There is no doubt that our dependency on petroleum is a major contributing factor to climate change – whether it is the petrol that we put in our car or the polystyrene cup that we use for our take-away coffee. Studies show that a move towards plant-based, biodegradable alternatives to plastics could provide a solution…
Products made from bioplastic look, behave and feel like conventional clear plastic products. The use of bioplastics is becoming increasingly popular. Let’s have a look at the advantages and disadvantages. But first we need to clear up some confusion around the term bioplastic. The term applies to a wide group of materials. According to European…
This article in Business Week focuses on biodegradable plastics. It includes a video interview with bioengineer, Oliver P. Peoples about the bioplastic industry and his company Metabolix.
According to this industry website, over 500 bioplastics manufacturers companies already exist, and are expected to increase ten fold by 2020 to over 5000. The bioplastic industry, which is estimated to be growing at about 10% pa is set to increase to 25-30% by 2020.
It would seem that we are not the only ones concerned about the introduction of degradable plastics in South Africa. As a new article reports, the Plastics Federation of South Africa (PFSA) has expressed concern over the fact that Albany Bakeries, as well as other retailers, are making use of plastic packaging which contains additives…
Polystyrene (PS) is an issue for a number of reasons: – PS production involves the use of benzene and other suspected human carcinogenic (cancercausing) substances (styrene and 1,3-butadiene).- PS leaches styrene and nonylphenol, both of which are known endocrine disrupting chemicalsand should therefore not be used for food packaging.- PS is not usually recycled because…
The health effects of plastic have increasingly been questioned. PVC was one of the first plastics to be shown to leach harmful chemicals. Pthalates from PVC actually move from the plastic (be it wrapping, clothing, a child’s toy or a medical blood transfusion bag) and contaminate what it is touching. Pthlates have been proven to…
