New BioPlastic; Plastics Education Needed

April 24, 2007 – Vol.12 No.5

NEW BIOPLASTIC; PLASTICS EDUCATION NEEDED.

Mega-agricultural, now biofuel producer Archer Daniels Midland Company has teamed with bioscience company Metabolix to create a new company and a new product line. The new company, Telles Natural Plastics (tm), is in the process of commercializing a line of bio-based, fully-biodegradable plastic to be known as Mirel (tm) Natural Plastics.

In the lead up to the introduction of Mirel, the companies commissioned a survey to test what consumers know about plastics. The results were shocking.

--- 72 percent didn’t know that plastics are made from oil.

--- On average, respondents thought that 38 percent of plastics are recycled. (It’s only about six percent.)

--- Almost 40 percent thought plastics would biodegrade in landfills, home compost or in the oceans. (None are true. Strong sunlight can breakdown some plastics, but for the most part plastics are with us for thousands of years unless recycled.)

--- Once learning that plastics are made from oil, half said they’d pay 5-10 percent more for biodegradable plastic products. Twenty-four percent said they wouldn’t pay the premium.

--- Most, 62 percent, rated their own level of environmental knowledge as fair or poor, only about 6 percent said it was excellent.

Clearly there needs to be more environmental education including that for plastics.

On one hand plastics serve us well. Because of them we have an endless array of strong, durable products that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. Plastic parts and components on our cars, trucks and other vehicles cut weight and thus save fuel. Plastic containers save energy as well: Imagine the extra weight truckers would have to haul if milk was distributed as it once was in heavy glass jugs. Plastics are often recycled and are now a source of fuel. And, it’s safe to say that plastics are a better use for oil than burning it.

(Which makes one wonder why the oil producing states - desperately in need of jobs - don’t put more emphasis on making durable, long-lived end products out of their petroleum reserves rather than selling them mostly as fuel. Venezuela should be the resin chair capitol of the world. Saudi Arabia should be churning out plastic car bumpers and roto-molded kayaks.)

On the other hand, plastics lead to damage in our environment. Plastics production has contributed to air and water pollution. When plastics catch fire they release noxious, if not deadly, fumes. (A great fear for firefighters.) And then there’s all that litter. Plastic junk is everywhere on land and in the water. Not only is it unsightly, it can be a killer. Sea animals often ingest pieces of plastic or get somehow entangled in plastic junk and die as a result.

So people need to be more careful about how they dispose of it and should know that plastics need not come from oil. About 10 percent of US oil consumption - about two million barrels per day - is used to make more than 350 billion pounds of plastic each year.

Mirel, to be made from renewable sources such as corn sugar, can be used as an alternative to petroleum-based plastic in a wide variety of manufacturing processes, including injection molding, paper coating, cast film and sheet, blown film, and thermoforming. Telles is building a new plant in Clinton, Iowa to produce 110 million pounds of Mirel each year.

Mirel will biodegrade over time in biologically active environments such as soil, compost or oceans and leave no harmful byproducts. (Essentially, it’s eaten.)

Visit Metabolix at http://www.metabolix.com/ ADM at http://www.admworld.com/