Biodegradable Plastics, Making Packaging Greener

Written By Admin
Dated: July 2, 2007

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Do you remember when plastic bags hit the scene and through promotional blitzes we were encouraged to choose plastic bags and products wrapped in plastic packaging over paper bags and paper packaging at the supermarket in order to reduce the cutting down of trees to make paper bags? Plastic bags and plastic packaging made partly from post consumer materials were heralded as forward thinking technology at the time of their arrival. Recycling programs propped up in many areas and we were encouraged to participate in them to help reduce the amount of trash going into landfills and to keep our environment cleaner. We felt good about purchasing products wrapped in this new plastic packaging and for choosing plastic bags over paper to save our trees

The problem which is apparent now is that these efforts aimed at reducing the number of trees harvested to make paper products including bags, the amount of trash filling our landfills, and helping the environment to stay cleaner has not worked as it was intended to. Many tree forests have been saved yes, but at the expense of the environment in other ways. The environment is not as such that the caretaking of only one aspect of it will ever suffice as we know more fully today than we have ever known before.

Approximately 90 percent of the plastics that were developed then with the best of intentions are now clogging our landfills, emitting environmentally harmful gasses into the atmosphere from the materials used in the manufacturing of them, ending up in water systems and killing aquatic mammals, fish and plant species, and depleting precious reserves of crude oil to be used in the manufacturing of these plastics that refuse to biodegrade.. This unexpected turn of events with the plastics that were thought to be the answer to the problem of over deforesting for the manufacture of paper products and  the reduction of wastes going into landfills, has instead created bigger problems and bigger threats to the environment.  

With landfills clogged to capacity with plastics that refuse to biodegrade, more landfills have had to be created to handle the continuing influx of new wastes to landfills. The creation of a landfill displaces the plant and wildlife living there which are crucial to the environments ecosystem. The maintaining of landfills and the costs of collecting and transporting wastes to landfills are having a serious impact on the economic funding of townies and provinces for waste removal and disposal, rendering some perilously short of the needed funds.  Unfortunately, this often results in a rob from Peter to pay Paul scenario, in which monies from other funds must be used to pay the costs of ever increasing amounts of wastes headed for landfills

What began as a grass roots movement to go green and save our planet now includes the participation of governments and peoples from around the world. With the greater knowledge gained about the shortcomings of plastics that aren't biodegradable and the push for more environmentally conscious and sound practices and alternatives, new technology has been used in new eco-friendly developments like biodegradable plastic. The call went out for greener packaging and new technology was used to answer that call with biodegradable plastic packaging. These plastics are starch based plastics that will completely biodegrade in about a month's time once they are in landfills and exposed to the elements.

The new technology used in new developments in greener packaging and other plastics like bags, gets its starch base from plants such as cassava, which is found in East Asia, as well as from other plant sources.  Using the starch derived from plants is not itself new. Plant starches have been used in making bread, flour, and other food items for many years. But the concept of using starch from plants in the manufacturing of greener plastics and packaging certainly is a new and innovative technological development to aid in the battle to save the environment from further destruction.

How exactly does this greener packaging biodegrade in about a month's time? With the help of bacteria which breaks down and eats these plastics, leaving only usable plant nutrients behind. The plant nutrients the bacteria leave behind is then absorbed into and nourishes the surrounding landfill soil. But doesn't a starch based biodegradable plastic packaging attract insects and bacteria to it before it reaches the landfill, like while stored in the pantry for example? Experts on this new greener packaging say no. They will not attract insects unless other foods are stored in them, especially sugary foods such as jams and jellies, which many insects are quite fond of. They will also not encourage the growth of bacteria as long as they are kept dry and the area they are stored in is dry as well. Bacteria need moisture to develop and grow.

Are starch based biodegradable plastics used in the making of greener packaging an economically feasible, readily accessible, and environmentally protective solution to the plastics of the past that now clog landfills refusing to biodegrade. Unequivocally “Yes.” Starch based biodegradable plastics can be used more than once, reducing the need to manufacture as many or to dispose of them as soon. It is rapidly broken down in landfills leaving space for other types of waste, so that fewer new landfills are needed. The plant starch used in the making of greener packaging is derived from plant sources that grow abundantly, is eco-friendly, and the manufacturing of them does not require the use of oil from oil reserves which are presently threatened by eventual depletion if more steps aren't taken to prevent that from happening.

It's true; the plastics that were once thought to have such potential for saving trees, reducing landfill wastes, and protecting the environment failed. But we learned a great deal from that mistake. This led to the development of new and better technology used in new developments like starch based biodegradable, greener packaging and plastics. With these new developments we can protect our environment and so much more now, and in the future.