Plastic that really does degrade!

I’ve just been reading about a plastic bag that is supposed to be completely biodegradable! Unlike other marketed degradable plastics such those made from a corn based, which will only degrade under extreme temperatures, this one seems to really do the job, (fingers and toes crossed here). But some people have commented that this bag won’t break down in compost heap, as they don't reach sufficient temperatures (I know mine doesn’t). Has anyone used it?


If this is all it’s cracked up to e, it will be truly revolutionary, it that simply dissolves in hot water. No waste. No landfill.


Once you’ve finished with the bag, Place it in a receptacle filled with water, the plastic dissolves into the water almost immediately.

Cyberpac, its creators, claim that you don't need to boil it, just chuck it on the compost heap!


"Harmless-Dissolve is made from a hydro-degradable substrate which is 5 times stronger than normal polythene. It is a readily biodegradable, water-soluble polymer which completely biodegrades in a composting environment, in a dishwasher or in a washing machine. It has no harmful residues and will biodegrade into naturally occuring substances - the bugs love it.

"It's non-toxic and is degraded by micro-organisms, moulds and yeasts. These organisms can occur in both artificial environments, such as anaerobic digesters, activated sewage sludge and composts and natural environments such as aquatic systems and soil. The micro-organisms use Harmless-Dissolve as a food source by producing a variety of enzymes that are capable of reacting with it. In the end the bag becomes carbon dioxide, water and biomass.


“Harmless-Dissolve is incredibly versatile and flexible. It can be produced in many colours and formats:


”For envelopes, Harmless-Dissolve can be made in any size, printed full colour process using biodegradable inks and finished with a biodegradable peel and seal lip.”


They also produce a wide range of other environmentally friendly products

   

Plastic Planet: Life in the plastic age

This is a review of a new documentary Plastic Planet, by Jonathan Kim of The Huffington Post. The film   deals with the problems of the mounting piles of plastic that are everywhere in the natural envoronment. Director Werner Boote proclaims that just as the world experienced the Ice Age, the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, mankind is currently living in what could only be called the Plastic Age. First created in 1855 by Alexander Parkes, plastic is involved in every facet of modern existence to the point that life without it is unimaginable. Don't believe me? If you do a quick check, I'm willing to bet that you are currently touching at least three pieces of plastic right now. Looking around me, I could reach out and touch at least 50 plastic items (pens, tape dispenser, phone, printer, blank DVDs, etc.) and probably a lot more.

But plastic is not as benign as it appears. Plastic Planet attempts to tell the full story of plastic -- how it's made, where it goes, and how dangerous chemicals found in plastics make their way into the environment, the food chain, and eventually into the human body. Watch my ReThink Review of Plastic Planet and my discussion with Ana Kasparian of the Young Turks about how plastic chemicals enter your body, the effects they can have on the endocrine system, and some ways to keep plastic out of you.

In this video, I have one statistic wrong -- it turns out that it's 92.6 percent of Americans (not all humans) who have detectable amounts of plastic chemicals in their blood and urine, though BPA has been found in the air around the world. Unfortunately, that chemical is bisphenol A (BPA), a known endocrine disruptor that can mimic human hormones and has been linked to cancer, obesity, early puberty, diabetes and heart disease. You may remember a few years back when Nalgene was criticized for using BPA in their hard plastic water bottles favored by outdoorsy types (they've since stopped using it). The US and state governments have been restricting the use of BPA in products designed for babies and very young children, but BPA is still widely used in food packaging, including the linings of cans. To find out more about how countries are restricting BPA, go here.

Of course, the best way to keep plastic out of your body and the environment is to use less of it, especially when it comes to food. I recycled some old plastic containers and bought glass replacements for the two plastic items I use the most -- my juice pitcher and a large measuring cup I use to blend my smoothies. I already don't drink bottled water (nor should you for many reasons), and most of the food I buy doesn't come wrapped in plastic. I often store leftovers in plastic containers (including reused yogurt containers, which probably isn't a good idea), but will be looking into getting glass containers, possibly as a birthday gift (hint).

To find out more about plastic pollution and ways to prevent it from damaging the environment and living things, check out Plastic Pollution Coalition.

To find ways to keep plastic out of your food, visit Life Without Plastic.

One green bottle sitting on the (Supermarket) shelf!

'Wonderful,' amazing,' and many other superlatives came to me just now, as I read this piece in The Guardian. Slowly, surely, there is light  at the end of a very dark trunnel? There is now
 an alternative to the ubiquitous plastic bottle, and it's about to hit a supermarket near you!


A Suffolk-based inventor believes he may have found the answer to Britain's rapidly developing landfill crisis.


Each day some 15m plastic bottles are used in the UK, many ending up on the country's burgeoning waste mountains. And as the average plastic bottle takes 500 years to decompose, this legacy will have an impact on generations to come.

But now, inspired by a papier-mache balloon that his son made at school, Martin Myerscough believes he has come up with the answer. The GreenBottle, which looks remarkably like the conventional two-litre plastic bottles on supermarket shelves, comprises a sturdy paper shell with a plastic liner to keep the milk fresh.

Once the lining is ripped out, the paper shell can be quickly flattened and recycled up to seven times – plastic bottles can be recycled only once. Alternatively the paper bottle can be turned into compost within a matter of several weeks.

The bottle has been trialled at Asda stores in East Anglia and a national roll-out across the supermarket chain will start this week, beginning in Cornwall.

Myerscough dreamt up the idea for Greenbottle after talking to a man in his local pub. "A chap I row with was running the local landfill, so I asked him what was the main problem and he said plastic bottles, especially milk bottles, and that set me thinking."


Recalling his son's efforts with papier-mache, Myerscough played around with several designs before coming up with a prototype.

Currently 1,000 two-litre bottles are supplied to shops around Suffolk, and Myerscough claims customers have been "overwhelmingly positive".

There are plans to make the next generation of bottles entirely from paper and to sell products to other industries, such as detergent and shampoo manufacturers.

Asda's decision to introduce the bottles nationally should help bring costs of production down. "The price is the same as a plastic bottle," Myerscough said. "Our target is to be competitive with plastic bottles."


He claims that the production of each GreenBottle has a significantly lower carbon footprint than that of a plastic one, even though the paper cases are currently made in Turkey.


He conceded there were already greener alternatives to plastic bottles, such as pouches, but he said some supermarkets had withdrawn them because customers found them unwieldly. "Our product is more mainstream," Myerscough said. "The way the consumer uses the bottle is identical to a plastic bottle."

Here is a BBC news report about the bottles:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12335042

Lot of Bottle Greenhouse!

I found this in my favourite newspaper, Positive news (which is free by the way)!
It's an amazing way to both recycle old plastic bottles as well as create something wonderful. Problem is that we don't buy these bottles, so are relying on neighbours to supply them to us. You can download the instructing on pdf, and, it looks very easy to make. The only concern I have is that there are too many gaps between the bottles so cold air would get in! I'll probably have to cover those gaps with old plastic sheeting too.

Plastic bottle greenhouses are inexpensive ways to protect winter crops, but they are also making use of resources that might otherwise go to landfill

A greenhouse offers a way to extend the growing season and cultivate fruits and vegetables that struggle during the cold months. Greenhouses, however, can be expensive to buy, difficult to build, costly to maintain and vulnerable to vandalism.

A structure made out of used plastic bottles - a concept devised by Scottish sustainable charity REAP - is an ideal solution. It is a project that everyone can get involved in too, including schools, groups and community organisations, because the basic blueprint can be adapted to make anything, from a pint-sized cold frame to a sizeable sun room.

With a few bits of timber, several bamboo canes and approximately 1,000 two-litre plastic drinks bottles - otherwise destined for landfill - gardeners all over the world are pulling out all the stops. The designs range from simple potting sheds on allotments, to outstanding mock-stained glass sun traps, to award-winning structures on display at the 2010 Chelsea Flower Show. The possibilities are clearly endless.

Meanwhile, plastic bottle greenhouses are popping up in school playgrounds across the UK. At Freemantle Infant School in Southampton, young eco-warriors were concerned about the amount of rubbish going into landfill, and how much time it takes for things to decompose. They also needed a greenhouse to sow seeds for the school's vegetable plots, so they decided a structure made from old plastic bottles was the most efficient way to solve both matters in question.

"We collected bottles from parents and had a fantastic result," say the pupils, "so we designed a large greenhouse and prevented over 1,700 plastic bottles going to landfill." Inspired by the success of this project, the children went on to build a fully functioning bicycle shelter out of 1,000 unwanted video cassettes. "We're going to have another collection of video tapes," they add, "and build a buggy store for parents to keep prams dry and safe." Freemantle School revealed to Positive News that one of their first-year students was overheard telling his parent: "We're super eco; look what we made!" while a year-two student proudly reported: "We grew these seeds in our bottle house."

Richard Bennett, from Fife's environmental group Sustainable Communities Initiatives, designs and build all sorts of plastic bottle structures and he believes they are the perfect project for schools. "With lots of children to help gather the bottles and wash them, it's a great re-use educational structure that really works," he says. Through community workshops, members at Fife have also designed other buildings out of plastic bottles, such as bus shelters and playground screens that shield pupils from the winter weather.

As part of a new sustainability project, the National Botanic Garden of Wales are also building a plastic bottle greenhouse next to the schools’ allotment plots in their double walled garden. Leading the scheme is Jane Richmond, who said: "This is an ongoing project and anyone is welcome to come and see how we are getting on - as long as they bring some bottles that we can use!" Jane added: "We aren't doing this just for show. This will be a functioning greenhouse, which will be used to grow plants in our education programmes. It may be made out of recycled drinks bottles but it'll make a very efficient greenhouse."

Meanwhile, an enterprising green team of volunteers at Linwood, near Glasgow, built their bottle greenhouse to help locals get more out of their community growing space. Schools, residents, groups and members of Renfrewshire Green Gym collected over 1,000 containers and spent the summer months constructing it. "The bottles act as double glazing," says Julie Wilson, a Green Gym coordinator. "Now we can grow veg through the winter."

Renfrewshire Green Gym offers local residents opportunities to improve their fitness levels by taking part in conservation activities, so the greenhouse was an ideal project to engage all its members. "The wonderful thing about Green Gym is that every day is totally different," one resident remarked. "One day, we'll do a litter pick and the next day is something completely different like building a bottle greenhouse. It's so much fun."

Detailed plans for building a plastic bottle greenhouse are available as a free download from REAP Scotland. Contact: www.reapscotland.org.uk

A tale of two countries: Plastic bag use is on the rise in Britain, whilst Togo has baned their use.

Just when we all thought that use of the ubiquitous plastic bag, to carry home our shopping  was in steep decline, along comes a new report in the Guardian, that suggests that we have a long way to go still. Are we just too lazy or don't we care what happens to plastic once it gets into the environment, or are we just not aware of the consequences? 

Plastic bag use in Britain is on the rise after the limited success of a voluntary agreement by retailers to cut the number of bags given to shoppers, according to figures compiled this week.



By contrast, in Ireland, which imposed a tax on plastic bags in 2002, the number of plastic bags has plummeted. Consumers in the UK now use nearly four times as many plastic bags as those in Ireland.


According to the figures by the New Statesman from official government sources, the number of bags used a month by each person in the UK dropped from 11 in 2002 to 7.2 in May 2009, but then rose again to 7.7 in May last year – equivalent to 475m bags in total per month. In Ireland, the equivalent figure – compiled from plastic bag tax receipts – has dropped from 27 in 2002 to 2 in 2009, suggesting that the tax is having a strong impact on consumer behaviour.

"Ireland's shoppers are enjoying freedom from the endless unnecessary plastic bags, as these figures show," said Julian Kirby, resource use campaigner for Friends of the Earth. "A standard charge in England would help save resources and cut climate-changing gases."

Four years ago, single-use plastic bags became an environmental issue in the UK, after the residents of Modbury, Devon, banned them from the village. Photographs of wild animals caught up in plastic bags drew attention to the damage the bags were causing, and the Daily Mail joined the campaign, with a call in 2008 to "Banish the bags", so that "our streets, fields, parks, seas, rivers and beaches will be cleaner for our grandchildren to enjoy".

But, despite support from many sides, Gordon Brown backed away from imposing either a ban or a levy on the bags, and instead allowed retailers to create a voluntary agreement. The New Statesman's waste policy report suggests the agreement – although initially leading to a drop in bag use – has had only a limited success.


Ireland introduced a tax of 15 cents a bag in 2002, increasing it to 22 cents in 2007. The tax, which retailers are required by law to pass on to the shopper, is ring-fenced for green projects. Wales plans to follow suit this year.

Washington DC imposed a tax in January 2009, and Vietnam plans to introduce one this year. In Seattle, however, voters rejected a plastic bag tax, and in France the government performed a U-turn on similar plans.

"We certainly support a ban on plastic bags," said Sam Jarvis of campaign group Wastewatch, "as we would support a ban on any single-use disposable items such as disposable razors, as a general principle. Plastic bags are a totemic issue, and a ban might well encourage people to think about waste more broadly. The Irish example shows this really can work."

"If Gordon Brown hadn't bottled it with the supermarket lobby," says Rebecca Hoskins, who led the Modbury campaign, "plastic bags would now be a distant memory and we would all be wondering what the fuss was about."

But, there is some positive news too. It seems that people in other parts of the world are taking the scourge of plastic a little more seriously than we are. Three cheers to Togo! This is taken from the Independent.

Togo on Wednesday said it will outlaw the import and sale of plastic bags from July in order to protect the environment, picking up on a growing global trend.


"These bags have become truly disastrous for the environment...The public must know that a plastic bag is not biodegradable and that they need at least 400 years to decompose," said trade ministry official Mohamed Saad Sama.

Importers of plastic bags were given a six-month deadline and manufacturers nine months, he told national television.

More than three billion plastic bags are used every year by Lome residents, according to estimates by green group Pour un Avenir Ensoleille (For a Sunny Future)."

Kenya last week declared a similar ban, renewing an earlier pledge that had failed in 2007.


Of all five members of the East African Community - Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda - only Rwanda has so far successfully banned all plastic bags since 2008, and replaced them with paper bags.

Italy, among the top consumers of plastic bags in Europe, began banning them from shops and supermarkets beginning January 1, a move widely welcomed by environmentalists.

Plastic fantastic!

Every now and again, there's a bit of news that lightens the dark skies of the plastic world we inhabit:

UK-based recycling giant AWS Eco Plastics will today officially reopen Europe's largest plastic bottle recycling facility at its plant in Hemswell, North Lincolnshire, after a fire last year stalled the company's ambitious expansion plans.


The re-opened facility will be capable of processing 100,000 tonnes of UK plastic waste each year, sorting and cleaning 300,000 bottles an hour that will then be either recycled onsite or exported to China.

AWS managing director Jonathan Short said that the £17m facility marked the first stage of a major expansion push for the company that could ultimately see a second plant capable of processing 200,000 tonnes of plastic a year located on the same site.

He explained the plant would be expanded during the first quarter of next year to process an extra 40,000 tonnes a year, while the company is also in the process of raising an additional £15m funding round that would allow it to begin work on a second facility.

"The sector is now at a crossroads, there is room for more recycling capacity in the UK, the supply of materials is there, the demand is there, now we just need stability in the market to give people the confidence to invest." Short said that as well as sorting and cleaning plastic bottles the plant would be able to recycle 40,000 tonnes of plastic each year to a level where it can be re-used as a food-grade plastic - essentially allowing drink bottles to be recycled as drink bottles."The carbon cost of making food-grade plastic from recycled material is a third of that of producing virgin plastic," he added.

A tiny ripple in the sea of plastic, but something!

I do Inhale!

I'm an asthmatic, have been for years. And so like many other asthmatics, I depend on inhalers to be able to function. Of course these inhalers are encased in hard plastic coverings. Apart from the possible negative medical aspects of putting plastics into the mouth - given that many nasty chemical compounds are used in its production - they are a real threat to wildlife too. Inhalers have been found in the stomachs of dead seabirds.


I use two different types of Inhalers, one is similar to the one in the photo above. In theory, when I go to my pharmacy for a repeat prescription, I should be able to just take off the plastic covering, hand in the metal container, which holds the actual compound and receive a new container, which I could then simply fit into the old plastic covering part. But no, neither the pharmacy or the manufacturers of these medicines, are able to do that. Instead every time I need a repeat - once a month - I can only receive the full package. This is madness and a total waste of resources. I have come to an agreement with my pharmacy now where they will at least take thee whole container off me. But I expect they simply dump it in their rubbish bin, or, incinerate it.

Why cannot the manufacturers just supply the inner metal container to the pharmacy? So all asthmatics could then continue to use the same outer case, but just receive a new metal inner case.

I wrote to the two companies who supply my inhalers. I still haven't heard from one of them (after 2 months), the second company did reply, but in typical, mumbo jumbo, non committal, business speak:

Thank you for your enquiry regarding recycling of the Turbohaler.



Whilst the environmental impact of our products is very important to AstraZeneca, patient safety must always come first. Our inhalers have been designed to ensure patient safety and the delivery of the correct dose of the medicine to the patient.

To protect the medicine and to make sure that it gets to the patient safely, our inhalers are manufactured using components with different properties. This means that different plastics are used to create a single inhaler. In addition, when all the doses in the inhaler have been used, there are always small amounts of medicine remaining inside, which should be disposed in accordance with local waste management regulations. These two factors make any re-cycling difficult.

We recommend that used inhalers are returned to a pharmacy where they can be disposed according to local laws. This usually results in the inhaler being disposed of as clinical waste.

We continue to work hard to improve the sustainability of our devices and packaging materials and are committed to reducing the amount of material and the range of different plastic materials used for our medicines.

As you know, the Responsibility section of our website provides detailed information about our approach to packaging and the environment and we report on our performance each year so that all interested parties can monitor our progress.

Thank you again for your interest.
Kind regards.

So, Ive written another letter to them, and am awaiting their response:


I was surprised to read your advice to me regarding the 'safe', disposal of the Inhaler. You suggest returning the used product to the pharmacy from where it was obtained, for incineration. Are you aware that incineration releases dioxins into the environment? Dioxins are known carcinogens and suspected reproductive and immunological toxicants.


That you use different plastics in the manufacture of these products also raises alarm bells. You may be aware that there is currently a lot of controversy regarding the chemicals used in plastics.

Would you be able to supply me with a breakdown of the exact types of plastics that are used in these inhalers? You surely must know what your products are composed of!

Numerous studies of one chemical used in plastics, Bisphenol A (BPA), which is leached from Polycarbonate, have indicated a wide array of possible adverse effects from low-level exposure to this chemical: chromosome damage in female ovaries, decreased sperm production in males, early onset of puberty, various behavioural changes, altered immune function, and sex reversal in frogs. Its use is currently being phased out by many leading companies in Britain, who use it in their products.

Similarly, PVC has been described as one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created. It leaches di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) or butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), depending on which is used as the plasticiser or softener (usually DEHP). DEHP and BBzP are endocrine disruptors mimicking the female hormone estrogen; have been strongly linked to asthma and allergic symptoms in children; may cause certain types of cancer; linked to negative effects on the liver, kidney, spleen, bone formation and body weight. In Europe, DEHP and BBzP and other dangerous pthalates have been banned from use in plastic toys for children under three since 1999.

I could go on and list the potential and proven harmful effects of many other chemicals used in plastic manufacture.

I would therefore be very grateful if you could send me a breakdown as stated, of the chemical compositions of the plastics used in your products."

I'll keep you informed

Major producers to ditch BPA from packaging

Here is some excellent news at long last? As this report from the Independent reports, many mayor food companies are removing the chemical Bisphenol A from packaging, amid growing concern it is causing a wide range of human illnesses including heart disease and breast cancer. See the film for more information on this dangerous chemical and how it's used in a wide variety of food packaging and elsewhere:

Some of the world's biggest food companies are removing the chemical Bisphenol A from packaging, amid growing concern it is causing a wide range of human illnesses including heart disease and breast cancer.


Nestlé, the world's biggest food manufacturer, says its will stop putting Bisphenol A (also known as BPA) into US products within three years, while tinned giant Heinz is at "an advanced stage" in removing it from UK baby food, and is funding research by one of the chemical's leading critics. General Mills, the US giant behind the Green Giant tinned brand, has already ditched BPA from its Muir Glen tomato range, while Campbell Soups says it has done "hundreds" of tests exploring alternatives. Several other firms, such as Coca-Cola, have declined to disclose a timetable for its withdrawal, saying that BPA is safe.

BPA toughens the packaging of many tins, glass jars and plastic bottles, and the casings of electronics gadgets such as TVs, mobile phones and laptop computers.

Dozens of scientists say it is an endocrine disruptor that affects hormones and could be causing breast and prostate cancer, heart disease, brain retardation, impotence and infertility.
While the US says it has "some concern" about the chemical's potential effects on the brain, on behaviour and on the prostate glands of foetuses, babies and young children, the European Food Safety Agency recent reiterated its view that the substance does not pose a risk to the public.

In a survey for a new report, Seeking Safer Packaging, the US investment fund Green Century Capital Management surveyed 26 food companies for their policy on BPA. Half said they were committed to ending use of the substance, double the 23 per cent found last year.

Emily Stone, of Green Century Capital Management, said: "Companies are actually moving faster than regulators in phasing out BPA from food and beverage packaging." Some firms, such as Del Monte and Hain Celestial, have begun warning investors of a potential risk from tougher regulation of BPA use.

However it is possible that UK subsidiaries of some firms may take weaker action in Europe than in the US – where consumer awareness is much higher. While saying it was phasing out BPA in baby food, Nestlé told The Independent: "As a global food manufacturer and marketer, Nestlé takes into consideration local needs, cultural differences and consumer preferences as well as attitudes concerning the use of certain materials. This may well result in different solutions in various regions of the world..."

More than 20 US states have introduced legislation to restrict BPA use, Canada has listed it as a toxic chemical and several European countries have refused to accept the European Food Safety Agency's latest position, released on 30 September.

Scientists are divided. While many endocrinologists, experts in hormones, believe low doses of BPA can harm humans, general toxicologists say evidence from large industry-funded studies suggests this is not the case.

Henrik Høegh, food minister in Denmark, which has has banned BPA in products for children up to three years old, said: "Our ban is based on a study which, according to Danish experts, shows uncertainty about the effects of even small doses of Bisphenol A on the learning ability in young rats."

Where BPA is Used

* Tinned Food
BPA resin sprayed on the inside of tins prevents metal from contaminating food. The Independent found this year that BPA was present in 18 of the UK's best-selling tins, including Heinz baked beans, Princes sardines, right, and Napolina tomatoes.

* Drinks cans
Some fizzy drinks, including Coca-Cola, are lined with a BPA resin. Pepsi has not said if its cans are lined with BPA.

* Glass jars
Some glass jars have BPA in the lid. Campaigners want firms such as Nestlé and Heinz to remove BPA from their baby and toddler food ranges because of fears over its impact on babies.

* Electronics
BPA is in the casings of electronics products including CDs, and DVDs, phones, TVs, laptops, personal computers, printers, cameras, shavers, hairdryers, irons, food mixers, microwaves and kettles.

* Plastic bottles
BPA is found in polycarbonate bottles designed to carry water or baby milk. Several manufacturers such as Tommee Tippee have phased out BPA.

* Sports equipment
Sports helmets, ski goggles, binocular housings and golf and tennis equipment contain the chemical.

* Till receipts
BPA is used to make ink visible on thermal till receipts. Concern arises about shoppers handling the paper and then touching their mouths or food.

* Medical equipment
BPA is found in the casings of dialysis machines, dentists' operating lamps and blood sample reservoirs. It also toughens the lenses of spectacles.


Going BPA-free...

Heinz
"Heinz remains committed to moving to alternatives. Our plastic Heinz Beanz Snap Pots and Heinz Beanz Fridge Pack contain no BPA. All Heinz plastic baby food and juice containers, as well as packaging for our snacks and cereals, are BPA-free.
"Our baby food cans also contain no BPA and we are already at an advanced stage of phasing out the minute amounts of BPA used in the lids of jarred baby foods to ensure seal integrity, even though the BPA is coated and does not come into direct contact with the food at any time.

"Heinz continues to advance research into alternative coatings in response to consumer opinion but safety remains our first priority before making any changes."

...and sticking with it
Coca-Cola

"The consensus repeatedly stated among regulatory agencies is that current levels of exposure to BPA through food and beverage packaging do not pose a health risk to the general population. BPA is found in the linings of our aluminium cans. Our bottled water and plastic soft drink containers are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, which does not contain BPA.

"While we are confident about the safety of our aluminium cans, we are always looking for ways to improve our packaging. We are working closely with several suppliers who are seeking alternatives. Any new material ... also would have to meet our safety, quality and functiona

Plastic Bags: How Long Does it Take to Decompose?

Researchers fear that such ubiquitous bags may never fully decompose; instead they gradually just turn into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic. The most common type of plastic shopping bag is made of polyethylene, a petroleum-derived polymer that microorganisms don’t recognize as food and as such cannot technically “biodegrade.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines biodegradation as “a process by which microbial organisms transform or alter (through metabolic or enzymatic action) the structure of chemicals introduced into the environment.” In “respirometry” tests, whereby experimenters put solid waste in a container with microbe-rich compost and then add air to promote biodegradation, newspapers and banana peels decompose in days or weeks, while plastic shopping bags are not affected.

Even though polyethylene can’t biodegrade, it does break down when subject to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, a process known as photodegradation. When exposed to sunshine, polyethylene’s polymer chains become brittle and crack, eventually turning what was a plastic bag into microscopic synthetic granules. Scientists aren’t sure whether these granules ever decompose fully, and fear that their buildup in marine and terrestrial environments—and in the stomachs of wildlife—portend a bleak future compromised by plastic particles infiltrating every step in the food chain. A plastic bag might be gone in anywhere from 10 to 100 years (estimates vary) if exposed to the sun, but its environmental legacy may last forever.

The best solution to plastic bag waste is to stop using disposable plastic bags altogether. You could invest a few bucks in reusable canvas totes—most supermarket chains now offer them—or bring your own reusable bags or backpacks with you to the store. If you have to choose between paper and plastic, opt for paper. Paper bags can biodegrade in a matter of weeks, and can also go into compost or yard waste piles or the recycling bin. Of course, plastic bags can be recycled also, but as just explained the process is inefficient. According to the nonprofit Worldwatch Institute, Americans only recycle 0.6 percent of the 100 billion plastic bags they take home from stores every year; the rest end up in landfills or as litter.

From HealthNewsDigest.com

This blog is in hibernation!

I've decided to put a hold on this blog, for now at least. I feel I've gone as far as I personally can with this. There are far more eloquent blogs around that are  dealing with the issues and challenging our ideas about waste and plastics. I highly recommend that anyone interested in facing up to the problems that plastic is causing to our environment, look at a few of the great blogs I have listed on my blog list.

I am still blogging over at my other blog, Beyond Materialism. Hope you will pop in sometime

Warmest wishes

John
   

More bad news for plastic!

Here are some  fascinating pieces of information about plastic, reproduced from Plastic Manners. With kind permission of the blog owner, Taina.


Recycling is not the solution.

‘Traditional’ plastic uses non-renewable petroleum as its main ingredient. Many varieties of petroleum-based plastic can be “recycled”  and these are denoted with an SPI Resin Identification Code of 1 through 7 on the bottom of the plastic container. One being the easiest to recycle into other goods and 7 being the hardest.


But really, the above statement really doesn’t accurately depict the real situation. Plastic is actually not recyclable in the true sense of the word: you cannot turn one plastic bottle into another plastic bottle. Plastic downcycles at best –becomes lower quality items like plastic lumber.. which will end up in landfill anyway at some point.


Nobody can say that they “recycle” plastic. We put plastics in recycling containers and these are taken away.. where? Nobody knows. Most of the plastic disposables are shipped to China where they are burned for energy, or melted into low-quality plastic. Sometimes it just ends up in the landfill. They say that in the US, less than 10% of plastic gets recycled.. but that is not true. 10% gets recovered, which doesn’t mean that it will be recycled. A small percentage of that will be downcycled and the rest will be landfilled (or end up in the ocean), burnt or shipped to other countries. It would be more appropriate to say that 0% is recycled. Recycling of plastics is a myth, designed to perpetuate a business built around the generation of waste.
For what it’s worth, Greenpeace provides the following chart on plastics.

Plastics affect human health.
And then, there is the health side of it all. Plastics are toxic and can have severe impacts on your health. Here are some things you should know (source: http://lifewithoutplastic.com/):

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
Used in soft drink, juice, water, beer, mouthwash, peanut butter, salad dressing, detergent and cleaner containers.


Leaches antimony trioxide and di(2ethylhexyl) pthalate (DEHP). Workers exposed to antimony trioxide for long periods of time have exhibited respiratory and skin irritation; among female workers, increased incidence of menstrual problems and miscarriage; their children exhibited slower development in the first twelve months of life. The longer a liquid is left in such a container the greater the concentration of antimony released into the liquid. DEHP is an endocrine disruptor that mimics the female hormone estrogen. It has been strongly linked to asthma and allergies in children. It may cause certain types of cancer, and it has been linked to negative effects on the liver, kidney, spleen, bone formation and body weight. In Europe, DEHP has been banned since 1999 from use in plastic toys for children under the age of three.


High density polyethylene (HDPE)
Used in opaque milk, water, and juice containers, bleach, detergent and shampoo bottles, garbage bags, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners.


Considered a ‘safer’ plastic. Research on risks associated with this type of plastic is ongoing.

Polyvinyl chloride (V or Vinyl or PVC)
Used in toys, clear food and non-food packaging (e.g., cling wrap), some squeeze bottles, shampoo bottles, pet toys, cooking oil and peanut butter jars, detergent and window cleaner bottles, shower curtains, medical tubing, and numerous construction products (e.g., pipes, siding).


PVC has been described as one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created. Leaches di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) or butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), depending on which is used as the plasticizer or softener (usually DEHP). DEHP and BBzP are endocrine disruptors mimicking the female hormone estrogen; have been strongly linked to asthma and allergic symptoms in children; may cause certain types of cancer; linked to negative effects on the liver, kidney, spleen, bone formation and body weight. In Europe, DEHP and BBzP and other dangerous pthalates have been banned from use in plastic toys for children under three since 1999.

Low density polyethylene (LDPE)
Used in grocery stores, dry cleaning, bread and frozen food bags, most plastic wraps, squeezable bottles (honey, mustard).


Considered a ‘safer’ plastic. Research on risks associated with this type of plastic is ongoing.

Polypropylene (PP)
Used in ketchup bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs, medecine and syrup bottles, straws, Rubbermaid and other opaque plastic containers, including baby bottles.


Considered a ‘safer’ plastic. Research on risks associated with this type of plastic is ongoing.

Polystyrene (PS)
Used in Styrofoam containers, egg cartons, disposable cups and bowls, take-out food containers, plastic cutlery, compact disc cases.


Leaches styrene, which is an endocrine disruptor mimicking the female hormone estrogen, and thus has the potential to cause reproductive and developmental problems; long-term exposure by workers has shown brain and nervous system effects; adverse effects on red blood cells, liver, kidneys and stomach in animal studies. Also present in secondhand cigarette smoke, off-gassing of building materials, car exhaust and possibly drinking water. Styrene migrates significantly from polystyrene containers into the container’s contents when oily foods are heated in such containers.


Other
This is a catch-all category that includes anything that does not come within the other six categories. As such, one must be careful in interpreting this category because it includes polycarbonate – a dangerous plastic – but it also includes the new, safer, biodegradable bio-based plastics made from renewable resources such as corn and potato starch, and sugar cane. Polycarbonate is used in many plastic baby bottles, clear plastic “sippy” cups, sports water bottles, three and five gallon large water storage containers, metal food can liners, some juice and ketchup containers, compact discs, cell phones, computers.


Polycarbonate leaches Bisphenol A (some effects described above), and numerous studies have indicated a wide array of possible adverse effects from low-level exposure to Bisphenol A: chromosome damage in female ovaries, decreased sperm production in males, early onset of puberty, various behavioural changes, altered immune function, and sex reversal in frogs.


Important Note: Two other types of plastic that fall under code 7 are acrylonitrile styrene (AS) or styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Both AS/SAN and ABS are higher quality plastics with increased strength, rigidity, toughness and temperature and chemical resistance. AS/SAN is used in mixing bowls, thermos casing, dishes, cutlery, coffee filters, toothbrushes, outer covers (printers, calculators, lamps), battery housing. The incorporation of butadiene during the manufacture of AS/SAN, produces ABS, which is an even tougher plastic. ABS is used in LEGO toys, pipes, golf club heads, automotive parts, protective head gear. Our research on risks associated with AS/SAN and ABS is ongoing.

Bioplastics are not the solution.
What about bioplastics? Bioplastics are just plastics made with plants. Bioplastics may or may not be biodegradable, may or may not be toxic, just like any other plastic. Bioplastics raise lots of questions. As of today, the term Bioplastics lends itself to greenwashing.


The term biodegradable needs to be defined (plutonium is also biodegradable… just give it 300,000 years…). Some “biodegradable” plastics take years to disappear, some require heat in commercial composting facilities, and some do not biodegrade at all if they end up in landfills or the marine environment. Biodegradable plastic may leave toxic contaminants in the soil and water. All biodegradable plastics require use water, land, energy, crops (largely GMO). Lots of questions need to be asked. The most important question is do we really need disposable plastics?
Biodegradable plastics cannot become an excuse to perpetuate our throwaway habits.

It’s a wrap!

I’m going to write a blog now, that I suspect will be read my few, so if you are actually reading this, I commend your endurance!


A new report into the UK’s plastic recycling habits reveals much food for thought.
The rather disturbing conclusion drawn in the WRAP report, is that despite an expansion in domestic reprocessing capacity; the UK remains heavily dependent on export markets for recycling its recovered plastics. So much for the predictions of a few years ago that we would be recycling most of our waste by now. Which is rather a depressing prognosis, given the realisation that land fills have almost reached saturation point.

In 2009, an estimated 900,000 tonnes of plastics was collected for recycling. Of this, 590,000 tonnes was plastic packaging; but over 700,000 tonnes of recovered plastics were exported for recycling in 2009, predominantly to China. About two-thirds of this is estimated to be packaging. The primary trading route for material destined for China continued to be via Hong Kong.

Also, the plastic bottle-recycling rate now stands at over 40% and there has been extensive investment in UK plastic bottle processing capacity over the past two years.


According to the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD), around 590,000 tonnes of plastics packaging was recycled in 2009,14% more than in 2008 and 23% more than in 2007. Nevertheless, this equates to a recycling rate of under 25%. The majority of recycled plastic continues to be plastic bottles.

UK consumption of plastics is estimated to be around 5 million tonnes a year. Of this, nearly half is used in packaging, and a further quarter is used in the construction sector. Long-term trend growth in plastics consumption is estimated to be around 1% per annum, although plastics consumption is believed to have fallen during the recession in 2009, largely as a result of the contraction in the construction sector.



Of the 1.5 million tonnes of plastics packaging consumed by households, a quarter is rigid plastic packaging (such as pots, tubs and trays) and the remainder is films and bags. Commercial and industrial plastic packaging waste tends to be plastic films, which are used as secondary packaging (to get a product to a retailer or distribution centre), and larger rigid items such as crates, totes and drums. And the report admits that the recent increase in packaging recycling has come mainly from plastic bottles.


The needs to strengthen the UK’s recycling capacity is given priority in the report, as it says, “attention has now turned to collecting and developing infrastructure to recycle mixed packaging plastics, less than 5% of which is currently recycled. Around 20% of local authorities already operate kerbside mixed plastic collections, and 2011 will see the operation of the UK’s first mixed plastic reprocessing.” But oddly enough, whilst recycling isn’t progressing as well as forecast a few years ago, there is a high demand for such products, with demand for food-grade recovered polymers currently outstripping supply. With demand likely to strengthen further, this represents an opportunity for UK manufacturers of recovered polymers; recycling of non-packaging plastics has also increased in recent years, largely as a result of regulatory drivers.

There is also strong demand for recovered clear PET and natural HDPE bottles. Domestic demand for food-grade recycled plastics currently outstrips domestic supply, and there are believed to be significant imports, largely from the EU, to meet this demand. This was one of the more shocking findings for me at any rate in this report. We are actually importing recycled plastics due to an inability to recycle enough of our own!


Waste collections by local authorities have shot up massively, with more than half of the plastic packaging collected for recycling, from the municipal waste stream. In 2008/09, UK local authorities (LAs) are estimated to have collected 320,000 tonnes of plastics from the municipal waste stream, almost three times what they collected in 2005/06


The growth in plastics collections has been achieved by rapid expansion in LA kerbside collection schemes. In 2008/09, more than 80% of UK LAs operated kerbside plastic collection schemes. In terms of household coverage, it is estimated that 70% of households have plastic bottle collections. By contrast, only around 20% of LAs offered kerbside collections of mixed (non-bottle) rigid plastics.


But again around 90% of the plastic packaging collected from local authorities is plastic bottles.

In order to bring the recycling rate for rigid plastic packaging to a level comparable with that for plastic bottles, a further 160,000 tonnes of rigid plastic packaging would need to be collected. To achieve this, more mixed plastics collection and sorting capacity will need to be put in place. To date, there has been less investment in domestic capacity to recover and recycle mixed plastic packaging. A key barrier has been a lack of capacity to sort mixed plastics into separate polymer streams, which in turn reflects the difficulty of competing with low-cost manual sorting in the Far East. As a result, most of the mixed plastics collected are exported for reprocessing.


An additional 100,000 tonnes of annual plastic bottle reprocessing capacity is planned to come on-stream over the next five years.


WRAP research has shown that plastics recovery facilities (PRFs) that sort mixed plastics into separate polymers can be commercially viable in the UK. Indeed, PRF capacity has already started to develop in the UK, with two firms already having built plastic sorting lines that can sort and bale non-bottle rigid plastics although neither is capable of handling plastic films.


In 2009, WRAP awarded grant funding to support the development of the first UK facility to be able to both sort and process a range of non-bottle rigid polymers from municipal plastics collections. Although the report also warns that a key to the success of future investments will be the development of collection schemesthat are able to provide a secure supply of high quality mixed plastics feedstock.

Drowning in plastic

This is an article that first appeared in New Internationalist magazine. The magazine is well worth reading for its informed and intelligent reporting, and is renowned for its radical, campaigning stance on a range of world issues,


Plastic is forever!
There are more than 50 different groups of plastics and hundreds of different varieties – an estimated 113 billion kilos of raw plastic pellets are produced from petroleum feedstock, worldwide, every year.


• The world uses an estimated one million plastic bags every minute; 150 bags per year for every person on earth.1
• The Canadian province of Ontario banned plastic bags from government liquor stores in 2008 resulting in 80 million fewer bags being used yearly.2
• China banned plastic bags in 2008 following the lead of Hong Kong. Bangladesh was the first country in the South to ban them in 2002. Papua New Guinea, Bhutan, Taiwan and Botswana followed suit.3
• Ireland introduced a plastic bag tax in 2002. Within a few months the number of bags handed out at supermarkets had dropped by 90%.1
• It takes about 11 barrels of oil to make one ton of plastic bags. Before the ban, China used more plastic bags than any other country and wasted 37 million barrels of oil on them every year. 4

Sea of plastic
• Plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds yearly as well as 100,000 marine mammals.
•Plastic makes up 60-80% of all garbage floating in the oceans. Every square km of ocean contains 13,000-18,000 pieces of plastic.
• Discarded plastic fishnets called ghost nets are perpetual killing machines continuing to catch fish and other species.

Chasing arrows
The plastic industry has adopted a numbering system to identify basic plastic resins. In a classic example of ‘greenwashing’ the numbers 1-7 are framed within the ‘chasing arrows’ recycling symbol, thus assuring consumers they can be recycled – which is often not the case.

Toxic trio
Phthalates – compounds used to soften plastics, notably PVC. In everything from shower curtains, paint, pesticides and children’s toys to vinyl flooring, IV bags and hospital tubing. Also in hundreds of personal-care products like perfume, body lotion, nail polish, shampoo and air fresheners.


BPA (bisphenol A) – basic constituent of polycarbonate plastic, the hard durable plastic used to make re-usable, ‘sports’ water bottles, large ‘water cooler’ bottles, baby bottles, dental sealants, the lining in canned food and some drink containers, CDs and DVDs. First produced as synthetic estrogen – 2.7 billion kilos are now produced yearly.


PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) – used as flame retardants and added to plastic cases of consumer electronics – cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, TVs, laptops. Also found in textiles, curtains, foam cushions, mattresses, upholstery and circuit boards.

These chemicals are found in thousands of common household items and have been linked to birth defects, learning disabilities, cancers, liver damage and reproductive problems.

Bottled water blues
• It takes 7 litres of water to manufacture a 1 litre bottle creating 100g of CO2 emissions. Worldwide, bottling of water uses about 2.7 million tons of plastic each year.8
• In the US 96% of bottled water is sold in single-serving PET plastic bottles. An estimated 4 billion of them end up in the garbage, costing cities $70 million a year in clean-up costs.7
• To make the plastic bottles used annually in the US requires 17 million barrels of oil, enough to fuel a million cars for more than a year.
• In Britain 3 billion litres of bottled water were consumed in 2007 mostly in PET bottles. Of the 13 billion bottles, just 3 billion were recycled.

Green plastic?
Plastic made from plants takes generations to degrade in landfills. When it degrades without oxygen it releases methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than CO2.6


• The market for bioplastics made from corn, sugarcane and wheat is growing by 20-30% a year.



Who do you trust?
• In November, 2006, 38 leading scientific experts on BPA warned of ‘potential adverse health effects of exposure’ to polycarbonate plastic.12
• Every study backed by the industry has found that low-dose exposure to BPA poses no risks. Of the 160 non-industry studies, 90% have detected harmful effects including hormone-related illnesses and cancer.