Tag Archives: biodegradable bottles

The Truth About Biodegradable Plastics

Plastic has become an important aspect in our lives, can you imagine what kind of care you would get in a hospital if we didn’t have plastic?  Some historians are saying that this age will be known as the plastic age.  The next time you go to the store take a look around and see if you can find products that don’t have plastic.  As important as plastic is to our lives it has also demonstrated some negative side effects and there isn’t any one perfect answer for solving plastic pollution.

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Are we smarter than nature?

It seems to be human nature to overcome and conquer; whether it be our neighboring countries, animals, plants, or biodegradable plastics – we seem to have instilled a belief that we as humans with our developed brains can and should have direct control over everything. From the beginning of time this desire has caused a never ending battle with nature; we manipulate it through genetic modification, we attempt to control it with toxic fertilizers, heavy machinery and pesticides. And throughout this battle we continuously marvel at our own genius – never mind the damage, pollution and unbalance we bring with it.

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MICROBES: An Invisible Universe

microbesThe book titled MICROBES An Invisible Universe by Howard Gest was one of the most informative and interesting books I have read on the world of microbes. This book is 200 pages crammed full of detailed information about the history and the function of microorganisms, also known as microbes. The author, Dr. Howard Gest is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Adjunct Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. Dr. Gest is widely recognized for his research on microbial physiology and metabolism.

 

The Ecology of microbes to one another and their surroundings is extraordinary with respect to the diversity of chemical and physical conditions that can be tolerated. Microbes thrive in extreme environments with regards to temperatures, high concentrations of salts and sugars, relative acidity, and with or without the presence of oxygen.

 

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Sorting out Biodegradable Plastics

There are three main categories of degradable plastics: biodegradable plastics, compostable plastics and degradable plastics.  One of the biggest contributions to the confusion surrounding the subject of degradable plastics is a combination of the lack of common definitions and the loose usage of these definitions.

 

The ASTM International, originally known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, is a standards organization, host to committee D20.96 on Environmentally Degradable Plastics and Biobased Products.  The ASTM maintains a Standard Terminology Relating to Plastics under their designation: D 883 – 08.  The following are the ASTM definitions for degradable plastics:

 

biodegradable plastics—a degradable plastic in which the degradation results from the action of naturally-occurring micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae.

 

compostable plastic—a plastic that undergoes biological degradation during composting to yield carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials and leaves no visually distinguishable or toxic residues.

 

degradable plastic—a plastic designed to undergo a significant change in its chemical structure under specific environmental conditions resulting in a loss of some properties that may vary as measured by standard test methods appropriate to the plastic and the application in a period of time that determines its classification.

 

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ENSO Bottles Awarded Green Education Network Seal of Approval

July, 2009 – ENSO Bottles LLC has been awarded the Green Education Network Seal of Approval because its product makes a needed contribution to the problem of non-recycled plastic, and ENSO has demonstrated a commitment to education. ENSO bottles are 100% biodegradable, decompose in about five years and add little to the cost of a bottled beverage or other product. Like traditional PET bottles, the ENSO bottles also can be recycled along with nonbiodegradable PET bottles without being separated.

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Sustainable Plastics

By Max

There is a lot of concern about the growing plastic pollution problem, and rightly so.  Did you know?

* Plastic bottles take hundred or thousands of years to begin biodegrading
* 150 billion plastic beverage bottles are produced each year
* 70-80% of plastic bottles are not recycled
* 100 billion plastic bottles end up in landfills, roadsides, streams or oceans
* The average American consumes 167 bottles of water a year
* Bottled water is the second most popular beverage in the United States
* A majority of containers today are made from plastic

It seems that a lot of interest is being placed on bottled water, but take a look at the shelves where you shop; almost everything is packaged in plastic.  Bottled water has become an easy target; many of us think that because our tap water is safe, it must be safe everywhere else.  I wish that were true, most places in the world don’t have safe drinking water.  We should be focusing on the pollution caused by all plastics and insist that plastics be designed to be sustainable.  Sustainable plastics regardless of what it is made from, petroleum or plants should be biodegradable and designed to meet“Cradle to Cradle,” design criteria.  A cradle to cradle product is made from something, used, reused, recycled and when its useful life is over, it returns to the earth as a harmless substance.

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Are PET Bottles Safe?

NAPCOR Reassures on PET Safety with Answers to Common Concerns

Sonoma, CA, September 25, 2007 – PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles have garnered a great deal of media attention recently, some of it raising questions about PET safety. According to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), the trade group for PET packaging, it’s time to clear up any fallacies and set the record straight: Consumers can continue to rely on the safety of PET bottles.

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