PLA…PLA…PLA…plastic
Jul 14, 2008 Author: Greg Ugolini | Filed under: Eco-conscious LivingYou may have noticed a trend in the gift card industry…the use of PLA plastic. Yippee! Oh sure, it better to find another way to give a gift that uses fewer resources like an online gift certificate. However, this is certainly a turn in the right direction when considering how popular the whole gift card giving can be.
PLA stands for Polylactic Acid manufacturers derive PLA from renewable sources containing sugar (and sometimes starch) rather than oil like other common plastics. Corn and sugar cane are the primary sources. That’s why you usually see the biodegradable claim on packages made with PLA.
If you are like me, you may have placed PLA into your recycle bin. Good job! Simply placing it in the ground will not cause the PLA to degrade. The average homegrown compost heaps doesn’t have the right conditions for proper composting of PLA. Ideally, it is best to compost it at a facility that monitors the ideal process (including moisture level and high heat levels) needed to break PLA down. During the process, it degrades to carbon dioxide (partially from the microorganisms assisting with the process) and water. It also seems that many manufactures of PLA are constantly improving their processes and to keep the process as “green” as possible.
Many communities are still working out cost-effective solutions for separating PLA plastic from the traditional PET plastic. When separated in large quantities PLA can also be converted back to its magical ingredient — lactic acid. Neat.
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One Response for "PLA…PLA…PLA…plastic"
I commend innovation and the introduction of plastics that will help with the plastic problem. Plastic bottles are a growing problem in our landfills and oceans. We felt that something needed to be done……and now.
We felt that plastics made from crops that could be producing food, wasn’t the answer. In fact we were wondering what would become of all the PLA plastics produced. PLA plastics won’t biodegrade in a landfill, and they are not accepted by recyclers as PLA ruins the recycle stream of PET plastics. They must be composted in a commercial or municipal composting site….anyone know where they are?
Additionally, many reports indicate that in addition to causing our food process to rise, the equipment and chemicals used to produce food based bio-fuel may be increasing pollution.
We knew that there wasn’t going to be one “fix it all” answer and began to wonder if anything was ever going to be done. The problem was growing every day, more bottles were being manufactured and more bottles were accumulating in places where we didn’t need them.
We were wondering if “Earth Friendly Bottles” would ever be available?
That’s why we decided to do our part and started ENSO Bottles. We are partnering with other companies to offer a PET plastic bottle that will biodegrade, compost or recycle.
Our bottles can be produced in a clear or colored version, however, clear version isn’t quite as clear as current PET plastic bottles but then again that’s one way to identify our earth friendly bottle.
ENSO is trying to achieve sustainability with our plastic bottles. Our goal is to make bottles that won’t have the adverse impact on our environment and are made from non food bio-fuels.
We haven’t started making them from bio-fuel but that’s high on our agenda and hopefully will be something we can offer in the future.
But for now, we offer a plastic bottle that is earth friendly…it’s just one step but if we all take just one step toward improving our planet….we will make a difference.
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