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The Future of Biodegradable Plastic is Here

Plastic…..what would this world be like without it? Most of us think the world would be better off. Less plastic in our oceans, less in the landfills and well….less in us. But is that actually accurate? Yes, pollution would look much different, but plastic has also created opportunities in a range of fields that, without it, would not have advanced as they have. Fields like aerospace, building and construction, packaging, medicine, transportation, electronics and so on and so on. According to a report in Environmental Health News, one study found that using PET to make beverage bottles versus using glass or metal reduces the energy used by 52% and greenhouse gas emissions by 55%. Solar water heaters containing plastics can provide up to 2/3 of a household’s annual hot water demand, reducing energy consumption.

I could go on for hours about the pro’s and con’s of plastic but what would be the point? The reality is that plastic isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. So what is a solution to the plastic ‘problem’? When I say problem, I don’t mean plastic in general….I mean plastic that gets used once and then tossed in the trash.

I live in Vancouver B.C. Canada, a city that prides itself on being green.  Yet every day when I go for my morning walk, I see trash bins overflowing with plastic. Approximately 80-90% of the worlds plastic ends up in landfills. Even with all of our recycling programs and green-mindedness, plastic seems to make its way to the trash. So what is the solution? Well so far, mankind has come up with some bioplastic technology that apparently ‘solves this problem’. But does it really?

Enter PLA, the renewable plastic made from corn, sugar and starch. Totally renewable! But what happens to this plastic in landfill? Does it biodegrade quickly as claimed? No it does not. It is compostable, which means it needs to be dropped into a commercial compost bin and that bin needs to head to an industrial or commercial compost facility. The next time you see one of these bins, let me know….. I have been looking and haven’t seen one. Universities in the U.S. are banning PLA because kids are tossing them in the trash, just like they do everything else. Old habits are hard to break, so teaching people to do something different is a challenge.

How about Oxo degradable plastic. Metal salts are added to plastic to help fragment the plastic. Well that’s great for the ‘out of sight out of mind’ theory but what actually happens when the trash bag on the side of the road breaks into tiny fragments? Well, what happens when you saw a log into a pile of sawdust? Its still a log in dust form, just like oxo degradable plastic is a bag in fragment form. And if you toss an oxo bag into the trash it will not biodegrade in a landfill. Landfills lack oxygen and well, oxo is in the name so its pretty clear the goal of oxo degradable plastic is to biodegrade using oxygen. Imagine if someone created an polymer that was meant for landfills and actually worked, biodegrading plastic naturally. Well guess what? We have done just that.

Change Plastic for Good uses an organic polymer in plastic that renders the plastic biodegradable, only once deposited in a landfill. It is still recyclable and reusable just like regular plastic. Our revolutionary technology is part of the answer to the worlds plastic problem. Since our polymer doesn’t change the structure or shelf life of plastic until it is dropped in a landfill, it gives our polymer a huge advantage in terms of efficiency and eco friendliness….and did I mention its cheap? It is added at a 1% load rate which makes it very inexpensive.

Our goal is to help save the planet with a biochemistry solution like Change Plastic for Good and make this world a better place to live for our children and our children’s children.  If plastic is going to end up in landfills regardless of our efforts, doesn’t it make sense to have it naturally decompose? This planet is at a tipping point and if we don’t do something now, it will be too late.  We are on a mission to convert every plastic manufacturer, government, and business into Breakdown believers and we need you! Click on our social media links and share this article and hope aboard the Breakdown Bandwagon!