<
https://theconversation.com/why-bioplastics-wont-solve-our-plastic-problems-200736>
"Last month, Victoria banned plastic straws, crockery and polystyrene
containers, following similar bans in South Australia, Western Australia, New
South Wales and the ACT. All states and territories in Australia have now
banned lightweight single-use plastic bags.
You might wonder why we have to ban these products entirely. Couldn’t we just
make them out of bioplastics – plastics usually made of plants? Some studies
estimate we could swap up to 85% of fossil-fuel based plastics for bioplastics.
Unfortunately, bioplastics aren’t ready for prime time – except for their use
in kitchen caddy bins as food waste liners. In Australia, we don’t have widely
available pathways to compost or process them at the end of their lives. Nearly
always, they end up in landfill.
That’s why many states are including bioplastics in their plastics bans.
Avoiding single-use plastics entirely, whether traditional fossil fuel-based
plastics or bioplastics, is more sustainable. And as our recycling system
struggles, less plastic of any kind is simply better."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
