Why is there a war on plastics?

Why is there a war on plastics?

It makes no logical sense.  Sure…, concerned citizens and activists might win a battle with a ban against plastic bags every once in awhile.

But, while there are no hard and fast numbers, it’s estimated there’s somewhere between 250 to 300 million tons of plastics manufactured every year. 10% of plastics get recycled; the rest of it–millions and millions of tons go to landfills, or ends up as litter in the environment.

Should we capitulate?

Absolutely not! We just need to rethink our approach.

Maybe we need to approach plastics as if we were practicing Judo. In Judo, you use your opponent’s energy to defeat him, and/or to teach him a lesson. The question is: Make plastics the complete environmental plus by making them biodegradable.

If we, as a society, had the will to manufacture biodegradable plastics, we could. The technology exists. But it’s really going to be necessary to come together, and re-frame the conversation about plastics. Is the plastics problem bad? Yes! There’s entirely too much waste. But when you start start thinking about biodegradable plastics, particularly in the context of landfill gas-to-energy, it becomes an entirely different conversation.

A formula for sustainable plastics

1. Manufacturers add specially-formulated pellets to create biodegradable plastics

During the manufacturing process, additives to manufacture biodegradable plastics are added to plastic products.

A simple 1% load to the most widely-used plastic resins to render the finished plastic products biodegradable while maintaining their other desired characteristics.

2. Consumers dispose of plastics the same way they do now

Consumers dispose of plastic products the way they normally do.

Whether the plastic product is introduced into the recycle stream, thrown into the garbage and destined for composting or landfill, or by littering, it ends up in the ocean or land, it will biodegrade naturally.

3. ECM BioFilms’ plastics biodegrade and produce methane gas in modern landfills

Specially formulated plastic products biodegrade wherever other biodegradation is occurring, and are recyclable, compostable, and/or biodegradable wherever they end up (as long as it’s not the frozen tundra, or somewhere else where nothing could biodegrade).

Once we, as a society, decide that we’d like to quit waging a war we’re never going to win, and start manufacturing environmentally-friendly plastic products, and dispose of them in a way that creates a renewable new source of energy–the rest is easy, and could lead to a new model for sustainable plastics.

Won’t you consider joining us?