The so-called solution to our eco-woes is quickly proving nearly as troublesome as the issue itself
Posted 05.07.2008 at 11:48 am
14 Comments
I Am Not a Plastic Bag
Anya Hindmarch
Bioplastics, like biofuels, are on the rise as consumers demand alternatives to fossil fuel-based plastics and big business take their wants seriously. Everything from shopping bags to clamshell containers are being reengineered out of bio-based packaging in the hope of finding a truly disposable container; one that, instead of ending up floating in the ocean, will quickly decompose underground. That ideal, as you might expect, is not quite so simple. And already, our two leading alternative bag types are falling short of the hype.
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The Environment, biofuels, bioplastics, environment, Matt Ransford, plastics, platic bagsThe other alternative, oxy-degradable bags and materials, need composters in order to break down correctly. While digesters are as complicated as power plants, a composter can be nothing more than a tremendous pile of hot dirt and waste. Unfortunately, a landfill is not a composter, and that's where the majority of these bags will end up. Landfills are in fact terrible places for degradation; they're oxygen-starved and tightly packed, both factors that work against natural chemical breakdown.
If nothing else, these difficulties should tell us we need to think more seriously about not throwing out that shopping bag or even taking it in the first place. No matter how well-engineered it may be to break down in the environment, we are quickly learning the cost of putting it there in the first place.
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from Neenah, Wisconsin
If those bags need anaerobic conditions to break down, wouldn't an oxygen starved landfill be a good place for them?
what the hell is a commercial anaerobic digester?
what the hell is a commercial anaerobic digester?
no offence but whats so wrong with bringing our own canvas bags...?
Yet another "alternative" that turned out not so good.
just give people paper bags instead. you know, real recycled paper...we dont want to MAKE more bags...we want to get rid of bags altogether..
ya if we make more bags, that kind of defets the whole porpose doesnt it?
Well, with the oxy-degradable bags, we are supposed to compost them. That's how we're supposed to get rid of landfills. WTF else?
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There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to bio-plastics. Part of the reason is because they're relatively new and partly because there aren't many universal standards put on them so some companies take advantage of the fact and put out poor quality films.
The article states that polyactic acid plastics require anaerobic conditions in order to degrade. This is not true. pure PLA plastics pass ASTM 6400 standards which requires them to biodegrade in both anaerobic and standard compost conditions. A study done on PLA (polyactic acid) plastics can be seen at www.agproducts.unl.edu/compost.htm where results are given for PLA in standard open air compost conditions.
more information for differnt types of biodegradable and degradable plastic materials can be found at www.elmhirstpackaging.ca
The person who wrote this article needs to spell check. PLA = Polylactic Acid not Polyactic Acid.... get it poly lactic acid