By Desiree Parker
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
I’ve read some articles lately about research on plastics that gives me hope about the future of this toxic substance we can’t live without.
Plastic is bad in general because it doesn’t decompose, and because the chemicals used to make it are harmful (both during the manufacturing process and afterwards as chemicals leech out of plastic items).
These concerns along with our need to keep plastics in our daily lives seem to have spurred some good research into alternative plastics. For a while there have been biodegradable plastics out there – the ones I’ve come across are plant-based products that are generally more brittle and less heat-resistant than traditional plastic (these are called bioplastics), which makes them not too practical for many everyday uses. Others that are biodegradable are petroleum-based.
Though some of these eco-friendly plastics have become more mainstream, researchers are making headway towards coming up with a plastic material that biodegrades but still retains some of the resiliency of traditional plastic. In this story from Nanowerk News, the group reports that Vietnamese researchers have come up with a nanocomposite (a mix of compounds in which at least one part of the mix is nanoparticle-sized) plastic that is not too expensive, easy to produce and similar in strength and elasticity to traditional plastic.
The nanocomposite is a mix of thermoplastic starch, polyvinyl alcohol, a kind of polymer clay and some food additives, and the plastic made from this compound is fully biodegradable in a landfill in one to six months.
No manufacturing process will be carbon-zero (you’ll always need power to create these items), but thermoplastic starch is a plant-based bioplastic which means the plants used to make it have at least had a chance to sequester some carbon over a lifetime. When they degrade, they release the carbon, but I’d argue this release is better than traditional plastic that takes hundreds of years to degrade and accumulates all over the world while releasing toxins along the way.
Since we’re talking about toxins, though, many polymer clays (called organoclays, which help plastics become stronger and helps them biodegrade faster) used in the plastics like the new nanocomposite I just described can be pretty toxic. But, on Sunday I read another story in Science Daily about a new kind of organoclay that is safer and more environmentally friendly. You can read that story here.
Why am I rambling on about these plastic-related complexities? Because when I look at all the research together it gives me a little bit of hope. It’s easy to get pessimistic about how complicated it is to make things more friendly to the environment – there are always twists and turns that end up making the next green thing really not as great as we thought – but these little steps just go to prove that people are working on it, one piece at a time.
Plastic is bad, so people make better, biodegradable ones. Petroleum-based biodegradable compounds aren’t green, so bioplastics are born. They don’t’ always work like we need them to, so someone makes them stronger. Some of the compounds are toxic, so someone else figures out a less-toxic solution.
This is the part of humanity that I love. We are problem solvers to the core, and there’s no such thing as “you can’t do that.” From now on when I get depressed about the future, I will try to remember that. In the meanwhile, I can’t wait until the plastic Tupperware that holds my lunch is made from non-toxic, biodegradable plastic that I can toss in the trash without feeling like I just stabbed the Earth with a knife.
Website for the week
I admit it, I’m a closet science dork. Well, maybe not so closet. Check out ScienceDaily.com and see some of the neat stories they have up, and I bet you might be ready to put on your thick, plastic-framed glasses and pocket protector with me!
Tip for the week
James City County is in a stage I drought conditions, which may lead to water restrictions in the near future. Even if you’re not on county water, you might think about giving up on your fescue lawns for the summer and just stop watering them. JCC residents spend millions of gallons on this cool-weather weed (my family, too, until the weather gets too bad), but you just can’t fight nature. Plus, letting your grass go isn’t that bad – it’ll be right back to beautiful in the fall if you re-seed. I know I’ve suggested this tip before, but the more I see my neighbors with their sprinklers going over their half-brown lawn, the more I feel the need to suggest taking a watering break for a bit.
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