The Pew Research Center’s Report
A recent study on bioplastic conducted by the journal Science, authored by the researchers associated with the Pew report has revealed that the positive effects of using bioplastics may be less than expected. The study also found that replacing single-use plastics with bioplastics would take a substantial amount of time and that if the world continues on its current course of unstoppable plastic consumption, the quantity of plastic waste being generated will triple in the coming years, by 2040.
Bioplastic refers to plastics made from corn, wheat or sugarcane plants, or other organic materials rather than petroleum. Bio-plastics are biodegradable and compostable plastic materials. It comes by extracting sugar from corn and sugarcane plants and converting it into polylactic acid (PLA). It can also come from polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) of microorganisms.
Plant Bottle- a new kind of plastic:
PLA plastic is most commonly in use for food packaging. While PHA often comes use in medical devices such as sutures and cardiovascular patches (cardiovascular surgery). One of the companies of North America is working on the PLANT BOTTLE- a new kind of plastic. That’s recyclable and is collaborating with Coca-Cola. These recyclable plastic containers, 30-35 % of which come from sugar cane and other plants, with the remaining parts made from traditional oil plastic. The company believed that its packaging now accounts for nearly a third of its North American bottle volume and 7 % globally.
The advace steps of bioplastic:
The increase in the use of bioplastics can promote the expansion of land for agricultural use on a global scale, which will further increase greenhouse gas emissions.
The production of bioplastics in large quantities can change land use globally. Due to this, the land of forest areas can turn into cultivable land. Forests absorb more carbon dioxide than corn or sugarcane. Using food grains like corn for the production of plastic instead of food can cause a food shortage.
It needs to be put at a high temperature to break the bioplastic. Without intense heat, bio-plastics would not be able to degrade landfills or compost. If discharged into the marine environment, it will be as harmful as petroleum-based plastics.
Consequently, such advanced steps so far result in small efforts compared to the growth in demand for plastic containers, specifically in the evolving world, which uses billions of bottles is a big challenge for low and average-income countries, many of which have virtually no recycling systems in place.