As more people are becoming aware of (and using!) biodegradable alternatives to plastic but they don’t always have a place to compost them, some have argued that they are just another wasteful product – especially because they can’t be recycled. Unlike our bagasse products (a by-product of the sugar cane industry) which can easily be…
A Cape Town-based collective, While you were Sleeping, recently screened a documentary called: Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home. It’s a simple story but it packs a big punch and centers around an average size urban family – the MacDonald’s. The filmmakers asked them to keep all their rubbish in their garage for three months.…
A new study has shown that plastic actually does decompose and breakdown but as this article reveals, this doesn’t bode well for the environment.
The controversy and debate around oxo-degradable plastics was recently fuelled by the European Bioplastics Association which published a paper distancing itself from oxo-degradable, as opposed to biodegradable, plastics. Green Home welcomes this move as it has helped to clarify a lot of the confusion around the differences between degradable and biodegradable and highlights the fact…
According to a popular green living blog, polystyrene cups are number 1 on the list of 10 things you should never buy again if you care about the environment. For a list of all 10 green no-no’s released by Green America, click here.
According to this article, the European Plastics Recyclers Association (EuPR) is urging manufacturers to exercise caution if using oxo-degradable additives, warning that degradable plastics have the potential to do more harm to the environment than good. Unlike biodegradable alternatives to plastic which are made out of natural, renewable resources like sugar cane and corn, degradable…
It has come to our attention that over the last few months, the Polystyrene Council’s marketing people have been on a mission to punt the environmental benefits of polystyrene – especially now that it is recyclable. We are particularly concerned by the fact that ‘green’ or ‘holistic’ events and publications have been the target of…
According to this article on ThomasNet Industrial News Room, green packaging is on the rise and was the top packaging trend in 2008. The article states: “Biodegradable plastics are foreseen to have the fastest gains, fueled by increased price competitiveness with conventional resins, rapidly expanding capacity and a lower pricing volatility than petroleum-based plastics”.
Eben Bayer, co-founder of the company Ecovative Design has found a way to use fungi from agricultural waste to replace polystyrene/styrofoam! Read the full article that appeared in the New York Times here.
