Although the word ‘bioplastic’ sounds like a more environmentally friendly alternative to the more standard petroleum-based plastic, it is not, at least in the short term. Only taking up 0.2% of the plastics market, bioplastics are not prevalent enough for companies and recycling facilities to devote resources to making them as sustainable as they could be (Filabot, 2018). This doesn’t mean we should avoid them.
Continue reading “Bioplastics”PLA (polylactic acid)
PLA is a biodegradable plastic made from natural resources, such as corn or other vegetables that contain a large amount of starch (long chains of sugar glucose). In corn (the most widely used crop in the creation of PLA), the kernels are processed and the endosperm is removed, ground into corn starch, fermented to create lactic acid, and the lactic acid is polymerized (chains linked to create a polymer) into polylactic acid (also known as polylactide).
Continue reading “PLA (polylactic acid)”