Plastics L. Jones Natural and

Plastics L. Jones Natural and Biodegradable Plastics: An Important Alternative The average North American uses plastic in virtually every activity and capacity imaginable. From the food that we eat, to the cars that we drive, to even the medical devices used to keep us healthy, plastic seems to be as indispensable as glass and metal was to the generations before. However, plastic as a material has many drawbacks with regard to the environment.

Although this has also been true with the production of other materials (including glass and metal), it can be argued that no other material has had as immense an impact on the decline of the environment as plastic and the methods used in its production. It was estimated that in the year 2000 alone, more than 148 million tons of plastics were used worldwide in consumer and industry applications. Further, internationally, plastic use is projected to continue to rise (depending on location) at a rate of 4.8-5.2% annually.

Of course, the main reason plastics are used so widely is their amazing ability to function in infinite capacities -- car parts, industrial applications, medical instrumentation and equipment, consumer containers, food distribution and preservation, and high-tech components to name just a few. Yet, in its most popular forms, plastic is also highly polluting both in its production, as well as in its inability to degrade back into the natural environment.

Traditionally, plastic is composed of one of two types of synthetic binders as well as various additives based on intended use (which may include pigment, fillers, etc.). The synthetic binders used are made up of long chainlike molecules known as "polymers." These binders are either known as "thermosetic," which cannot be softened after production, and "thermoplastic" which can be softened again and again with heat.

Depending upon which type of binder is used, as well as the kinds of additives introduced in the chemical process virtually any "type" of plastic can be created depending on the requirements of its application. Thus, it can be engineered to be strong and rigid, resistant to heat, cold, or chemicals, or it can also be soft, malleable, and easily damaged. Although the uses of synthetic plastics are infinite, the options for disposal are not.

In fact, plastics are widely considered to be one of the biggest banes on the global environment based on its inability to "break down" or degrade once disposed. Further, many also criticize synthetic plastics because they are derived from "non-renewable" material sources, including fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas). Because of these problems, many believe that an alternate form of plastics, known as biodegradable plastic, should be utilized more widely than the synthetic form. When a material is "biodegradable," it means that it can break down in the environment.

Further, it also means that it will have little or no negative impact on the environment after it degrades. In order for this to occur, the material itself must be made up of "natural" components normally found in the environment. In the world of plastics, those made from natural sources are termed "biopolymers" and are typically made of renewable resources including starch, cellulose, and polyhydroxyalconates or "PHA," produced by microbes). Further, in the near future, other types may also be used, including those derived from specific proteins and pectins.

Although there is little question that the biopolymer plastics are exponentially friendlier to the health of the environment, there are definite drawbacks to their use, including cost as well as use issues. Indeed, most governments balk at the notion of requiring industrial and consumer plastics to be biopolymer-based due to the comparably high cost of their production. According to many, to require this change would adversely effect companies, and in turn adversely affect the economy as a whole.

Additionally, of real concern is the current functional discrepancy between the bio-derived and the synthetic plastic product. For example, certain natural plastics are highly susceptible to water, and begin to break down after exposure. Further, starch-based products (and cellulose), must be carefully formulated to ensure that they are not subject to "bio-attack" by starch eating organisms. In the end, there is little question that bio-plastics are more "earth friendly" than their synthetic cousins. Further, the more advanced plastics research becomes the more effective these products become.

However, their increased costs of research as well as.