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Plastic Made From Corn
Dekaner writes "A major supplier of plastic products in the U.S. will soon open a new factory that makes products from corn. The Cargill Dow factory in Blair, Nebraska will convert corn into a biodegradable substance called NatureWorks PLA. It will be used to make soft-drink cups, salad containers and to fill pillows and comforters. The corn-derived polymer will compete directly with products made from petroleum."
If I ever have to eat my hat because I've opened my big mouth at the wrong time, I want my hat to be made of this.
I think the biggest advantage that this has over other "Natural" alternatives is that it will be easily converted to by polymer manufacturers. This article talks about how the NatureWorks stuff is delivered to manufacturers. It comes in small plastic pellets that manufacturers are used to handling. There are some adjustments to be made, the article doesn't mention what they are, but the plants will not have to completly retool to begin using this. I suppose that if they could tool their plants in such a way as to use either the NatureWorks or petroleum based pellets, they could play the two technologies off each other and lower the cost of producing things. Not that we'd see any price reduction, but the thought is nice.
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
Because what we need in this country is to practice more monoculture with corn.
I've hit Karma 50 and gotten a Score:5, Troll... I win!
Damn, what a sound bite! He's 100% correct, of course, but it's still amazing what one sentence can do to sway the hearts of people. His timing couldn't be better. I'm feeling patriotic already! Too bad I can't digest corn, or I'd have some tonight.
And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
They have been making "plastic" grocery bags from processed corn for almost 10 years now. The next time you shop, check the fine print on the bag to see if the bag is biodegradable. And No, it's not the print that talks about how plastic bags can be used as a population control device...
:-)
Ditto about the biodegradable packing peanuts.
IMHO, the more we can use renewable recyclable technologies, the better off we are. I for one would love to see fossil fuels go the way of the dinosaur
Another economic benefit that people may not think about is that grocery stores can throw packaged foods into the compost. At this point in time, they seem to only be able to throw away unpackaged fruits and vegetables. In other words, they aren't going to unpackage something to compost it.
This will provide more compost which could mean richer soils and better crops.
testing out my trending skills
I remember many (10?) years ago a company was promoting a corn-based, plastic grocery bag which they said would deteriorate and disolve in a few months when exposed to sunlight and water.
Iowa City Magazine (now defunct) decided to test it and attached one to a post in back of their offices. Each month they published a photo of the bag and reported on it's condition. After a year they decided that apart from some slight tearing of the bag by the wind where it was attached to the post, there was no sign of any deterioration.
None.
On the other hand, I regularly get shipments of equipment packed in biodegradable corn starch 'peanuts' which dissolve rapidly when exposed to water. Easy to dispose of I guess, but more than once I've had UPS drop off a package on my doorstep in the rain and I come home to a box of soggy, goo-encrusted equipment. YUCK!
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When I first read that headline, I read "Corn made from plastic". I had that back in elementary school. :) Plastic made from corn, though... that's cool.