By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 20th,2010% Because I approach this blog as a form of non-traditional education,I follow the industry closely through twitter,linkedin and other social networking outlets. When I come across a question,I search the web,scientific journals and printed literature for answers. Tonight I want to share some of the sites I have used as resources in my quest for understanding of sustainability,greener plastics and current issues. This is only a partial list of the many sites I could recommend (and will write up in a future post). Please feel free to add sites that I have not included . . . →Read More:Some Bioplastics and “Green”Links By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 18th,2010%  Bioplastics are interesting materials for two reasons: They can reduce our dependence on petroleum in their production by using renewable feedstocks such a corn,sugar cane,chicken feathers,algae,cashews etc. They can be formulated in ways that allow the material to degrade. Allowing for the plastics to lose the permanence for which they have often been scorned. Both these concepts are important in the goal of environmental sustainability. An ideal that does not “save the earth”but rather preserves a more pleasant environment for future generations of humans and wildlife. Bioplastics are not perfect. As useful materials they are still . . . →Read More:Two concepts of Bioplastics –Degradability and Renewability By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 13th,2010% all the things you can put in the compost bin- CTBarimoore A few months ago I wrote a post about the federal regulations regulating marketing claims of “green plastics”. This post only briefly touched on the testing standards surrounding these claims. Last week,after hosting a great Webinar titled A New Life for Plastics:End-of-life Solutions in the Age of Greener Materials, greenbiz.com published an article about the lack of standards in the bioplastics industry titled Improved Standards Needed for Bioplastic Claims. With a lack of standards that match how facilities are really operating, . . . →Read More:Bioplastic Standards By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 8th,2010% I love learning more about bioplastics by watching other people’s explanations on the materials and their value. BASF has released a video advertising their ecoflex material. The video is German subtitled in English. I have quoted the video below for those who don’t have the patience to watch the clip. The scientist at BASF has several points about how biodegradable can fill certain needs of plastics,but for some items more durable materials may be needed. Worth the watch,although I’m quite sure that the European infrastructure is much more biodegradable polymer friendly. When scientists refer to plastics . . . →Read More:A video by BASF –Using Biodegradable Plastics Intelligently By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 6th,2010%  If you are already a bioplastic insider,you have certainly seen the recent articles around the web about the expected growth of bioplastics through 2015. It’s exciting news,not only for those of us interested in the plastics industry but also for people who are environmentally conscious. The according to the BCC Research Report titled:Bioplastics:Technologies and Global Markets published in September 2010 the usage of bioplastics is expected to grow at a 41% annual growth rate through 2015. This means a growth from 571,712 metric tons in 2010 to 3,230,660 metric tons in 2015. The graph in . . . →Read More:The Booming Bioplastic Industry By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 3rd,2010% Have an interest in making a non-petroleum based plastic for fun? Have a pre-teen looking for a science fair project? Perhaps you are a science teacher and want to wow the few students who care in your classroom? There are several recipes online to make bioplastic in your own home. Source:Kabelfresser,on Flickr Before we begin,please realize that there is a reason companies spend millions on material research. You are not going to be making patio furniture out of what comes off your stove. In fact you probably wont get much else than a . . . →Read More:Do It Yourself Bioplastics Experiment By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 1st,2010% Bioplastics are often used to describe plastics that are biodegradable,but there are other requirements. The book Green Plastics by E.S. Stevens defines bioplastics as follows: “Bioplastics is a concise –and suitable –name for biodegradable plastics whose components are derived entirely or almost entirely from renewable raw materials. A bioplastic contains one or more biopolymeric substances as an essential substance. -E.S. Stevens 2002 Bioplastics may include a combination of biopolymer(s),plastizer(s) and other additive(s). Since this book was written 8 years has elapsed and the definition of bioplastic has evolved and shifted slightly. . . . →Read More:Terminology –Bioplastics By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on September 29th,2010% The world of plastics has recently been abuzz with plastics from renewable resources. There are companies working on corn,sugar cane,keratin,and even kiwi fruit based plastics. These plastics help alleviate some use of petroleum in the production industry. Bacteria –Caroline Davis2010 These plastics come from plant based sources and by-product of food production. But are there even more avenues to explore. OPX Biotechnologies,a start up in Boulder,Colorado,is using bacteria to produce chemicals that usually come from the petroleum stream. Using E. Coli bacteria,the company produces acrylic acid from sugar. This . . . →Read More:Bacteria based plastic? By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on September 24th,2010% When I first started learning about medical and sustainable plastics I found some of the terminology a little confusing. And I often find that people get mixed up when they use plastic terminology as well. Words that are confusing because they are relatively new to the general public are bioplastics,biomaterials,biodegradable plastics,oxo-degradable plastic,bio-feedstock plastics,resorbable and so on. My blog posts are often full of red spell check underlines because my computer is unsure if I am making up words. I hope to clear up a bit of the terminology used in this blog as well . . . →Read More:Terminology –Biomaterials By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on August 26th,2010% This blog has often presented bioplastics in both it’s positive and negative lights. This is an attempt to help people make their own decisions about what they will be purchasing and to understand some of the outlying issues. I sometimes worry that the negatives are weighed more heavily in people’s minds. But we must remember some important facts. Development of new technologies takes time:Bioplastics in actual packaging applications are relatively in their infancy. They may still have some kinks to work out but scientists and companies are taking steps towards a future when our vehicles have exhausted petroleum . . . →Read More:Why care about immerging bioplastic technologies? | CreditsBlog design elements by Kate HadfieldUsed as non-profit generating blog TOU |
