Tag Archive for: biodegradable
Are bioplastics the next big thing for packaging?
Bioplastics, not to be confused with biodegradable plastics, are a relatively new field within the South African plastics industry. There are many types of bioplastic that can fulfill different applications and uses. It is important to remember that the term “bioplastics” does not necessarily mean biodegradable or compostable.
Bio-based plastics are not always biodegradable and biodegradable plastics are not always bio-based – although in many cases, they are. Bioplastics simply mean that the main source of raw material is natural and plant-based. They are not made from fossil fuels and oil, which means that bioplastics have the potential to be carbon-neutral materials.
Can bioplastics solve the problem of litter?
While the use of bioplastics won’t actually solve the problem of littering, they are better for the environment should they be discarded irresponsibly. Every single human has a responsibility to avoid littering and illegally dumping their waste. Instead, waste should always be placed in a refuse bin or in a recycling bin.
Many bioplastic products are biodegradable. If these items are dumped in the environment and if oxygen is present, they can be decomposed with microorganisms without producing harmful byproducts during the decomposition process. If no oxygen is present, then the microorganisms will produce methane gas.
The process of biodegradation often requires certain environmental conditions to be present; the right temperature, presence of oxygen and microorganisms, enough humidity, etc. Bioplastics and biodegradability should never be an excuse to litter.
It is important that people remain conscious of the impact of their waste on the environment. No matter what type of waste material – whether it is paper, glass, metal or plastic – responsible waste disposal is the first step in removing litter and pollution from the environment.
Can bioplastics be recycled?
Recycling in South Africa and around the world requires different plastic polymers to be separated from one another. Bioplastics will also have to be separated from the waste stream and recycled with their conventional counterparts. For example, bio-based PET bottles can be recycled with oil-based PET plastic.
The only snag comes with biodegradable and compostable plastics. There is currently no separate recycling stream for post-consumer biodegradable or compostable plastics in South Africa. Only the bio-based conventional materials such as bio-PET and bio-PE-HD can be processed currently. There is still much research and development that needs to be done before bioplastics become a popular packaging material.
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Plastics SA represents all sectors of the South African plastics industry. Together with our associations, we play an active role in the growth and development of the industry and strive to address plastics related issues, influence role-players and make plastics the material of choice.
Plastics SA has been mandated to ensure a vibrant and sustainable plastics industry in South Africa. The plastics sector is uniquely placed to meet the needs of a sustainable society and to deliver solutions to many challenges such as recycling, climate change, water scarcity, resource usage and energy recovery.
For more news, updates and information on the South African plastics industry, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
Bioplastics are not the same as biodegradable plastics
When it comes to plastic alternatives, there are two materials that consumers are likely to encounter; bioplastics and biodegradable plastics. These are separate products that are often confused. People think that bioplastics and biodegradable plastics are one and the same, but in reality, they are not.
Both of these materials are fairly new developments that are growing in popularity around the world, as well as in South Africa. They are both marketed as alternatives to traditional plastics and are used in similar applications. However, that is where the similarities end. The differences between bioplastics and biodegradable plastics are outlined below.
What are these materials made from?
Bioplastics are not just one single material but comprise of a whole family of materials with different properties and applications. “Bioplastics” refers to plastics made from plant or other
biological materials – it does not speak to the biodegradability or compostability of the
Product. Bioplastics are made from corn, sugar cane or starch. They have the same characteristics as oil-based plastics but are made from renewable sources.
Biodegradable plastics, on the other hand, are made from fossil fuels such as oil. In theory, they can be degraded by biological processes. However, many so-called biodegradable plastics do not decompose as intended in the natural environment. Biodegradable plastics are not always bio-based (made from plants) and bioplastics are not always biodegradable.
Why use bioplastics?
The main benefit of bioplastics is that they are made from naturally-occurring and renewable materials. They reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and oils which also helps to lower carbon emissions. Bioplastics can be made from genetically modified plants or from natural feedstock – neither of which are food sources for humans. These resources can be regrown every year, unlike oil and fossil fuels.
Another advantage of bioplastics over biodegradable plastics is that they can be recycled with conventional packaging waste. Bioplastics can be processed at a recycling facility in the same way as regular plastic, whereas biodegradable plastic must be separated from the waste stream and processed separately.
Bioplastics are perfectly suited to mechanical recycling. On the other hand, biodegradable plastics must be sent to an industrial composting facility where they can take up to three months to decompose. Manufacturing bioplastics is a fairly complicated process and quite an energy-intensive operation, but as the technology develops and further tests are completed, we could soon see plastic products being made from green resources.
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Plastics SA represents all sectors of the South African plastics industry. Together with our associations, we play an active role in the growth and development of the industry and strive to address plastics related issues, influence role-players and make plastics the material of choice.
Plastics SA has been mandated to ensure a vibrant and sustainable plastics industry in South Africa. The plastics sector is uniquely placed to meet the needs of a sustainable society and to deliver solutions to many challenges such as recycling, climate change, water scarcity, resource usage and energy recovery.
For more news, updates and information on the South African plastics industry, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
Plastic packaging alternatives may be worse for the marine environment
A committee of United Kingdom members of parliament (MPs) has warned that plastic packaging alternatives could be doing more harm to the marine environment than plastics. Compostable and biodegradable plastics could be adding to global marine pollution because they do not always break down as intended.
The use of these plastic alternatives is growing rapidly around the world, but there is a worldwide shortage of infrastructure to correctly process these waste items. Experts also argue that the lack of consumer understanding about compostable and biodegradable plastics actually increases the likelihood of littering and illegal dumping.
Most compostable packaging waste needs to be sent to an industrial composting facility in order to properly decompose. Being left out in the environment will not work. The same goes for biodegradable plastics – they need to be sent to a certified facility in order to break down as intended. The MPs state that there are not enough of these facilities around the world.
Environmental NGOs weigh-in
These concerns held by British lawmakers are also shared by environmental non-government organisations (NGOs) in many regions across the globe. They agree that the rapid introduction of so-called biodegradable plastic alternatives may have actually increased marine pollution. “If a biodegradable cup gets into the sea, it could pose just as much of a problem to marine life as a conventional plastic cup,” says Environmental Investigation Agency ocean campaigner Juliet Phillips.
Environmental think tank, Green Alliance, also says that there is evidence to prove that the term ‘biodegradable’ makes consumers think that it’s alright to discard these materials into the environment. This inadvertently encourages pollution on land and at sea. These materials also do not decompose the same way in the environment as they did under controlled circumstances in a laboratory during development.
Governments concerned about plastic alternatives
“In the backlash against plastic, other materials are being increasingly used as substitutes in food and drink packaging. We are concerned that such actions are being taken without proper consideration of wider environmental consequences, such as higher carbon emissions. Compostable plastics have been introduced without the right infrastructure or consumer understanding to manage compostable waste,” says United Kingdom chair of the Commons select committee Neil Parish.
“The drive to introduce bioplastics, biodegradable plastics and compostable plastics is being done with limited emphasis on explaining the purpose of these materials to the public or consideration of whether they are in fact better from an environmental perspective than the plastic packaging they replace,” explains UK-based independent environmental charity, Keep Britain Tidy.
South Africa in the same boat
Although these opinions are being voiced by UK-based experts, they hold true for biodegradable and plastic alternatives around the world. South Africa is also seeing a rapid increase in the use of compostable and biodegradable plastics. Many supermarkets, coffee shops and restaurants are already providing South Africans with biodegradable and compostable alternatives.
These materials are also not always suitable for recycling. South Africa has a thriving recycling industry and many of the plastic materials produced in the country end up being recycled into new products over and over again. In a country like ours, it sometimes makes more sense to recycle traditional plastic packaging and products than to push for so-called biodegradable and compost alternatives.
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Plastics SA represents all sectors of the South African plastics industry. Together with our associations, we play an active role in the growth and development of the industry and strive to address plastics related issues, influence role-players and make plastics the material of choice.
Plastics SA has been mandated to ensure a vibrant and sustainable plastics industry in South Africa. The plastics sector is uniquely placed to meet the needs of a sustainable society and to deliver solutions to many challenges such as recycling, climate change, water scarcity, resource usage and energy recovery.
For more news, updates and information on the South African plastics industry, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
Biodegradable plastics: blessing or a curse?
Biodegradable plastics are becoming more mainstream, but not all of those products claiming to be biodegradable are able to break down. The general perception is that these products will decompose and disappear if left in the environment. However, this is not entirely true.
Many of these plastic products that are labelled ‘biodegradable’ do not actually decompose fully. Recent studies by the University of Plymouth have shown that biodegradable plastic bags still remain intact after three years of being exposed to the elements, floating at sea or buried in the soil. These bags were still able to hold more than two kilograms of shopping at the end of the study.
Plastics are made from long chains of molecules, called polymers. These chains give plastics their well-known properties; strong, flexible, unreactive and durable. Biodegradable plastics are made from natural materials that form these chains – the polymers are supposed to break down naturally. However, there is no standardised timescale that has been specified in which degradation should occur.
Plastics that are labelled as ‘compostable’ have to adhere to stricter standards. These products are required to decompose under industrial composting conditions within three months. Biodegradable plastics, on the other hand, have no set time frame for their decomposition. This can mislead the public into believing that biodegradable plastics are alright to leave in the environment, either through littering or illegal dumping.
Plastics SA supports more sustainable products
Plastics SA welcomes and supports any innovative plastic products that promote sustainability and environmental preservation. We are working alongside plastics manufacturers, the South African government and other industry stakeholders to find a long-term solution to plastic waste in the environment.
We recommend that all plastics need to undergo an environmental impact assessment and cost evaluation. Any environmental claims need to be backed by science and empirical evidence before being marketed to the general public. These biodegradability and compostability claims need to comply with global standards, such as ISO 14021 for environmental labels and declarations.
Biodegradable plastics are not a solution to litter
South Africans should not assume that bio-based plastics have a lower environmental impact than regular plastics. While they may be made from plant-based sources, studies have shown that people are more likely to litter when they believe that their waste will decompose in the environment.
The fact remains that biodegradable and compostable plastics should still be disposed of properly. Recycling is an integral part of South Africa’s economy – recycling facilities process over 350 000 tonnes of plastics every year. Recycling still remains the most viable solution to plastic waste in today’s economy.
Bio-based plastics are not always biodegradable and biodegradable plastics are not always bio-based. Fossil fuel-based plastics can have an element of biodegradability. This is an important distinction as it will help to avoid confusion when addressing the societal and environmental concerns of bioplastics. This distinction will also remind South Africans that their plastics should always be recycled.
Consumers should avoid littering at all costs
While some biodegradable plastic products may decompose when left in the environment, sadly this is not the case for all products with the label. We urge South Africans to think carefully about their waste disposal practices, especially when it comes to compostable and biodegradable plastics. Littering and illegal dumping should be avoided at all costs, regardless of whether a product claims to be decomposable.
Plastics SA would like to encourage consumers to avoid irresponsible waste disposal practices and embrace our local recycling industry. While we work towards creating more sustainable plastic products, consumers can continue to recycle their plastic waste and work towards the country’s zero-plastic-to-landfill goals.
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Plastics SA represents all sectors of the South African plastics industry. Together with our associations, we play an active role in the growth and development of the industry and strive to address plastics related issues, influence role-players and make plastics the material of choice.
Plastics SA has been mandated to ensure a vibrant and sustainable plastics industry in South Africa. The plastics sector is uniquely placed to meet the needs of a sustainable society and to deliver solutions to many challenges such as recycling, climate change, water scarcity, resource usage and energy recovery.
For more news, updates and information on the South African plastics industry, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.