Can Plastic Be Composted?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ค. 2024
- Thanks to the demands of eco-conscious consumers, biodegradable and compostable plastics are cropping up everywhere. Are these green plastics the solution to our throwaway lifestyle? Well -- it’s complicated.
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Credits:
Producer: Elaine Seward
Writer: Alexa Billow
Scientific Consultants: Michelle Boucher, PhD Brianne Raccor, PhD Kevin O'Connor, PhD
Executive Producer: Hilary Hudson
Music:
Sam Leopard - Secret Bass
LANCARTIS - Disco-Funk Classic Version
Sources:
mcgillcompost.com/biodegradab...
phys.org/news/2017-12-truth-b...
www.theguardian.com/environme...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10....
pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/...
www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...
www.filabot.com/blogs/news/57...
www.biomasspackaging.com/the-p...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/f...
www.hitachi.com/businesses/in...
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
science.howstuffworks.com/sci...
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While renewable-sourced plastics like PLA are a worthy goal, some scientists believe that switching production of traditional plastics like PET to renewable energy sources would have a lot more impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Of course, doing both -- making plastics from renewable materials with renewable energy -- would be the best-case scenario! Source: iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa60a7/meta
I created a research paper on this topic a couple years back for a class, and I found that the actual biodegradability of PLA is not a simple answer. Through my research, I found similar claims that PLA would take as long as PET to break down. However, when I looked where the article found this information, I realized that the only "studies" that were performed were done by analysts and included no actual field tests. After searching through some more research, I found that scientific field tests had been performed by a university in Korea. They found that in only a couple of months, they saw degradation in the PLA. I will give a citation for the paper below the comment, but I also am currently performing some unofficial tests of PLA's biodegradability by burying some PLA cups in my backyard and I have found some degradation (such as small holes starting to appear) has already started occurring after about 3 months. I also live in the Pacific Northwest, so the temperatures here never actually get into the range where PLA technically breaks down. I think that in more active environments, PLA does not need heat for it to begin decomposition.
Citation:
Hamad, K., Kaseem, M., Yang, H. W., Deri, F., & Ko, Y. G. (2015). Properties and medical applications of polylactic acid: A review. Express Polymer Letters, 9(5), 435-455. doi:10.3144/expresspolymlett.2015.42
Hi, i think that would be a good idea to make videos about your experiments with the biodegradability of PLA and other things
Hey need to discuss on this...can you mail me on jasonjoseph700@gmail.com
Good work. The thing I really want to know is, because it's purely a bioplastic, is it as safe to burn as wood? It's not an ideal solution, but it at least gives it an avenue to be carbon neutral as it's made from corn to begin with, so the sequestration of carbon can at least by cyclic while also not forming harmful microplastic litter.
PlA is the shi
(Sorry i know this is an old comment of yours) Is it possible that your PLA cups are a PLA blend? I’m curious bc I dont know if PLA blends are already their own category separate from PLA alone 4:08
4:11 Polycaprolactone looks like a sad monster.
I only have plastic because it comes bundled with like everything I buy. At no point did I want any plastic, but I'm surrounded by it anyway. If the things I bought simply came with glass, paper, or cardboard instead then I would never contribute to plastic waste. If that means a slight price increase I honestly wouldn't even notice. If that means a certain product I like can't be made anymore then I'd get over it within a couple hours and it would cease to matter.
Once again, the problem is industry and government policy. The same culprits are behind a majority of CO2 emissions resulting in climate change. I don't think its fair to push guilt on citizens when it's not our damn fault. Just look to where most of the problem is coming from and cut that source. Don't try to force billions of individual human brains to make big lifestyle changes with the hopes that we all do and make a small dent in the problem because we all know that isn't going to happen and thus it isn't going to fix the problem which means its all been a big waste of time and money to pretend that we care about fixing these things. People have trouble knowing what is real already these days, maybe we forgot that pretending to fix a problem is different than actually fixing it.
Thanks for sharing this video! What a great resource for explaining the difference between PET and PLA
We're all for the industrial plastic makers get us to a home compostable plastic! Great strides are being made every year!
A lot of other compostable containers that are made from fiber, rather than PLA are more appropriate for home composting
Thanks a lot, very informal video !
can pla sustain coffee and tea temps?
im doing the whole 3d printing thing and from all ive read (atleast 3d printed) pla gets too soft for use at high temperatures
wouldnt it be better to just use paper cups for cold beverages or is there some kind of energy or deforestation aspect im missing?
As matter of fact, yes it can, provided it's the right type of PLA. Like any polymer the exact properties of PLA are dependent on its molecular weight distribution.
great video this brought my college degree into the spotlight lol damn
Hey! I'm a Chemical Engineering student from Peru and this video would be amazing to share with my classmates. Unfortunately not all of them speak English. Is there anyway I can contribute adding Spanish captions to this video? Thanks!
We would love this! Email us at acsreactions@gmail.com--thank you!
This doesn't make sense, I've tested the these biodegradable plastic cups, spoons, forks & only took months to start seeing results. Or I'm missing something?
Such cute cat! 😻
#7 plastic is unknown and can include Tritan plastic which may not be recyclable non the less compostable
even in ideal cases, doesnt pla leave microplastics?
in canada we do recycle pla, its just Ps that we dont
Funny enough, I'm seeing some comparison between plastic and wood. Before about 290 million years ago, pretty much no organism was able to break down wood. This is why the vast majority of coal that exists was formed during that specific time frame, and why it hasn't formed as readily since then. I think this does offer some historical precedent for using microorganisms to break down waste material, and more focus should be put into developing such organisms.
So number 7 "other" plastics shouldn't be recycled to the plastic bin? :O
Cities should mnake it legal to have dumpster divers to reduce the waistful food and other things that are still good to wear or sell.
Doesn't biodegradable plastic still create micro-plastic pollution when it breaks down?
@Bio Kimistry Yes, why? Did I miss something? I'd heard (in another video) that even biodegradable plastics leave a micro-plastic residue.
@@choedzin as they stated, *if properly composted*, it gets degraded (i.e. consumed) by bacteria and turned into things plants find useful (probably CO2, although don't quote me on that).
But I'd imagine that, if it is *not* properly composted, that will probably lead to microplastics, as the sun and other environmental factors break it up.
it ceases to be plastics (long-chain macromolecules) once it is broken down into its components.
polylactic acid presumably breaks down into lactic acid, which is a common organic molecule in biological matter and produced by most animals. polyethylene breaks down into ethylene molecules, a flammable hydrocarbon gas. polyesters break down into esters, so on and so forth.
Just use paper cups ... problem solved.
i dont like the tone of this video - back to permaculture vids