Can plant-based plastics dig us out of waste crisis?
How do you fix a consumer economy that’s waist-deep in disposable
plastics? With cargo boatloads of our plastic trash getting turned back
from Asia, only 9% of plastics being recycled and single-use plastic
bans now in 60 countries and counting, businesses big and small are
scrambling for alternatives that don’t leave their customers saddled
with guilt.
plastics? With cargo boatloads of our plastic trash getting turned back
from Asia, only 9% of plastics being recycled and single-use plastic
bans now in 60 countries and counting, businesses big and small are
scrambling for alternatives that don’t leave their customers saddled
with guilt.
One option under the microscope: plastics that come from the earth
and – the hope is – return to the earth. Seafood shells, sawdust,
cornstarch, algae, tree bark, chicken feathers – pretty much any natural
substance you can think of is being converted to plastic. Compostable
plant-based plastics in particular have been officially pinned to the
vision board of a new circular economy.