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Say hello to biodegradable microplastics: Plant-based polymers that can disappear within seven months (phys.org)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/science@mander.xyz
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[–] 11 points 2 years ago (4 children)

What could this genuinely be used for? Wouldn't you have to use it on stuff that will be discarded before it starts breaking up a few months in?

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  • [–] 32 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Not a scientist so couldn't quite tell from the article if this would work for its use case; but all of the prepared / cooked food I see at my grocery store is packed in plastic containers. They all have shelf life of that day / maybe a couple of days (this is like a buffet + packed / prepared meals, not sure what exactly to describe it as). I always thought it would be great if that could be less wasteful, it'd definitely make me feel more likely to buy it instead of all being in single use plastic containers.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I guess a month life cycle would be enough in that case. I mean you have to include transport and storage time before it gets to the shelves with fresh food in it

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    Definitely was finding it hard to describe what I mean, my store has a bakery/butchery in it and I think they prepare things in-house, like bake bread/muffins and then throw them in plastic bags, make batches of mac and cheese and throw it in plastic tubs, etc. It's possible they ship some stuff in and that wouldn't work, but I just meant for things that were literally like oven to shelves stuffed into plastic bags, maybe it'd be nice if it could be used there.

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  • [–] 26 points 2 years ago

    I think you're missing the compost part. Wood will break down in a compost, yet you can build houses from it. Indoor furniture made from wood will happily serve you for decades. Same with this biodegradable plastic: It'll have a shelf life of decades or even centuries. When shredded and composted it will break down. This material is likely not a good candidate for the wheel housing on your car, but there's no reason not to use it, for example, for a car's interior.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago

    single use plastics? there are tons of plastic materials that are embedded in things we only use once and then throw away. we don't need the plastic on string cheese to last for longer than a few months. or plastic bottles. or bubble wrap. or the plastic coating on cans. from what the article says, its not water soluble, so it needs to be actively colonized by bacteria to break down. if we built it into reusable plastic objects, they'd just need to stay clean and dry. most natural clothing fiber is biodegradable, but that doesn't mean it's gonna fall apart, it just means if you leave it outside something might come and eat it. the idea all the things we discard are made from things other living creatures can't eat is a huge bummer. it would be fucking cool if we could compost all our garbage again!

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I cannot possibly be the only person who misses the soap with the plastic bits in it. If they could do that without the environmental damage (I'm looking at you, Great Lakes ecosystem), I'd be into it

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Is it still legal to have this in the USA?
    It has been banned in Europe in 2018, but allowing to sell the stocks for 6 years). Now they use nuts shells powder, apricot kernal powder, or similar things. It's not necessary to put platic in it.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    It probably is still legal, but it's not something I've looked for in like a decade. We do have products that use ground kernels, but those aren't good to use on skin--the milling process doesn't produce uniform particles and the pointy bits tend to compromise the barrier skin provides with very small tears.

    I completely agree that plastic isn't necessary for good soap, I just like it. I would definitely buy soap made with ecologically responsible plantstic at least once.

    More importantly, using safer, scalable, completely biodegradable, algae-based polymers opens up so many more options for single-use products while simultaneously improving environmental quality. Farming algae and seaweeds removes a lot of contaminants from the ocean, like agricultural fertilizer and solid waste runoff. If we can truly scale up ocean farming responsibly, it'll be its own "teal cascade" in which the benefits multiply with each step in the process.

    1. Farming algae/seaweed doesn't require the use of inorganic fertilizers when you grow them alongside shellfish like oysters, clams, and scallops

    2. Increased protein production through shellfish reduces reliance on agricultural livestock for meat (which is incredibly damaging to the environment)

    3. Algae/seaweed can replace fossil carbon in fertilizers and plastics, and reduces cattle methane emissions by 20% or more when added to their regular feed

    At each step, we can take more and more petroleum out of the equation just by using methods that are better than sustainable, they actually remediate existing harm.

    Plus, I get my scrubby soap back.

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