Bio-Plastics, a Better and Tastier Alternative Than Plastic, for Humans and Sea Turtles Alike!

Source: National Geographic

Bio-Plastics are emerging as an alternative to traditional plastic that is better for the planet.

What are Bio-Plastics?

Bio-Plastics, or bioplastic, is a type of plastic made from plants or other biological materials. This is different from traditional plastic, which is made of petroleum. These “bio-based” plastics are made from sugar extraction from plants, such as corn or sugarcane. 

How exactly is this done? The sugar is extracted from a bio source and converted into polylactic acids. Other ways bioplastics are made are through polyhydroxyalkanoates, engineered from microorganisms. 

Polylactic acids are commonly found in disposable utensils, fabrics, and food packaging. Polyhydroxyalkanoates are found in materials used in medical practices, such as sutures.

How Are They Different from Traditional Plastic?

The bioplastics found on the market are made of cellulose and plant-based polysaccharides. 

These bioplastics strain the environment due to the need for viable space required to produce the polysaccharides found in plants. This results in a demand for available land and raises concern about the strain on the ecosystem. This is due to the exponentially large amount of water required to sustain these plants. The end factor is competition between the demand for space for food production or bioplastic production. 

The difference between plastic and bioplastics goes further than what they are made of. Plastic has a tough time being biodegradable on its own, but it turns out so are bioplastics. National Geographic claims that “industrial composting is necessary to heat the bioplastic to a high enough temperature that allows microbes to break it down.” If the bioplastic is not exposed to this high heat level, the material cannot degrade on its own, similar to traditional plastics. Similarities between plastic and bioplastics are that when they end up in landfills or oceans, they will break down in the same microsized way. This results in the devastation of the ecosystem.  

How Can Bio-Plastics Make a Difference?

Projects such as Circe are reinventing bioplastics and aiming to reduce the need for plastics with their new findings. Circe, the Circular Industries with Cellular Factories Institute Project, is addressing the plastic epidemic by engineering microbes to take in hydrogen and carbon dioxide to produce polymers via gas fermentation. These special polymers, called polyhydroxyalkanoates, can make new bioplastics. The ultimate impact of Circe is that they are using the available and undesirable greenhouse gases to produce bioplastics, resulting in two avenues that reduce the environmental impacts of traditional plastic and bioplastics.  

Another revolutionary project is Shrilk, an entirely biodegradable bioplastic, with special thanks to our ocean friend, the shrimp. This bioplastic is structured out of chitosan (shrimp shells) and fibroin, a silk protein. The remarkable aspect of Shrilk is that it can be used in manufacturing processes without damaging the environment. As Shrilk decomposes, it even releases nitrogen-rich nutrients in the form of fertilizer due to its natural origins. Shrilk has also proposed that it can be used for medical purposes such as healing wounds and regenerative medicine. 

What is the Impact of Plastic on Earth?

Plastic is a global disaster that has trashed our ocean and has ceased to reduce its production. With 165 million tons polluting our seas and 9 million tons entering them yearly, unfortunately, bioplastics also pose a similar problem. With its biodegradability seen as an advantage, there are important factors that need to be considered for it to be an eco-friendly alternative to plastic. 

The need for high temperatures, and special composting facilities, make this plastic still not relatively easy to break down. Due to their improper disposal and organization in landfills, these bioplastics end up alongside plastic waste. Even more troubling is that if these bioplastics are deprived of oxygen, they can release methane gases, which become even more potent than carbon dioxide. If bioplastics are not discarded properly, they contaminate other recycled plastics damaging recycling infrastructures, resulting in a need for different recycling methods within dumps or waste removal practices.

Ultimately, the dire need for plastic alternatives is resulting in new creations of bioplastics that can be biodegradable on their own, such as Circe and Shrilk.

Holding plastic and other materials' most extensive production cycles accountable is a way to reduce pollution from the very top. Carom helps people, businesses, organizations, and establishments, work smarter by implementing models that work with our Earth. With an “all hands in” approach, Carom transforms linear business models into circular systems that put people and the planet first.

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Source: National Geographic

Key Takeaways

• Bio-Plastics, or bioplastic, is a type of plastic made from plants or other biological materials. This is different from traditional plastic, which is made of petroleum. 

• Polylactic acids are commonly found in disposable utensils, fabrics, and food packaging. Polyhydroxyalkanoates are found in medical materials such as sutures. 

• These bioplastics strain the environment due to the need for viable space for the polysaccharides found in plants. 

• Projects such as Circe are reinventing bioplastics and aiming to reduce the need for plastics with their new findings. 

• Shrilk is a completely biodegradable bioplastic, thanks to our ocean friend, the shrimp. This bioplastic comprises chitosan (shrimp shells) and fibroin (silk protein).

• As Shrilk decomposes, it even releases nitrogen-rich nutrients in the form of fertilizer due to its natural origins.

• Shrilk has also proposed that it can be used for medical purposes such as healing wounds and regenerative medicine. 

• Plastic is a global disaster that has trashed our ocean and has ceased to reduce its production. With 165 million tons polluting our seas and 9 million tons entering them yearly. 

• Ultimately, the dire need for plastic alternatives is resulting in new creations of bioplastics that can be biodegradable on their own, such as Circe and Shrilk.

• Carom helps people, businesses, nonprofit organizations, government establishments, and the education system work smarter by helping people work with Earth.