There are fears that increasing use of PLA may undermine existing efforts to recycle plastics. Many people think terms like "bioplastic," "biodegradable," and "compostable" mean exactly the same thing. But there's a huge difference between a "biodegradable" plastic (one that might take decades...
And no matter how many ocean or river clean-ups we arrange, our environment simply cannot cope with our love of single-use plastic. In the UK alone, we throw away over 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups a year. Conventiona...
“While there are many ways to generally improve sustainability in the world, there are two primary methods right now—one is to use more recycling and recyclable material, and the other is to use biodegradable material,” Kim says. “Using bioplastic is a viable option to solve our increased...
Plastic– while not endlessly recyclable, manyplastics can be re-processedseveral times into new products before they start to break down. Even two uses are better than 500+ years in a landfill after a single use! Aluminum– a can might take 100+ years to break down, but aluminum, like g...
just because we're absolutely surrounded by plastic in its many forms. So they've actually done some quantifications and have shown that you're probably eating just as many microplastics that are in the food as are falling on the food, on the plate as you're eating it. That's how thor...
These materials are derived from renewable sources or are biodegradable. Eco-plastics aim to reduce the environmental impact of plastic production and disposal. Every year, U.S. landfills handle tens of billions of tons of plastic [source: ACF]. And in this case "handle" means "do nothing wi...
Certain companies make additives for polypropylene that make this plastic biodegradable. However, these additives are not used for polypro fabrics. This factor means that every piece of polypropylene fabric that is produced will remain in the ecosystem for hundreds of years before it is broken down...
The most obvious solution to the plastics problem is to cut down drastically on their usage, replacing plastics with materials that are reusable (like stainless steel), biodegradable (such as recycled cardboard) or recyclable many times over (such as glass). For some applications, ...
Understanding your carbon footprint is the first step towards reducing it. Many businesses are now asking themselves: "Why should companies reduce their carbon footprint?" The answer lies in recognising the collective responsibility to mitigate the impacts of climate change, conserve valuable ...
The evolution of the plastic bottle from amazing to scourge of land and sea has played out inside of a generation.