Having biodegradable plastics as an alternative will help with the inability to recycle normal plastics. 9. However, there are some notes you need to consider regarding its safety. This aspect is beneficial to the land and environment. Manufacturers and product designers choose plastic due to its ease of use, versatility, and durability. Why Is There A Growing Need For Ethical Buying Of Eco-products? Other forms of degradable plastic are not. Reduce the amount of bags used - refuse new plastic bags in stores. However, biodegradable plastics are still only a tiny portion of the global plastics market and require further efforts in research and commercialization. Although recycling would be a good way to reduce the plastics in the landfills, currently "only 5% out of 1 trillion plastic bags, annually produced in the US alone, are being recycled" (Sivan, 2011). Instead of discarding tons of plastic to languish in landfills for decades, biodegradable food packaging naturally and completely degrades. More info, Friday, November Biodegradable plastics would direct petroleum consumption to other needs. Corn-based plastics represent approximately 40% of the biodegradable source materials that are used for these products in the United States. Bioplastics come from natural sources including crops like corn and switch grass. Bioplastics are not as toxic as other plastics. Researchers at the University of Bath have created a plastic that only uses sugar and carbon dioxide, resulting in polycarbonates that no longer need to use petrochemicals and their CO2 emissions necessary for refinement. Biodegradable plastics create a new marketing platform. Plastics are widely used for the manufacturing of packaging materials because of their performance and ease in production. Biodegradable plastics offer reduces carbon dioxide levels. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. There are positives that methane and other pollutants could also be released when traditional plastic is recycled or burned. He began his writing career in 2007 and now works full-time as a writer and transcriptionist. When choosing a "biodegradable" product, the consumer tends to forget about the fact that mountains of waste pile up every year in the landfills. Greenhouse gases, emissions from vehicles, unsustainable buildings, and cities are some of the areas where we could see more being done to help with producing a better world. Even though these drawbacks may seem like a huge hurdle, it would be very beneficial to iron out these problems and move on to switch to using biodegradable plastics more regularly. Plastics and its by-products are cluttering up our cities, oceans and contributing to deadly health problems in humans and animals. The traditional plastics are thrown on the scrapheap at landfills. Biodegradable plastics can either be injection molded (disposable cutlery, medical parts, rigid packaging, etc.) The Many Benefits of Hemp Plastic. Whether you need help solving quadratic equations, inspiration for the upcoming science fair or the latest update on a major storm, Sciencing is here to help. In fact, most plastic items will take up to 1,000 years before they actually decompose. Click to reveal So what are the pros and cons of biodegradable plastic or bioplastics? Required fields are marked *. This technology offers a number of advantages over traditional plastic materials. It takes less energy to manufacture. This can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that come from producing them, which is an obvious benefit to our environment. Moreover, the land areas can be used for agriculture, residence or industrial applications instead of converting them to landfills. A study commissioned by the Biodegradable Products Institute in the 2000s found that the breakdown of these natural materials found in biodegradable plastic are exceptionally dependent on the weather conditions in the area. Once the natural materials are turned into polymers, they can work with the ones that were manufactured using oil molecules. Switching to biodegradables is a step in the right direction, but it is not the final solution that we require. Biodegradable plastics have a clear benefit, they reduce waste and leave less of an impact on the environment than normal plastics. SUWON, South Korea -- South Korean conglomerate CJ Cheiljedang is jumping into the global market to begin mass production of PHA . Returns to nature within . While traditional plastic releases four tons of emissions, biodegradable plastics emit only 0.8 tons of carbon - a 500% reduction! These are the current advantages and disadvantages of biodegradable plastics to review. Because the plants that produce bioplastics absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide as they grew, there is no net increase in carbon dioxide as they decompose. Low carbon emission The production of biodegradable plastics does not involve the burning of fossils. Waste, like trash from products, can end up in our environment and can harm us, especially our health. The decomposition process is faster and can take days, weeks, or months. Biodegradables come from products like switchgrass or corn, which means we could redirect the petroleum being used by the industry to our transportation or heating needs instead. Oxo-biodegradable plastic has a long shelf-life. So, biodegradable plastics are a good idea for conserving the environment and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Biodegradable plastics are commonly used for disposable items, such as packaging, cutlery, and food service containers. Another drawback is the fact that biodegradable plastics may need to be disposed of in a certain way to properly degrade. Biodegradable plastics require the weather to cooperate with their disposal. Global Blow Molded Plastics Market Forecast: $191.6 Billion By 2025, 4 Innovations That Promote Plastic Recycling, 4 Common Plastic Recycling Processes You Should Be Aware Of, 6 Ways Digitisation Has Positively Impacted The Plastic Molding Process, Understanding The Importance Of Recycling Plastics, The Importance Of Design For Optimizing Plastic Manufacturing Costs, Importance Of Technology In Plastic Manufacturing. When PBAT is mixed with NuPlastiQ GP, it will also biodegrade in marine environments. Even if a complete breakdown does not occur, we would achieve a reduction in the amount of space needed to dispose of the materials. For instance, a major use of recycled plastic is to mold items for use outdoors (e.g., park benches). Also, it makes it cheap to deal with plastic wastes. Less energy means low pollution. PHA may provide a solution for the plastic pollution problem. The goal should be to reduce overall plastic consumption. We need to do something about our planet, and we need to do something soon or we may be facing a future where the planet may be inhabitable. If we can replace the normal plastic with bioplastic, then we can minimize the negative impact of plastic pollution. The bioplastic manufacturing process emits less greenhouse gas compared to manufacturing. Smithsonian Magazine: Corn Plastic to the Rescue. The benefit of helping our planet is something that we cannot overlook. On the other hand, biodegradable plastics are petroleum-based plastics with an additive that harnesses their decomposition. In the Evidence Review Report, a working group of leading experts nominated by academies across Europe conclude that biodegradable plastic has a role to play in reducing the accumulation of plastics in the environment. On the other hand, the term bioplastics refers to polymers made from renewable biomass sources, such as plant lipids and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, and recovered food waste, among others. With scarcity issues and hunger affecting about 1 in 5 families in the developed world and significantly more in developing nations, there is an ethics question to consider when attempting to expand this industry. Moreover, biodegradable plastic decomposes naturally in the environment when microorganisms metabolize and break down the structure. There are typically two forms that we use today: solid and injection-molded. With the environment as it is now, we need to come up with ways that help the environment and ways that can leave a path for our future generations. Biodegradable plastics use natural products; therefore, the use of bioplastic can profoundly reduce the amount of petroleum used and consequently lessen its environmental hazards. It creates a result which is believed to be eco-friendly compared to the traditional plastics that we throw away every day. Biodegradable plastics also help conserve petroleum supplies. Plastic is a major source of pollution in the land and sea with very few ways to recycle and dispose of them. This is achieved when the bacteria and fungi present in the surrounding environment naturally metabolizes the plastics. Assuming demand continues to increase while production volumes rise at a lower manufacturing cost, the eventual consumer prices for this option should be similar to most of the conventional plastics that we use today. When they begin to break down in the environment, bacteria in the soil begin to consume the components. Since you can recycle or decompose them, you will not require setting up new dumps despite having a considerable amount of plastic waste in your office or home. E. Recycling challenges. 10. All Rights Reserved. However, the benefits that plastics bring to our lives are accompanied by concerns about the impact that waste plastics have on the environment. That means we can mix the traditional manufacturing cycle with the natural one, reducing the percentage that comes from fossil fuels. Being made from plants and crops like corn or soybean, there can be the risk of contamination from pesticides and other harmful products that are used on these crops. While it decomposes naturally, biodegradable plastics behave like other plastics when in the ocean. Producing and recycling biodegradable can be expensive. Energy . These materials take centuries to decompose, becoming a threat to the environment, humans, and animals. They Consume Less Energy During Their Manufacture. Biodegradable plastics are designed to biodegrade in a specific medium (water, soil, compost) under certain conditions and in varying periods of time. Every year, over 19 billion pounds of plastic end up in the ocean. Historically, additives are blended into plastics to stabilize products against degradation, which is why blending additives into plastic products to promote their degradation (i.e. Reduces Carbon Emission. We are producing more waste plastic today than ever. Humans are using different forms of plastics each day. They must totally and quickly decompose biologically or be compostable if they are made from plant biomass such as maize starch, sugar cane, or wheat. Though the initial investment in the biodegradable plastics might be slightly higher, in. Oxo-degradable plastic has a long time span of usability. Even with the downsides of using biodegradable plastic like the costs, it would still be more beneficial to switch to biodegradable plastic rather than continuing to use plastics like how we have been for many years. Also, the aspect lowers the amount of heat released to the environment. 2. Roughly 3% of petroleum consumption in the United States is due to the number of plastics that we consume each year. Biodegradable plastics offer a substance that is made from a natural source, so the risks of breaking down are much fewer. Plastics can end up in the food and water we drink in the form of microplastics. This contamination gets transferred to the final products. Examples include synthetic polymers (plastics) like polyethylenes (#2), polyethylene terephthalate (#1), polyvinyl chloride (#5), and polystyrene (#6). When we reduce the amount of traditional plastics that we use by mixing biodegradable molecules in with the oil-based ones, then it does create less of a dependence on petroleum. Oxo-biodegradable plastic is reusable and recyclable. But, nothing is perfect and biodegradable plastics are no exception. Furthermore, since the materials used to create biodegradable plastics are plant-based, minimal carbon is emitted during the composting process. 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