On the heels of Lego\u2019s plans to use plant-based plastic for a new line of pieces, British researchers caution that bioplastics can pose hidden risks for companies.<\/p>\n
Sharon George and Deirdre McKay from Keele University in the UK argue in an op-ed for The Conversation that \u201cplant-based\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean sustainable. George, an environmental science lecturer, and McKay, a social geography and environmental politics senior lecturer, highlight several key challenges for corporations.<\/p>\n
One is that bioplastics can be fossil fuel-based. The Plastics Industry Association definition states that bioplastics are either made from a renewable resource or break down completely, or are both bio-based and biodegradable. An infographic from association shows that bioplastic sources are wide-ranging and include methane, petroleum, corn, and cellulose.<\/p>\n
By definition, materials classified as bioplastic aren\u2019t necessarily biodegradable. \u201cEven if a plastic is classified as \u2018biodegradable,\u2019 that just means it can be broken down by bacteria or fungi, but this can still take decades and leave toxic residue behind,\u201d George and McKay wrote. They add that bioplastics classified as compostable could still require high-temperature industrial processing to break down.<\/p>\n
Lego\u2019s new flexible bioplastic pieces will be made with ethanol extracted from sugarcane. Bioplastic sources that require farming \u2014 sugarcane, castor beans, canola, soybeans, corn \u2014 can come with environmental risks, the British researchers say.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarming sugarcane can put huge stress on the environment, relying on large plantations that use pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers as well as significant amounts of water,\u201d they wrote. Large resource-intensive plantations could also displace local farmers, the researchers say, edging them into marginal and vulnerable land.<\/p>\n
For companies that want to use ethanol, George and McKay suggest producing it by farming blue-green algae, household waste, or the residues of coffee production instead. \u201cThere are far more sustainable sources of ethanol than sugarcane,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n
Currently only between 1% and 2% of Lego products are made from polyethylene, which limits the amount of product that can ultimately be replaced with sugarcane plastic. Most Lego pieces continue to be made from oil-based plastic. The toy company says its bricks are designed to be reused and handed down through generations. For consumers, they emphasize donation and recycling unwanted pieces. Last month Lego\u00a0joined the How2Recycle.<\/p>\n
Despite their critique, George and McKay call plant-based plastic products like the ones Lego plans to produce a small step in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cTruly green plastic needs more than sustainable raw materials and manufacturing techniques,\u201d they wrote. \u201cSustainability must include the product\u2019s whole life-cycle and the social conditions in which those raw materials are produced.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the heels of Lego\u2019s plans to use plant-based plastic for a new line of pieces, British researchers caution that bioplastics can pose hidden risks for companies. Sharon George and Deirdre McKay from Keele University in the UK argue in an op-ed for The Conversation that \u201cplant-based\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean sustainable. George, an environmental science […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5847,6406],"supplier":[14339,3643],"class_list":["post-51543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioplastics","tag-environment","supplier-how2recycle","supplier-lego-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51543"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=51543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}