Plastic (48 page)

218
[>]
PLA produces just 1.3 kilograms
: E.T.H. Vink et al., "The Eco-profiles for Current and Near-future NatureWorks Polylactide (PLA) Production,"
Industrial Biotechnology
3 (2007): 58–81.

[>]
genetically modified crops
: The Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative—a network of environmental groups and businesses interested in bioplastics—opposes the use of biopolymers made from genetically modified feedstocks. The group is especially concerned about GM switchgrass, since that's an open-pollinating crop that could threaten nearby natural switchgrass. Author e-mail correspondence with SBC cochair Brenda Platt, August 2010.

[>]
such sources add up to 350 million
: Geiser,
Materials Matter,
331.

219
[>]
Criddle is working with methane-eating
: Author interview with Craig Criddle, Stanford University, May 2010.

[>]
Cornell University chemist
: Stacey Shackford, "Ithaca Plastics Company Gets $18.4 Million Federal Grant,"
Ithaca Journal,
July 22, 2010. Coates is commercializing his work through a private company that has been awarded more than twenty million dollars in federal grants.

220
[>]
Green chemistry
: Since the early 1960s, scientists have become increasingly concerned with the environmental implications of traditional chemistry practices. But green chemistry as a field didn't really get going until the late 1980s, when two leading scientists, John Warner and Paul Anastas, laid out a set of guiding principles for the field. Those principles started with the declaration that "it is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it is formed" and went on to emphasize more environmentally friendly practices, such as reducing the use of solvents, separation agents, and other auxiliary substances whenever possible; using renewable raw materials where technically and economically possible; designing products so they don't persist in the environment and do break down into innocuous byproducts; and choosing substances and processes that have a minimal chance of causing chemical accidents. J. A. Linthorst, "An Overview: Origins and Development of Green Chemistry,"
Foundations of Chemistry
12 (2010): 55–68.

[>]
requires any manufacturer
: The list doesn't explicitly bar the use of bisphenol A or phthalates, but as PLA gets picked up for more applications, Davies said the company is considering whether it needs to spell that out.

[>]
biodegradable in this context
: Author interviews with Narayan and Steve Mojo, executive director of the Sustainable Products Institute, April and May 2010. See also Ramani Narayan, "Misleading Claims and Misuse of Standards Continues to Proliferate in the Nascent BioPlastics Industry Space,"
Bioplastics
magazine, January 2, 2010; Brenda Platt, "Biodegradable Plastics: True or False, Good or Bad?" accessed at
http://www.sustainableplastics.org/spotlight/biodegradable-plastics-true-or-false-good-or-bad
. For a product to be called
biodegradable,
its manufacturer needs to provide specifics as to how long and under what conditions it will break down. Those issues are at the crux of industry standards for biodegradability.

[>]
Narayan has criticized my purportedly biodegradable
: Author interview with Narayan.

[>]
"
oxo-biodegradable
": Author interview with Mojo. One study of oxo-biodegradable bags sponsored by the California Integrated Waste Management Board found no evidence of biodegradation, which led the State of California to pass a law restricting the use of the terms
compostable biodegradable, degradable,
and
marine degradable
on plastic bags.

221
[>]
fossil-fuel-based plastics that will biodegrade
: For instance, BASF's Ecoflex plastic is a petroleum-based polymer that's biodegradable and compostable. It's used to make compostable bags.

[>]
U.S. Navy is exploring
: Any plans to purchase Mirel food ware are on hold, however, because the United States is bound by the Marpol Treaty, which bars the dumping of waste at sea. There are efforts under way to revise the treaty to "support plastics that are marine-degradable," according to author e-mail correspondence with Metabolix spokesman Brian Ruby, August 2010.

[>]
only about two hundred
: Rhodes Yepsen, "U.S. Residential Food Waste Collection and Composting,"
BioCycle
(December 2009): 35.

222
[>]
plastic is creating a mini-crisis
: According to
Time
magazine, some composting centers have a blanket policy of discarding all plastic. "I direct pickers to take out plastic, which they can't distinguish from bioplastic," said Will Bakx, co-owner of and soil scientist at Sonoma Compost, a composting facility in Petaluma, California. Kristina Dell, "The Promise and Pitfalls of Bioplastic,"
Time
magazine, May 3, 2010.

[>]
"
Plastic is forever
": Quoted in Meikle,
American Plastic,
9.

[>]
It's a myth and a misplaced hope
: The Federal Trade Commission considers it illegal for plastic products to claim they can biodegrade in a landfill. "The trouble is they haven't sent enough people to prison for doing so," Mojo observed. New FTC guidelines, however, promise to make it harder for companies to make unsubstantiated green claims. An ad proclaiming a product is ecofriendly will have to be backed up with evidence and specific supporting phrases, such as "based on the ability to recycle." Jack Neff, "FTC Goes After Broad Environmental Claims,"
Advertising Age,
October 6, 2010.

223
[>]
Americans throw away
: EPA, "Municipal Solid Waste, 2008."

[>]
the one chosen by HSBC
: "DiCaprio Promotes Green Credit Cards,"
Huffington Post,
March 24, 2008. Also described on HSBC's website; see
http://www.hsbc.com.hk/1/2/cr/environment/projects/green_credit_card
.

224
[>]
recent report in the New York Times
: Penelope Green, "Biodegradable Home Lines, Ready to Rot,"
New York Times,
May 8, 2008.

225
[>]
"
inflationary culture
": Meikle,
American Plastic,
176.

[>]
As Terry tells the story
: Author interview with Beth Terry, December 2008, April 2010. Also see her blog,
www.fakeplasticfish.com
.

226
[>]
Yet another of the ubiquitous chemical's uses
: Janet Raloff, "Concerned About BPA: Check Your Receipts,"
Science News,
October 7, 2009. Accessed at
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/48084/title/Science_%2B_the_Public__Concerned_about_BPA_Check_your_receipts
.

230
[>]
reminded me of something
: Author interview with Lilienfeld.

232
[>]
annual global plastics production
: Li Shen et al., "Product Overview," ii.

Epilogue: A Bridge

233
[>]
a spokeswoman for the state forest
: Author interview with Terry Schmidt, customer service representative, Wharton State Forest, May 2010.

[>]
Nearly one million used milk jugs
: Author interview with Jim Kerstein, founder and CEO of Axion International, May 2010. For more information on the company's bridges, see Sergio Bichao, "Lightweight—But Strong—Plastic Used by Army to Build Bridge Has Origins in Rutgers Labs,"
Courier News,
October 9, 2009; accessed at
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20091009/NEWS/91009050
.

234
[>]
"
Others build strong bridges
": A video of the bridge's dedication can be seen at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hE-ymdio44
.

[>]
These bridges are slated
: Author interview with Marc Green, president of Axion International, May 2010.

[>]
The deteriorating wooden bridge
: Author interview with Schmidt.

Selected Bibliography

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———.
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Andrady, Anthony.
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Baker, Nena.
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Chang, Leslie.
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Clarke, Alison J.
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———.
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Meikle, Jeffrey.
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Mossman, Susan, ed.
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Newman, Thelma, R.
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———.
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Schapiro, Mark.
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Sparke, Penny, ed.
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———.
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