Science & Tech

(Biodegradable) Plastics Really Are the Wave of the Future

When it comes to advances in environmentally safe products, biodegradable plastic might not be as sexy as, say, the Tesla Roadster, but it could be imminently more important. Consider that in America alone plastic is a $400 billion-dollar-a-year industry and petroleum-based plastic is used to make everything from utensils to computers to medical devices to space shuttle parts to Tesla Roadsters. And with each single-serving pudding cup or bite-size cheese snack the waste multiplies at a staggering rate and the harmful effects on the environment right along with it.

Luckily there are companies like Cereplast. The Hawthorne, CA company is developing new forms of plant-based resins to create plastic goods that are completely biodegradable. Made from the starch of plants like corn and potatoes, Cereplast's resin allows for products that are completely compostable within 60 to 90 days.

Perhaps the best news for consumers is that price is no longer an issue. The technology that allows bio-resins to be made and produced into plastic goods is improving to the point that Cereplast CEO Frederic Scheer says it's almost equal to common plastic manufacturing costs. A pound of petroleum-based polystyrene sells for around 56 cents while Cereplast resin now sells for 58 to 60 cents. It's a few cents more, but, as Scheer points out "thanks to increased oil prices and the fact that bio resins don't have to be heated as high as normal resins, we're confident that we're equally as cost effective.” And big businesses are taking notice.

Scheer says Cereplast has begun partnerships with large plastic manufacturers like Duni and Solo Cup. Additionally, the company is branching out worldwide and will be a major supplier for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Cereplast resins can be used to produce most forms of plastic in use today. From utensils and cups, to hardware and even medical supplies, Cereplast resin produces goods that are equal or superior in strength to current plastic products. "We're very demanding of our products and put them through extremely strenuous tests to make sure they're as good if not better than other plastic products on the market," Scheer said.

But much like other environmentally focused alternatives to existing practices — like solar and wind power — bioplasts have a way to go before they’re fully embraced by the mainstream.

"The three big obstacle to getting bioplasts into the mainstream are tradition, production capacity, and price," Scheer says. "It's hard to get established businesses to change. Usually it requires an expensive overhaul of systems that have been in place for decades. But now that cost is no longer an issue and people are beginning to demand that brands be more responsible and their products be healthier, companies will be forced (and will want) to rethink some of their habits.”

Scheer cautions that his biodegradable plastic shouldn't be perceived as a license to be more lax about waste. "Even if plastic bags or bottles are biodegradable it's not a license to litter." But, within the next ten to fifteen years, he says, bioplasts will be a way of life. "People won't even ask questions about it. They'll just use compostable products as if they had always existed.”

And after all, what could be more sexy than a  world without landfills?

For more information: www.cereplast.com



The Solar Club

A lot of people know Ed Norton from his classic role in Fight Club — the badass populist who organizes a global men’s organization to vent aggression. Aside from a slew of top notch acting gigs, however, he’s also been busy organizing his fellow stars for environmental causes.

In 2002, while visiting his father (an environmentalist and senior adviser of the Nature Conservancy’s Great Yunnan River Project in China), it was a revelation for Norton to see that almost all of the roofs in a Chinese city of five million were covered in solar panels. As a pilot, he had always noticed the flat roofs baking in the L.A. sun, and saw an opportunity to bring the energy-efficient panels to Southern California.

Norton came up with an idea that he then proposed to BP Solar: for every solar panel his program sold to a celebrity, BP would donate in kind to a low-income family. Thus was born the BP Solar Neighbors plan. Celebrities participating include Ed Begley, Jr., Daryl Hannah, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Salma Hayek, and Brad Pitt. The panels not only help the environment but also make a big difference in the lives of low-income families by reducing their monthly utility bills, sometimes to nothing.

According to Norton, he loves how the BP Solar Neighbors program brings people of different races and classes together toward a common goal: improving the quality of their lives. The first rule of Solar Club is everyone talks about solar!

For more information: www.solarneighbors.com

Down Shift articles were written by Tiffany Coe, Jeremy Lubin, Christine Ra, Jason Rissman, and Aaron Kenedi

If you know of any companies, organizations, or individuals in the world of Science & Technology who might inspire or intrigue our readers, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Please include names, web links, or other useful contact information in the text field below and we'll look into it.