
<p>Other municipalities and provinces, such as Halifax and Nova Scotia, are contemplating similar bans in the wake of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-00933-6">China’s recent ban</a> on the import of certain recyclable products. </p>
<p>Although regulations are cropping up in some places, increasing public awareness appears to be gaining widespread momentum globally and across Canada.</p>
<h2>Polystyrene also a target</h2>
<p>National and regional plastic bag bans have been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17301650">successfully implemented widely internationally</a> in Asia, Europe, Australia and North America.</p>
<p>But plastic bags are not the only single-use plastic items being targeted —polystyrene is on the hit list as well. Food businesses in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco <a href="https://www.citylab.com/life/2016/07/san-francisco-polystyrene-foam-ban-recycling/491363/">will no longer be able to use containers or other food service products made of polystyrene</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213879/original/file-20180409-114092-ywhs7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213879/original/file-20180409-114092-ywhs7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213879/original/file-20180409-114092-ywhs7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213879/original/file-20180409-114092-ywhs7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213879/original/file-20180409-114092-ywhs7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213879/original/file-20180409-114092-ywhs7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213879/original/file-20180409-114092-ywhs7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this 2013 photo, a Dunkin’ Donuts’ polystyrene foam cup is discarded in a trash bin in New York. Dunkin’ Donuts announced in February 2018 it was banning polystyrene foam cups by 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Maine, the Brunswick Town Council voted unanimously to ban polystyrene food containers. All retailers, restaurants and vendors <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2016/03/23/brunswick-becomes-latest-maine-community-to-ban-plastic-foam-containers/">are prohibited from using polystyrene foam packaging, including takeout containers, meat trays and egg cartons</a>. </p>
<p>But even though banning single-use plastic using legislative interventions is significant, not everyone is convinced of its effectiveness.</p>
<p>In Canada, some players are taking their own steps using non-legislative strategies to reduce plastic use, regardless of government policy. In 2009, Loblaws, Canada’s largest grocer, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/loblaw-to-charge-5-cents-for-plastic-bags-1.834671">implemented a seemingly insignificant five-cent charge</a> on plastic grocery bags.</p>
<p><a href="http://media.loblaw.ca/English/media-centre/press-releases/press-release-details/2013/Loblaw-customers-use-five-billion-fewer-plastic-shopping-bags/default.aspx">Loblaws has claimed</a> this unassuming action has diverted billions of plastic bags from our landfills and oceans over the last nine years. In February 2016, <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/walmart-canada-introduces-five-cent-charge-for-plastic-bags">Walmart Canada followed suit</a> and began charging customers a five-cent fee for plastic bags across all Walmart stores in Canada.</p>
<h2>Reservations about banning plastic bags</h2>
<p>Public sentiment on climate change and environmental stewardship has changed significantly over just the last few years as more Canadians expect industry to act. But some still have reservations.</p>
<p>Some have claimed that plastic bags serve an important food safety function <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2196481">and protect the public</a> from harmful bacteria, outbreaks and food-borne illnesses, although those findings have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/02/16/is-san-franciscos-ban-on-plastic-bags-making-people-sick-perhaps-not/?utm_term=.4cc03e5f854e">been questioned by epidemiologists.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/reusable-grocery-bags-contaminated-with-e-coli-other-bacteria">A University of Arizona study in microbiology</a> suggested that the combination of reusable grocery bags and food is risky. According to the study, coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were found in half of the reusable grocery bags sampled because people were neglecting to launder them often enough. </p>
<p>The study was, however, funded by a trade group representing the interests of plastic bag manufacturers.</p>
<p>The Mercatus Center in the United States, a conservative think tank with Charles Koch on its board, has said <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/banning-plastic-bags-is-actually-terrible-for-the-environment-and-makes-us-sicker">that discouraging the use of single-use plastic bags is almost pointless</a> given the insignificant variance in carbon footprint between bagging alternatives, including paper bags. </p>
<p>And data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggest <a href="https://uspirg.org/reports/usf/trash-america">that because plastic bags are ultra-lightweight by design, they likely make negligible contributions to municipal waste.</a> </p>
<p>These groups appear to be suggesting that banning the use of plastic bags is more about appearances and idealism than about protecting the environment. </p>
<h2>Toronto rescinded its ban</h2>
<p>Clearly banning plastic bags is a divisive issue. The resistance is real, and several cities have been hesitant to move forward on legislation; some plastic bag legislation has even been rescinded. </p>
<p>Toronto once had a five-cent levy for plastic bags, and an outright ban on plastic bags was sought in 2012, <a href="https://medium.com/@EcofiscalCanada/lessons-from-toronto-s-ill-fated-plastic-bag-tax-3b411e6dfaf6">but the ban was rescinded by city council in 2013.</a></p>
<p>Plastic bags are a convenience, and habits are hard to break. What could potentially be an inconvenience to food shoppers can, and in some cases has, become a political hot potato to those in public office.</p>
<p>But the problem will not go away given the planet is currently drowning in plastic pollution. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111913">A study led by the Five Gyres Institute in Los Angeles</a> estimates that at least 5.25 trillion plastic particles weighing 268,940 tonnes are currently floating in our oceans. Even these staggering numbers pale when compared to the <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768">estimated eight million tonnes of plastic that enter the oceans each year.</a> </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213893/original/file-20180409-114098-1s4bgpj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213893/original/file-20180409-114098-1s4bgpj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213893/original/file-20180409-114098-1s4bgpj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213893/original/file-20180409-114098-1s4bgpj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213893/original/file-20180409-114098-1s4bgpj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213893/original/file-20180409-114098-1s4bgpj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213893/original/file-20180409-114098-1s4bgpj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastic pollution is seen washed up on a beach in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most of us cannot see the problem, but it is out there. While some trash skimmers capable of removing floating debris in marinas and harbours achieve modest success, a global clean-up is next to impossible with current technology. </p>
<p>The situation is being made worse by countries like Canada. Its food industry continues to generate more waste from single-use plastic food packaging every year. </p>
<h2>More Canadians living alone</h2>
<p>Given that more than 28 per cent of all <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/census-2016-statscan/article35861448/">households in Canada consist of only one person</a>, and the number of Canadians living alone is going to continue to grow, the single-serve economy will likely expand as well, especially in food.</p>
<p>This means that the use of single-use plastic packaging and containers could increase at alarming rates.</p>
<p>Banning plastics is one swift way to deal with the issue, and offer a temporary path to more impactful, sustainable strategies. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.sustainableplastics.net/about">The use of bio-plastics</a> may be the future and could be a convenient solution for all concerned. More and more <a href="https://www.corbion.com/media/550170/corbion_whitepaper_feedstock_sourcing_11.pdf">different feedstocks</a> can be used to manufacture bio-plastics. Algae and shrimp shells are some examples. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214300/original/file-20180411-543-1kj1pvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214300/original/file-20180411-543-1kj1pvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=836&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214300/original/file-20180411-543-1kj1pvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=836&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214300/original/file-20180411-543-1kj1pvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=836&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214300/original/file-20180411-543-1kj1pvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1050&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214300/original/file-20180411-543-1kj1pvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1050&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214300/original/file-20180411-543-1kj1pvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1050&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this 2011 photo, Eastern BioPlastics displays a handful of feathers and finished products at the plant in Mount Crawford, Va. Eastern BioPlastics uses chicken feathers to make biodegradable plastic products.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Steve Helber)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To tackle the issue of <a href="https://tvo.org/article/current-affairs/the-next-ontario/battling-the-scourge-of-coffee-pods">single-use coffee pods</a>, an increasing number of them sold in Canada are made of coffee shafts and are compostable, but <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/canadian-cities-warn-they-can-t-handle-compostable-coffee-pods-yet-1.3662876">muncipalities say they aren’t yet able to recycle them.</a></p>
<p>Recently, a Dutch supermarket chain <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/28/worlds-first-plastic-free-aisle-opens-in-netherlands-supermarket">opened the world’s first plastic-free food store</a>. This project was only made possible by using innovative solutions to plastic packaging. You will find only biodegradable flexible bioplastic packaging and bags in the store.
The challenge with these alternatives, of course, is the cost. </p>
<p><a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/future-of-bioplastics.htm">Bioplastics are more expensive than regular plastics</a>. But given how rapidly the narrative around climate change is shifting, the “green” premium is increasingly worthy of consideration by industry. </p>
<p>Once supply chains mature and become more developed to allow more access to affordable feedstocks, production costs and end prices for bioplastics will likely drop as well.</p>
<p>The notion of reduce, reuse, recycle has been preached for years now. Outright bans fit well within such a paradigm. </p>
<p>But the concept of replacing single-use plastics requires a revolution in consumer mentality. And so a much more interesting challenge is that of keeping grocery shopping from becoming either a burden on the environment or an inconvenience to customers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94350/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Banning plastic bags in food distribution is complicated and not all municipalities are on board. Are bioplastics a solution?Sylvain Charlebois, Professor in Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie UniversityTony Robert Walker, Assistant Professor, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/929532018-03-13T11:16:58Z2018-03-13T11:16:58Z‘Sustainable’ Lego: plastics from plants won’t solve a pollution crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209892/original/file-20180312-30961-dm3o7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C62%2C1120%2C623&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not as green as you might think.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lego</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Lego is going to start making toys from plant-based plastic. In an effort to become more sustainable, the Danish company <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/mar/02/first-sustainable-lego-pieces-to-go-on-sale">announced plans</a> to make tiny plastic trees and bushes for its playsets using ethanol extracted from Brazilian sugarcane. Yet while this looks like a forward thinking move, these toys represent just a tiny proportion of Lego’s overall production. And, what’s more, plastic made from plants really isn’t that sustainable. </p>
<p>Sugarcane plastic may not come from fossil fuels, but it is produced through farming that uses up a lot of resources. Plus the plastic made this way is just the same as conventional plastic: recyclable but not biodegradable. If it gets into the environment it will still break up into tiny pieces <a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-stealth-microplastics-to-avoid-if-you-want-to-save-the-oceans-90063">known as microplastics</a>. Though plants offer alternatives to oil-based plastics, they can’t yet provide a solution to our growing pollution crisis.</p>
<h2>Plant-based doesn’t mean sustainable</h2>
<p>The kinds of plant-based plastic products Lego plans to produce are a very small step in the right direction. The new flexible tree and bush pieces will be made from polyethylene using ethanol from sugarcane, instead of using chemicals from oil. But only between <a href="https://www.lego.com/en-gb/aboutus/news-room/2018/march/pfp/">1% and 2%</a> of Lego products are made from polyethylene and could be replaced in this way.</p>
<p>Most of the millions of plastic toys Lego makes <a href="https://www.rcrwireless.com/20160921/big-data-analytics/lego-automated-factory-tag31-tag99">every hour</a> are moulded from a fossil fuel-based plastic called ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) that isn’t easily replaced with a plant-based alternative. It takes 2kg of petroleum to make <a href="http://www.recycledplastic.com/index.html%3Fp=10239.html">1kg of ABS plastic</a>, which can be recycled but isn’t collected in most household recycling schemes.</p>
<p>Those Lego pieces that are made with plant-based polyethylene will have a <a href="http://www.pitt.edu/%7Ebudny/papers/84.pdf">much lower carbon footprint</a> than the conventional plastic because growing plants to make ethanol captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But farming surgarcane can put huge <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032115008576">stress on the environment</a>, relying on large plantations that use pesticides, herbicides, and fertilisers as well as significant amounts of water.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209988/original/file-20180312-30986-ugsd79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209988/original/file-20180312-30986-ugsd79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209988/original/file-20180312-30986-ugsd79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209988/original/file-20180312-30986-ugsd79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209988/original/file-20180312-30986-ugsd79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209988/original/file-20180312-30986-ugsd79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209988/original/file-20180312-30986-ugsd79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sugarcane farming uses up large amounts of resources.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/thailand-december-09-workers-harvesting-sugarcane-169039757?src=PiR15Ilt4eekNXSGWzLhXQ-1-11">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p><a href="http://bioplasticfeedstockalliance.org/who-we-are/">Lego intends</a> to use more <a href="http://www.bonsucro.com/chain-custody-standard/">sustainable sources</a> of sugarcane and ethanol, which are better for the environment (if not perfect). But it seems unlikely that all manufacturers would follow this model if we wanted to replace all conventional polyethylene with bioplastic. Instead, we might see the growth of large, resource-intensive sugarcane plantations that tend to displace local farmers onto more marginal and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1747423X.2017.1354937">vulnerable land</a>, and ethanol refineries with <a href="https://www.land-links.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/USAID_Land_Tenure_Brazil_Profile.pdf">highly exploitative</a> working conditions.</p>
<p>There are far more sustainable sources of ethanol than sugar cane, however. One option is to produce ethanol by farming <a href="https://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1754-6834-7-64">blue-green algae</a>. We can also generate it from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28527862">household waste</a> or the residues of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27867810">coffee production</a>.</p>
<h2>Plant-based plastics aren’t different</h2>
<p>Whatever the source of the ethanol, Lego’s customers won’t be able to tell the difference between the old bricks and the new “sustainable” ones because there will be no difference. All plastics are made up of single chemical building blocks known as monomers, linked together into larger chains called polymers (much like a Lego model). In the case of polyethylene, it doesn’t matter what chemical source is used for the monomers, the final plastic is still the same. </p>
<p>As such, the terms “bioplastic” or “plant-based” can be misleading. Materials classified as “bioplastic”, like Lego’s sugarcane polyethylene, are plastics sourced from <a href="http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/materials/biodegradable/">natural materials</a> but aren’t necessarily biodegradable. And some bioplastics are actually <a href="http://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/materials/">fossil fuel-based</a>.</p>
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<p>Even if a plastic is <a href="http://worldcentric.org/biocompostables/bioplastics">classified as “biodegradable”</a>, that just means it can be broken down by bacteria or fungi, but this can still take decades and leave toxic residue behind. And if it’s classified as “compostable”, meaning it can be broken down relatively rapidly into compost, it might still need high-temperature industrial processing to do so. </p>
<p>Lego on the other hand is virtually indestructible, as anyone who has ever stepped on a brick will know. The good news is that this and its continuing popularity mean it’s more likely to be passed on to new owners than be broken down into microplastics, although it <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28582621">still contributes</a> to the pollution problem.</p>
<p>For other companies manufacturing with plastic, this business model is not easily replicated. Truly green plastic needs more than sustainable raw materials and manufacturing techniques. Sustainability must include the product’s whole life-cycle and the social conditions in which those raw materials are produced. Even for Lego, the biggest challenge will be to ensure its fossil fuel-based ABS bricks are recycled or replaced with more readily recyclable materials. Polyethylene trees and bushes are really just tinkering with the shrubbery.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92953/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Truly green plastic requires more than sustainable raw materials.Sharon George, Lecturer in Environmental Science, Keele UniversityDeirdre McKay, Reader in Geography and Environmental Politics, Keele UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/894752018-02-23T10:33:11Z2018-02-23T10:33:11ZHow plastics made from plants could be the answer to the world’s waste problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207083/original/file-20180220-116365-14v1sb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=xotNHPFuTgtCFRJolZElVQ-1-30">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plastics are incredibly useful materials with extremely diverse properties, allowing a multitude of different applications that benefit our lives. </p>
<p>Bottles and forks aside, in the medical field alone plastics have been used for artificial <a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/research/new-heart-valve">heart valves</a>, <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5b00429">medical implants and devices</a>, <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00346">controlled drug release</a>, <a href="http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2017/fd/c7fd00057j">specialist surfaces and coatings that repel water</a>, <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00070">organic batteries</a> – the list is endless. </p>
<p>But, with marine plastic debris estimated to reach <a href="https://www.iswa.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Calendar_2011_03_AMERICANA/Science-2015-Jambeck-768-71__2_.pdf">250m tonnes by 2025</a>, governments across the globe are starting to think about how to overcome this significant problem. </p>
<p>A fundamental part of this issue is that non-sustainable, single-use plastics account for up to 40% of global plastic production. This equates to around <a href="http://www.plasticseurope.org/en/resources/publications/plastics-facts-2017">128m tonnes</a>. The vast majority of these plastics have <a href="http://www.recoup.org/p/229/uk-household-plastics-collection-survey-2016">low recycling rates</a> and do not biodegrade in an acceptable time span – polypropylene can take millennia to break down properly. </p>
<p>Worse still, if these plastics find their way into the marine environment, the motion of the sea along with sunlight can cause the plastics to fracture into small particulates called “microplastics”. </p>
<p>The presence of macro and microplastics in our oceans has been shown to have a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697/566-567">detrimental effect on marine life</a>. But the potential <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.7b00423">effect on human health</a> is much less well understood. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://chemicalwatch.com/62944/uk-microbeads-ban-enters-into-force">ban</a> on the production of cosmetics and personal care products containing plastic microbeads came into effect at the beginning of the year. Though realistically, this only accounts for an estimated 680 tonnes of microplastics per year in the UK. </p>
<h2>The problem with plastics</h2>
<p>It is clear then that plastic waste is a complicated problem – spanning economics, sustainability, social pressures and recycling infrastructure in both developed and developing countries. But while it’s widely known that plastics can be an issue for the environment, what isn’t often known is that the persistence of plastics in the environment is actually closely linked to how they are made. </p>
<p>The overwhelming majority of plastics are made using oil-based materials, meaning that, by their chemical nature, many plastics have no oxygen content. This makes them very hydrophobic (water hating) and, as such, it is very difficult for common bacteria or enzymes to break them down if they enter the environment. </p>
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<p>Over the past few decades, there has been increased awareness of our dependence on a limited oil supply and this has driven research into alternative, sustainable sources of chemicals. In particular, the concept of using bio-based materials as a resource rather than oil-based materials has really gained momentum. Sustainable bio-based material can be waste crops, waste wood, waste food – in fact, any waste biological matter. </p>
<p>Most importantly, these natural, bio-based materials can easily be broken down into smaller chemical building blocks – called “platform molecules” – which in turn, can be used to make other <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Introduction+to+Chemicals+from+Biomass%2C+2nd+Edition-p-9781118714485">useful chemicals</a>, including plastics.</p>
<h2>Nature’s building blocks</h2>
<p>Using these platform molecules, the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/research/green/">Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence</a> at the University of York, has been working with the <a href="http://biomebioplastics.com/bioplastics">plastics industry</a> to create a <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/research/green/research/projects/enzpoly/">new generation of bio-based polyesters</a>. These are often used to make fibres for clothing, as well as films and containers for liquids and foods. The resulting materials are entirely plant based, recyclable and – importantly – fully biodegradable.</p>
<p>Aside from sustainability, the huge benefit of using biomass as a resource is the high quantity of oxygen that is incorporated into nature’s chemical structures (celluose, glucose etc). By using bio-based materials to make bio-based plastics, the oxygen content is kept in the material. The hope is that by having a high oxygen content, the bio-based plastics will have high, but controlled biodegradability. This means that the bio-based plastic can totally and safely break down into benign starting materials.</p>
<p>But although this new generation of sustainable plastics is a huge step forward, and a compostable plastic is of huge benefit, this is by no means the end goal for all bio-based plastics.</p>
<h2>Circular economy</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/gc/c6gc00501b#!divAbstract">circular economy</a> is all about keeping resources in a constant loop, reusing and recycling them as many times as possible. This helps to minimise waste and reduce the need for brand new resources.</p>
<p>Treating plastic waste as a resource rather than a problem is an important change than needs to happen over the coming decades. This will help to preserve our remaining chemical materials, as well as protect our environment. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207084/original/file-20180220-116330-1xzplix.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207084/original/file-20180220-116330-1xzplix.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207084/original/file-20180220-116330-1xzplix.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207084/original/file-20180220-116330-1xzplix.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207084/original/file-20180220-116330-1xzplix.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207084/original/file-20180220-116330-1xzplix.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207084/original/file-20180220-116330-1xzplix.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-hands-on-assorted-color-plastic-lid-lot-761297/">Pexels</a></span>
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<p>Plastics are a fundamental part of modern society and they are here to stay. Ultimately, society has to move away from oil-based products towards sustainable bio-based alternatives. But regardless of whether a plastic is oil-based or plant-based, the biggest impact you can have on the life cycle of a plastic product is to reuse and recycle it.</p>
<p>As a consumer, this means you have a choice and the power to make a positive impact. Find out where your nearest <a href="https://www.recyclenow.com/">plastic waste recycling point</a> is and look to promote home collection and the proper recycling of all types of plastic waste. </p>
<p>So next time you use the last of the ketchup, help to preserve our resources by making sure your plastic waste stays in the recycling loop.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89475/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James William Comerford receives funding from Innovate UK Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst Grant; BBSRC (2016 - 2019) BB/N023595/1 (Project: enzymic polymerisation, characterisation and market evaluation of a set of novel bioplastic co-polymers derived from renewable resources). Biome Bioplastics is one of the consortium members associated with this project as well as a financial contributor.</span></em></p>Plant-based, sustainable plastics may hold many of the answers to our plastic problems.James William Comerford, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/814402017-12-13T11:25:20Z2017-12-13T11:25:20ZWill China’s crackdown on ‘foreign garbage’ force wealthy countries to recycle more of their own waste?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198225/original/file-20171207-11325-17ay9ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Imported laptop housings, Guiyu, China.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/f7zQ2L">Basel Action Network</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With holidays approaching, many of us are mindful of the need to collect and recycle all the additional plastic, paper and other waste that we are about to generate. This year, however, there are questions about where that waste will end up. China, the world’s largest importer of scrap, is looking to clean up its act. </p>
<p>In July 2017 China, which is by far the world’s largest importer and recycler of scrap metals, plastic and paper, notified the World Trade Organization that it planned to <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-07/21/content_30194081.htm">effectively ban imports of 24 types of scrap</a>, which its environment ministry called “foreign garbage,” by the end of the year. Immediately, organizations such as the U.S.-based <a href="http://www.isri.org/">Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries</a> and the <a href="http://www.bir.org/">Bureau of International Recycling</a> warned that China’s action would cause job losses, shut down many U.S. recycling facilities and send more waste to landfills. </p>
<p>These worries are not unfounded. Global recycling markets are easily prone to disruption, and developed countries have underinvested in recycling infrastructure for years. Beijing has delayed implementation by a few months and eased its stringent new contamination limit, but its shift continues to send <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/12/09/568797388/recycling-chaos-in-u-s-as-china-bans-foreign-waste">shock waves</a> through the industry. Waste Dive, the must-read daily bulletin of waste-related news, named the initiative <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/disruptor-of-the-year-chinas-import-policies/510675/">“Disruptor of the Year.”</a> China’s action could reshape an overlooked but critical segment of the global economy: the cross-border flows of scrap that underpin recyclng markets worldwide.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198322/original/file-20171208-27714-1yx195x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198322/original/file-20171208-27714-1yx195x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198322/original/file-20171208-27714-1yx195x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198322/original/file-20171208-27714-1yx195x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198322/original/file-20171208-27714-1yx195x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198322/original/file-20171208-27714-1yx195x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198322/original/file-20171208-27714-1yx195x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198322/original/file-20171208-27714-1yx195x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A 2017 study projected that if current global use patterns and waste management trends continue, by 2050 the world will have recycled 9 billion metric tons (9,000 million metric tons) of plastic waste, incinerated 12 billion metric tons and discarded 12 billion metric tons in landfills or the natural environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782.full">Geyer et al., Science Advances, July 19, 2017</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<h2>The world’s recycler</h2>
<p>Scrap exports to China took off in the early 2000s following the lifting of broader trade restrictions. In 2012 China <a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/global-plastic-production-rises-recycling-lags-0">received</a> nearly half of all the plastic waste that Americans sent abroad for recycling and about one-third of the European Union’s plastic waste exports. According to one 2014 study, China received <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281865813_Global_recycling_markets_plastic_waste_A_story_for_one_player_-_China_ISWA_Globalisation_and_Waste_Management_Task_Force">56 percent by weight</a> of global scrap plastic exports. </p>
<p>This trade makes economic sense all around. Shipping is cheap: Cargo ships carry goods from China to Western countries and carry scrap back, a process known as reverse haulage. China’s booming industries are located near major ports and hungry for plastics they do not yet produce at home, so they willingly pay for high-quality imported scrap to reuse. For U.S.-based waste collectors, selling scrap to a broker to be shipped to China is cheaper than sending it to recycling facilities at home. </p>
<p>Plastic scrap is especially problematic. It has low economic value and is hard to recycle. It also breaks down extremely slowly in the environment, as evidenced by the buildup of <a href="https://oceanlegacy.ca/the-ocean-plastic-problem/">plastic debris in the world’s oceans</a>. Few are aware that up to half of the plastic waste we throw into recycling bins in Berkeley, New York or Omaha has wound up on container ships to China. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198315/original/file-20171208-27698-1d2zpgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198315/original/file-20171208-27698-1d2zpgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198315/original/file-20171208-27698-1d2zpgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198315/original/file-20171208-27698-1d2zpgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198315/original/file-20171208-27698-1d2zpgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198315/original/file-20171208-27698-1d2zpgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198315/original/file-20171208-27698-1d2zpgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198315/original/file-20171208-27698-1d2zpgg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Data from UN Comtrade Database. Color indicates sum of value in U.S. dollars; size indicates sum of weight in kilograms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kate O'Neill</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Information about the fate of plastic scrap once it gets to China is <a href="https://www.iswa.org/fileadmin/galleries/Task_Forces/TFGWM_Report_GRM_Plastic_China_LR.pdf">sketchy</a>, and available statistics are inconsistent. China’s plastics recycling rate in 2013 was <a href="http://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/china-plastic-recycling-rate-decline/">about 22 percent</a> – far higher than the United States, which averages about 9 percent annually. This figure, representing around 13.6 million metric tons, includes international and domestic scrap.</p>
<p>Still, this means that much of the scrap plastic shipped to China is not recycled, or is recycled under hazardous conditions. Nongovernment organizations and other observers have expressed concern about how much of this imported scrap – especially if it is contaminated or low-quality – is either diverted to <a href="http://www.no-burn.org/the-dirty-truth-about-chinas-incinerators/">sub-par incinerators</a> for energy recovery or winds up in the oceans.</p>
<h2>China demands quality control</h2>
<p>To be recycled, bales of scrap should be clean, contaminant-free and sorted. Beijing has already cracked down twice on contaminated plastic and paper scrap. </p>
<p>In a 2013 initiative called <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/china-green-fence-global-recycling-innovation">Operation Green Fence</a>, China sharply increased inspections of imported bales, shipping back substandard scrap at exporters’ expense and forcing them to pay more attention to quality. Almost immediately, shippers began diverting scrap to other ports for cleaning or possible disposal. Vietnam and Malaysia saw <a href="http://www.isri.org/docs/default-source/commodities/international-scrap-trade-database/comtrade-plastic-im---20apr2017.pdf?sfvrsn=2">sharp spikes in plastic scrap imports</a>. In March 2017 China launched <a href="http://www.waste360.com/plastics/china-enacts-national-sword-2017-crackdown-waste-imports">Operation National Sword</a>, further increasing inspections of incoming shipments, then followed with its WTO filing in July.</p>
<p>Chinese leaders have very real concerns over the nation’s environmental crisis and its high-profile image as the “world’s dumpsite.” Noted filmmaker Wang Jiuliang spotlighted the scrap issue in an award-winning 2016 documentary, <a href="https://www.plasticchina.org/">“Plastic China</a>,” which focuses on an unschooled 11-year-old girl who lives and works with her family in a plastic recycling workshop. The film went viral online in China after its release, then was quickly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/world/asia/chinas-environmental-woes-in-films-that-go-viral-then-vanish.html?_r=0">deleted from China’s internet</a>. </p>
<p>Beijing is working to replace China’s informal recycling sector with <a href="https://plasticsinpackaging.com/online/chinas-recycling-master-plan/">cleaner, high-tech “eco-industrial parks</a>.” However, local authorities around entry ports strongly opposed Green Fence, which cut into local businesses’ revenues, and are likely to resist the scrap ban. China’s struggle to police <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3549763.stm">clandestine imports of electronic waste</a> suggests that it will also have trouble shutting out smuggled trash.</p>
<p>Some observers, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/18/junkyard-planet-adam-minter-review">journalist Adam Minter</a>, think the scrap restrictions <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-07-20/china-s-war-on-foreign-garbage">could backfire</a>. In their view, China’s high recycling rates – up to 70 percent for scrap paper – avert deforestation, mineral extraction and fossil fuel use. Domestically produced scrap is generally of far lower quality than the “foreign garbage” that China imports, and is likely to be more polluting. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fz-suLt88wg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Preview for Plastic China documentary.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Will source nations step up?</h2>
<p>Since July, Beijing has delayed the start date for the scrap restrictions to March 2018 and raised the maximum contamination level for plastics and other scrap from 0.3 percent to 0.5 percent – still far below normal <a href="http://www.recyclingproductnews.com/article/27021/chinas-proposed-contaminants-thresholds-not-in-line-with-global-standards-according-to-isri">global trade standards</a>. Under Green Fence, authorities allowed up to 1.5 percent contamination. </p>
<p>Although the global scrap industry is <a href="http://www.isri.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/isri-comments-to-the-wto-re-notification-gtbtnchn1211-august-18-2017.pdf?sfvrsn=2">fighting back</a>, China’s actions are forcing industrialized nations to rethink their dependence on overseas disposal. In its 2017 infrastructure report card, the American Society of Civil Engineers criticized the U.S. solid waste industry for <a href="https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Solid-Waste-Final.pdf">failing to innovate and improve recycling rates</a>.</p>
<p>The United States has not built a new high-quality plastics recycling facility <a href="https://qz.com/82640/china-doesnt-want-your-trash-anymore-and-that-could-spell-big-trouble-for-american-cities/">since 2003</a>, and very few of its existing plants can cost-effectively process harder-to-recycle, often dirty post-consumer plastics. Europe recycles 30 percent of its plastics, compared to 9 percent in the United States, but the majority of waste plastic still winds up in landfills and in the oceans. <a href="http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20170928/NEWS/170929894/chinas-ban-prompts-us-recycling-investment">Moves are already underway</a> to improve U.S. capacity, but will take years to implement.</p>
<p>Ultimately recycling doesn’t work because of technology, values or intentions. It requires <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/modeledbehavior/2014/04/26/profits-not-good-intentions-drive-the-global-recycling-industry/#18ec5f35105f">strong and stable markets for scrap and recycled goods.</a> If China closes its scrap market, nations will divert plastics to other jurisdictions that are even less equipped to recycle and utilize it, which will send more plastics into landfills and dumps.</p>
<p>Mass production of bioplastics is a long-term solution, but is probably years off. For now, entities such as the <a href="http://www.closedlooppartners.com/closedloopfund/">Closed Loop Fund</a>, which supports research on technologies and initiatives to build a circular economy, are working to scale up recycling infrastructure and capacity in the United States. Other priorities include expanding markets for recycled products and improving consumer education. In my view, the prospect of losing China as a consumer of Western scrap could and should finally spur industrialized nations to take more responsibility for the waste they generate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81440/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate O'Neill does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>China, which recycles much of the world’s waste material, is slashing its scrap imports. This move could force the United States and Europe to boost recycling instead of shipping trash overseas.Kate O'Neill, Associate Professor, Global Environmental Politics, University of California, BerkeleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/870012017-11-20T04:23:36Z2017-11-20T04:23:36ZThe future of plastics: reusing the bad and encouraging the good<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194675/original/file-20171114-30034-1bbrxm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic pollution: discarded plastic bags are a hazard to marine life.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/plastic-pollution-discarded-rubbish-bags-floats-684897043">Richard Whitcombe/Shutterstock</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plastics have got themselves a bad name, mainly for two reasons: most are made from petroleum and they end up as litter in the environment. </p>
<p>However, both of these are quite avoidable. An increased focus on bio-derived and degradable composites as well as recycling could lessen pollution and, in fact, plastics could make a positive contribution to the environment.</p>
<h2>Plastics for bad</h2>
<p>The durability of plastics makes them so useful, but at the same time, it turns them into a persistent (and <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782.full">increasingly big</a>) blot on the landscape, or more importantly the seascape, once discarded. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-south-pacific-island-of-rubbish-shows-why-we-need-to-quit-our-plastic-habit-77860">This South Pacific island of rubbish shows why we need to quit our plastic habit</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We’ve known for a while that <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/ocean-plastic-patch-south-pacific-spd/">bulk plastics are polluting the oceans</a>. Converging sea currents are accumulating plastic waste in a floating island known as the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/garbagepatch.html">Great Pacific Garbage Patch</a>, which now covers an area larger than Greenland. The bigger bits of plastic are <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/15092-plastic-seabirds-albatross-australia/">life-threatening to marine life and sea birds</a>. They can strangle marine mammals or birds and build up in their stomachs and guts.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194683/original/file-20171114-30000-1tcpd02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194683/original/file-20171114-30000-1tcpd02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194683/original/file-20171114-30000-1tcpd02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194683/original/file-20171114-30000-1tcpd02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194683/original/file-20171114-30000-1tcpd02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194683/original/file-20171114-30000-1tcpd02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194683/original/file-20171114-30000-1tcpd02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A dolphin entangled in fishing line and plastic bags (Indian Ocean).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from Shutterstock</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More recently, awareness of microplastics has raised concern about their ubiquitous presence in the food chain. Commentators suggest that by 2050 there will be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur">as much plastic in the sea as there is fish</a>. Who wants to go catch some plastic then?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-microplastics-make-their-way-up-the-ocean-food-chain-into-fish-69148">How microplastics make their way up the ocean food chain into fish</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Beyond that, plastic production currently relies on petroleum and that has raised issues about <a href="http://www.who.int/ipcs/features/benzene.pdf">health hazards</a>, generally associated with petroleum-based products during production, use and disposal. </p>
<h2>Plastics for good</h2>
<p>Plastics can contribute positively to the environment in the following ways:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Reduced food wastage</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Between <a href="http://greenblue.org/sustainable-packagings-role-in-reducing-food-waste-a-sustainable-materials-management-perspective/">one-quarter and one-third of all food produced</a> is wasted through spoilage. But without plastic packaging, it would be considerably worse and have a larger carbon footprint. </p>
<p>Many of the recycling enthusiasts I know do not think about throwing out spoiled food that required energy in terms of planting, cultivating, harvesting and transporting and therefore will have added to greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Lightweight transport</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The use of plastics in transportation (cars, trains and planes) will reduce fuel consumption. Their application (along with reinforcing fibres) in aerospace as alternatives to traditional metallic alloys has brought huge <a href="https://aviationbenefits.org/case-studies/boeing-787-dreamliner/">gains of fuel efficiency</a> over the last few decades. </p>
<p>Incorporation of fibre-reinforced plastics in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, for example, has resulted in fuel efficiencies that are similar to a family car (when measured by kilometres travelled per person). By the way, carbon fibre, the aerospace fibre of choice, is produced from plastic.</p>
<p>There are good things about plastics including benefits for the environment, but is it possible to make use of the good aspects and avoid the bad? </p>
<h2>Future proofing plastics</h2>
<p>Plastics are, chemically speaking, long chains or large cross-linked structures most commonly made up of a framework of carbon atoms.</p>
<p>For a long time, we have been using bio-derived plastics - naturally occurring materials such as animal skins including leather, gut and wood. These forms of plastic are complicated chemical structures that can only be made in nature at this stage.</p>
<p>Some of the early synthesised plastics were made from naturally occurring materials such as casein (from dairy) that was used for simple items such as buttons. The development of petroleum-based plastics has been a major distraction from such materials. </p>
<p>However, in the last couple of decades, <a href="http://www.sustainableplastics.net/about">bio-derived plastics</a> have become available that provide good replacements. These include starch-based plastics such as polylactide (PLA), which is produced from corn starch, cassava roots or sugarcane and processed in the same way as petroleum-based plastics. Such plastics can be foamed or used to make drink bottles. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194688/original/file-20171114-29990-1o8zwiv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194688/original/file-20171114-29990-1o8zwiv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194688/original/file-20171114-29990-1o8zwiv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194688/original/file-20171114-29990-1o8zwiv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194688/original/file-20171114-29990-1o8zwiv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194688/original/file-20171114-29990-1o8zwiv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194688/original/file-20171114-29990-1o8zwiv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastic bottles ready to be recycled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">From Shutterstock</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Recycling plastics is another essential step towards reducing the environmental load. Let’s face it: it is people who are doing the littering, not the plastics themselves. More effort could go into waste collection and a carrot/stick approach should include disincentives for littering and a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/06/eu-rules-out-tax-on-plastic-products-to-reduce-waste">plastic tax</a> which would exclude recycled plastics. </p>
<p>Incentives are also needed to encourage product development that takes account of the full life cycle. In Europe, for instance, legislation has made it <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/End-of-life_vehicle_statistics">compulsory in the automotive industry</a> for at least 85% of a car to be recycled. This has had a dramatic influence on the materials and design used in the industry.</p>
<p>Even with best efforts, it is unrealistic that we would capture all plastics for recycling. Biodegradable plastics could be a useful tool for preventing environmental damage. PLA (polylactide) is biodegradable, though slow to break down, and there are other forms available. </p>
<p>This highlights the need for more research into controlling biodegradability, taking into account different applications and the need for infrastructure to deal with biodegradable plastics at the end of their life. Obviously, we don’t want our planes biodegrading during their 20 years of service, but one-use water bottles should break down within a short time after use. </p>
<p>The planet doesn’t have to become a toxic rubbish dump. In the short term, this will need some government action to encourage bio-derived, recyclable and biodegradable plastics to allow them to compete with petroleum-based products. </p>
<p>There are signs of improvement: increasing awareness of the harm plastics cause and a willingness of consumers to pay for plastic bags or to ban them. We need to stop dumping in our own backyard and remember that the environment is where we live. We ignore it at our peril.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87001/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Pickering receives funding from WRC and HCC (Waikato regional Council and Hamilton city council) to assess recycling in order to reduce landfill</span></em></p>Tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean each year, but a switch away from petroleum-based products to bio-derived and degradable composites could lessen marine pollution.Kim Pickering, Professor of materials science and engineering, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/392122015-04-16T10:05:54Z2015-04-16T10:05:54ZAdditives to make plastic biodegradable don’t cut it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77969/original/image-20150414-24658-bwetk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even a microbe won't eat plastic. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sue Selke</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the common concerns about plastic packaging is that it is generally non-biodegradable and will persist in the environment for extremely long periods of time once thrown away. In the Pacific Ocean, for instance, there is the <a href="http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1">Great Garbage Patch</a>, large swaths of oceans that collect debris and include millions of pieces of tiny plastic pieces that get smaller over time but don’t break down. </p>
<p>A number of companies that use plastic packaging have looked at using additives that claim to cause normally non-biodegradable plastics to biodegrade. But are these additives effective?</p>
<p>In our research project, published in <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es504258u">Environmental Science & Technology</a>, our objective was to provide information to help companies that make plastic products, such as trash bags and bottles, make decisions. The results of our tests, some of which ran for three years, show that the additives we tested were not effective under the conditions we used. </p>
<h2>Bio-based versus biodegradable</h2>
<p>When we say a plastic is biodegradable, we mean the plastic will totally break down at the molecular level, returning the carbon in the plastic to the earth’s natural carbon cycle. Just breaking the plastic down into small pieces that are no longer visible is not sufficient, as these small plastic fragments can cause various environmental problems when they accumulate in the environment or are consumed by fish or other organisms. </p>
<p>Biodegradable is different from bio-based. Petroleum-based plastics can be biodegradable, just as bio-based plastics – or plastics made from starting materials that originate in living organisms – may not be biodegradable. </p>
<p>In essence, if a plastic (or other material) is biodegradable, it can serve as a food source for microorganisms. The microorganisms typically use specific enzymes to break the molecular bonds in the material, using the resulting energy to fuel metabolic processes. The microbes incorporate the atoms in the polymers into their structure or release them in small molecules such as carbon dioxide, water and methane. The rates and pathways for biodegradation depend on the material, the surrounding environment and the microorganisms that are present and active. </p>
<p>Two of the important environmental characteristics affecting how quickly a material biodegrades are the amount of moisture and the amount of oxygen. Microorganisms do not grow well in environments that are very dry, so adequate moisture is essential. Many types of microorganisms do best when they have lots of oxygen, but there are also categories of microorganisms that grow only in the absence of oxygen.</p>
<p>In environments with oxygen (aerobic), the main product of biodegradation is carbon dioxide. In environments without oxygen (anaerobic), the main product is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide. The most widely accepted way to measure biodegradation is to measure these gases.</p>
<h2>Putting claims to the test</h2>
<p>In our study, we chose additives from three different companies and evaluated their effect in three different environments for two types of plastics. One of these plastics was polyethylene, the type of plastic typically used for bread and trash bags. The other was polyethylene terephthalate (PET, or polyester), the type of plastic used in soft drink bottles and often in plastic containers for fresh fruit and vegetables. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77968/original/image-20150414-24654-m9bxmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77968/original/image-20150414-24654-m9bxmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77968/original/image-20150414-24654-m9bxmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77968/original/image-20150414-24654-m9bxmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77968/original/image-20150414-24654-m9bxmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77968/original/image-20150414-24654-m9bxmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77968/original/image-20150414-24654-m9bxmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77968/original/image-20150414-24654-m9bxmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The dirt test: plastics trying but not succeeding in returning to the earth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sue Selke</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The additives chosen represented two categories: oxo-biodegradables and non-oxo-biodegradables. The oxo- family is described as enhancing biodegradation after initial oxidation of the polymer. The non-oxo additives are described as having a different mode of action. (One of the additives was initially chosen as representative of a combination approach, but the company later dropped that description.)</p>
<p>One environment was a simulated composting system, representing a high-moisture, high-oxygen environment, with moderately elevated temperature to speed up the action of the microorganisms. In this system, we measured the amount of carbon dioxide produced. This experiment ran for 140 days, and then a second experiment ran for 60 days.</p>
<p>The second environment was a laboratory anaerobic digestion system, representing a high-moisture, no-oxygen environment. This type of environment has been used to represent what might occur in an “active” landfill environment. (A typical landfill is much too dry to be as biologically active as this type of system.) We measured the total amount of gas, predominantly methane and carbon dioxide, that was produced. The experiment ran for 464 days.</p>
<p>Our third choice of environment was soil burial. In this system, the plastic materials were carefully buried in one of the Michigan State University campus fields regularly used to grow crops. Samples were removed periodically and evaluated for any changes in appearance, strength and other characteristics. This experiment ran for three years.</p>
<h2>Little going on</h2>
<p>In all the experiments, we compared samples of the plastic with and without additives. The additives were provided to us by the suppliers in the form of master batches, just as they are supplied to customers of the companies. A polyethylene film was produced using a blown film system, and a sheet of PET plastic was produced using extrusion casting, as is typical in industry.</p>
<p>Additionally, for one of the additives and polyethylene films, we investigated the effect of extensive exposure to UV light prior to aerobic biodegradation. The light exposure results in some oxidation of the plastic molecules, resulting in both incorporation of oxygen atoms into the molecular structure and reduction in molecular weight. The amount of UV exposure was 152 hours at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius, which is equivalent to about 58 days of outdoor exposure in Miami, Florida, and was sufficient to make the samples extremely brittle.</p>
<p>The results of the experiments can be summed up very simply: we found no evidence that the additives we tested resulted in any significant biodegradation of either the polyethylene film or the PET sheet in the environments we used. There were no significant differences between the samples with and without the additives, and no evidence of substantial biodegradation of any of the samples. </p>
<p>Consumers and makers of plastic products are interested in making plastics that can biodegrade into the environment, but making unsubstantiated claims risks causing a backlash with consumers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39212/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Selke receives funding from the Center for Packaging Innovations and Sustainability, Michigan State University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rafael Auras receives funding from the Center for Packaging Innovations and Sustainability, Michigan State University.</span></em></p>Consumers and makers of plastic products want plastic to biodegrade to minimize the environmental impact, but some additives don’t live up to the claims.Susan Selke, Director of the School of Packaging, Michigan State UniversityRafael Auras, Associate Professor of Packaging, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/371312015-02-04T06:01:36Z2015-02-04T06:01:36ZFive synthetic materials with the power to change the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70963/original/image-20150203-25551-14x69r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inside Boeing's Dreamliner: tomorrow's polymers today</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=psoLMPJil8aZQIbiihuHMA&searchterm=dreamliner&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=177184352">Jordan Tan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The New York <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/11/the-1939-new-york-worlds-fair/100620/">World’s Fair of 1939-40</a> was one of the greatest expos the world had ever seen. Visitors to Flushing Meadow Park in Queens were invited to see the “world of tomorrow” giving them a first glimpse of wonders such as the television, the videophone and the Ford Mustang. </p>
<p>It was also the first chance to see nylon, the world’s first fully synthetic man-made fibre. It was being sewn into pantyhose by a display of knitting machines as two models played tug of war to demonstrate the strength of the fabric. Nylon had been discovered by the <a href="http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/carotherspolymers.html">Wallace Carothers’</a> group in DuPont’s research division four years earlier. It was introduced at the fair as the new hosiery “wholly fabricated from such common raw materials as coal, water and air” which could be made into filaments “as strong as steel”.</p>
<p>Nylon stockings went on <a href="http://inventors.about.com/od/nstartinventions/a/Nylon_Stockings.htm">to become</a> a huge success, of course, selling 64m pairs for DuPont in their first year alone. Nylon had qualities that were superior to those of the natural product, silk, and it soon found many useful, if sometimes less fashionable, applications. Today it is still used very widely in fabrics, upholstery, sport articles, instrument strings and automotive parts. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70959/original/image-20150203-25536-282j01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70959/original/image-20150203-25536-282j01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70959/original/image-20150203-25536-282j01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70959/original/image-20150203-25536-282j01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70959/original/image-20150203-25536-282j01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70959/original/image-20150203-25536-282j01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70959/original/image-20150203-25536-282j01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70959/original/image-20150203-25536-282j01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Nylon: left the shelves like iPhones on steroids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&searchterm=nylon%20stocking&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=3114302">Rebecca Abell</a></span>
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<p>Since the dawning of this new era of fully synthetic materials, the advances have been unparallelled in the history of materials. Chemists have discovered new catalysts and developed new synthetic routes to join small molecules into long polymer chains with the right properties for a particular use – the <a href="http://www.victoriacarpets.com/carpet-type.aspx?id=4">polypropylene fibres</a> that we use in carpets for example, or hard varieties of <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/plastic/page2.htm">polyethylene</a> for making plastic bottles. </p>
<p>Physicists, materials scientists and engineers have also designed new processing methods and new technologies to enhance performance to create substances like super-tough substances like <a href="http://www.explainthatstuff.com/kevlar.html">kevlar</a>. </p>
<p>Quite rightly, we are becoming more demanding at the same time. We expect products that will further enhance the quality of our lives, but we want materials and technologies that are increasingly energy efficient, sustainable and capable of reducing global pollution. It’s a challenge.</p>
<p>Here are five types of polymers that will shape the future.</p>
<h2>1. Bioplastics</h2>
<p>As we are often reminded, plastics do not degrade and are a very visible source of environmental pollution. To complicate things further, the building blocks of these materials, which we call monomers, are historically derived from crude oil, which is not renewable. </p>
<p>But this is changing. Thanks to innovations with the processes for using enzymes and catalysts, it is becoming increasingly possible to convert renewable resources such as <a href="http://www.biogas-info.co.uk/">biogas</a> into the major building blocks for manufacturing plastics and <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/182081/elastomer">synthetic rubbers</a>. </p>
<p>These substances are sustainable because they save fossil resources. But of course this only partly solves the problem. Unless they are also biodegradable, they are still a problem for the environment. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70961/original/image-20150203-25554-1q7y1ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70961/original/image-20150203-25554-1q7y1ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70961/original/image-20150203-25554-1q7y1ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70961/original/image-20150203-25554-1q7y1ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70961/original/image-20150203-25554-1q7y1ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70961/original/image-20150203-25554-1q7y1ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70961/original/image-20150203-25554-1q7y1ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70961/original/image-20150203-25554-1q7y1ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Plastic cups that grow on trees!</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&searchterm=nylon%20stocking&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=3114302">photokup</a></span>
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<h2>2. Plastic composites/nanocomposites</h2>
<p>Plastic composites are the name for plastics which have been reinforced by different fibres to make them stronger or more elastic. For example you can make a polymer stronger by embedding carbon fibres, which creates a lightweight material which is ideal for modern fuel-efficient transport. </p>
<p>These kinds of fibre-reinforced plastics are being increasingly used, particularly in the aerospace industry (the <a href="http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/787family/programfacts.page">Boeing 787</a> and the <a href="http://www.airbus.com/aircraftfamilies/passengeraircraft/a350xwbfamily/technology-and-innovation/">Airbus A360</a> are 50% composite). Were it not for the high costs, these materials would be used in all vehicles.</p>
<p>More recent additions to the field are nanocomposites, where plastics are instead reinforced with tiny particles of other substances – including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsmqOOWJL24">graphene</a>. These have any number of potential uses, <a href="http://www.understandingnano.com/nanocomposites-applications.html">ranging from</a> lightweight sensors on wind turbine blades to more powerful batteries to internal body scaffolds that speed up the healing process for broken bones. </p>
<p>Nanocomposites will become particularly exciting if we succeed in producing them through processing methods that make it possible to design them in a very controlled manner. If we look at the structures of materials in nature, such as wood, you find they are incredibly complicated and intricate. Our current composites and nanocomposites are very unsophisticated by comparison. </p>
<h2>3. Self-healing polymers</h2>
<p>No matter how carefully we select materials for engineering applications based on their ability to withstand mechanical stresses and environmental conditions, they will inevitably fail. Ageing, degradation and loss of mechanical integrity due to impact or fatigue are all contributing factors. Not only is this very costly, it can be disastrous, as was the case with the <a href="http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/gulf-of-mexico-restoration/deepwater-horizon-accident-and-response.html">Deepwater Horizon explosion</a> in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 for instance.</p>
<p>Inspired by biological systems, new materials <a href="http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2014/05/polymer-sets-new-self-healing-record">are being</a> developed which are able to heal in response to what would be traditionally considered irreversible damage. Polymers are not the only materials with the potential for self-healing, but they seem to be very good at it. Within a few years since their <a href="http://www.explainthatstuff.com/self-healing-materials.html">first discovery</a> around the turn of the century, many innovative healing systems have been proposed. </p>
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<p>What is still incredibly challenging is the idea of extending these concepts to large-volume applications, since self-healing polymers demand much more complicated design than previous generations of polymers. But this seems the ultimate route towards long-lasting, fault-tolerant materials that can be used for products including coatings, electronics and transport.</p>
<h2>4. Plastic electronics</h2>
<p>Most polymers are insulators and therefore don’t conduct electricity. However an upsurge in this field of polymer research emerged in 2000 after the award of a Nobel Prize to Alan MacDiarmid, Alan Heeger and Hideki Shirakawa for work on <a href="http://www.org-chem.org/yuuki/shirakawa/shirakawa_en.html">discovering that</a> a polymer named polyacetylene became conductive when impurities <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2000/advanced-chemistryprize2000.pdf">were introduced</a> through a process known as doping. </p>
<p>Not only does the same process make other similar polymers conductive, some can even be converted into light-emitting diodes (LEDs), raising the prospect of flexible computer screens like the one below. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70967/original/image-20150203-25551-jiolyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70967/original/image-20150203-25551-jiolyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70967/original/image-20150203-25551-jiolyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70967/original/image-20150203-25551-jiolyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70967/original/image-20150203-25551-jiolyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70967/original/image-20150203-25551-jiolyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=736&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70967/original/image-20150203-25551-jiolyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=736&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70967/original/image-20150203-25551-jiolyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=736&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Flexible screen display by Plastic Logic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_Logic#mediaviewer/File:Flexed_plastic_display.jpg">Plastic Logic</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>This is an area where polymers still face considerable challenge and strong competition from incumbents like silicon and organic LEDs. Still, when looking for cheap flexible replacements to existing electronic devices, polymers have much to offer as they can be easily processed in solutions and can be 3D-printed. </p>
<p>There seems to be enormous research going on in this area, with polymers sometimes playing the role of the active component, such as in semiconductors, and sometimes acting as a vehicle for other substances, such as in <a href="http://www.henkel-adhesives.com/conductive-inks-coatings-27433.htm">conductive inks</a>. </p>
<h2>5. Smart and reactive polymers</h2>
<p>Gels and synthetic rubbers can easily adjust their shape in response to external stimuli, which means they are able to respond to changes in their surroundings. The external stimulus would usually be a change in temperature or acidity/alkalinity but it could equally be light, ultrasound or chemical agents. This turns out to be incredibly useful in designing smart materials for sensors, drug delivery devices and many other applications. </p>
<p>You can greatly extend a polymer’s natural ability to respond to such stimuli by designing them with this purpose in mind. Mechanophores, for example, are molecular units that can alter the properties of a polymer when they are subjected to mechanical forces. These could have any number of industrial applications, especially if self-healing technology was incorporated too. </p>
<p>Other possibilities for smart polymers include things like window coatings that can wash the windows when they are dirty, and medical stitches that disappear when an injury has healed. </p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Valeria Arrighi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The New York World’s Fair of 1939-40 was one of the greatest expos the world had ever seen. Visitors to Flushing Meadow Park in Queens were invited to see the “world of tomorrow” giving them a first glimpse…Valeria Arrighi, Associate professor, Heriot-Watt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.