http://vimeo.com/11077939
Response to the Video
This informative video produced by ChemMatters discusses the latest innovation from the scientific community: "bioplastics". It goes on to discuss the chemical composition of these new greener plastics and their pros and cons. Watching this makes me wonder whether all these attempts at more environmentally friendly materials are really worth it. What happened to the simple idea of reducing waste rather that creating more eco counterparts? It takes very little carbon to simplify and cut down on your intake of materialistic items. More stuff even if its supposedly good for the environment does not save the planet. It gets consumers to go out and buy more worthless junk.
The answer lies in reusable items, which plastic is mostly not. Very few, cloth bags rather than billions of eco plastic ones are better. Further more, this idea of plastic created with vegetables forces motivates farmers to overproduce further destroying the land. Instead of using just plain old sun and water farmers will turn to the most toxic pesticides and herbicides they can lay their hands on.
In the US the government already supports the overproduction of corn. Because of this scientists look for any product possible to sneak it in. Everything from coke to diapers to batteries contain corn. Bioplastics provide yet another item corn will demand. When we've used up all sources of land in the US we will turn to the precious rainforest. With a combination of cross clearing and soil overuse the world's lungs will be gone.
In addition, producing bioplastic takes almost as much energy as normal plastic. Why waste the effort? The program said in 10 years it could make up 20% of the global plastic. This is relying on the fact that bioplastic would be cheap enough to be globally endorsed. Improvised countries and many of us are not going to pay extra when there is a cheaper alternative. Bioplastic would need to be boosted by government support or private companies. If we keep deluding ourselves that there is limitless oil for normal plastic that is not going to happen anytime soon. By then it may be too late.
While in theory bioplastic sounds like the savior to our mindless consumerism habits it is not. In stead of coming up with more alternatives we need to change our foolish ways. Bioplastics are idealistic but simply out of the question. Perhaps this will change... in 20 years when the rainforest is gone! While they may seem like the answer, we should not rush ahead with them. Scientists can take them back to the drawing board... for now.
Reflection on the Video
These plastics are being developed by Nature Works scientists who develop the plastic pellets and send them off to factory to process. They are called "green" because they are based on vegetable sugar molecules rather than oil. Some of them are even compostable. This video lists 3 reactions, 2 for normal plastic (ethylene and condensation) and 1 for bioplastics (PLa). Within the process of making PLa there are over four different reactions. I think I see around five or six elements but I am not sure if every molecule is an element . If so, I see around 12. By making all these chemical reactions scientists get byproducts of water. It is a hindrance rather than a help. This shows another amazing quality of water. If making water from molecules is dangerous then how can be processing this plastic be safe?
The decomposition of plastics is a complicated process. Too often we want to do things cheaply in what amounts to a more cost-effective method in the present, but we realize later that the cost inherent to plastics is one that we pay in the long term.
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