There are many battles being fought at every front to eliminate the plague that is plastic. The non-biodegradable material has penetrated itself in every aspect of human life. Recently, a company in the Netherlands has developed a plastic-like product that is made from plant sugars. Evidently, these plant-based plastic bottles will be very effective to combat plastic pollution.
The company called Avantium believes its plant-based plastic bottles could easily replace the plastic bottles, and with an advantage, they would be a lot better for the environment.
This plastic has very attractive sustainability credentials because it uses no fossil fuels, and can be recycled – but would also degrade in nature much faster than normal plastics do.
says Van Aken, Avantium’s chief executive.
These bottles are designed to fully degrade within a year in a composter. on the other hand it could take a few years to decompose without a composter. The eco-friendly product has intrigued the interest of beer company Carlsberg, who’s planning to use the plant-based material as a liner for the inside of cardboard beer bottles to help reduce their waste.
Reportedly, the plant plastic is strong enough to hold the pressure of carbonated beverages, which opens up the door for use with soda and other carbonated drinks. The beverage brand, Coca-Cola has also shown interest in this project.
Image: Eco Magazine
Granted, overthrowing plastic that dominates every single aspect of human life will be a huge challenge. However, a suitable alternative is a start in the right direction to nurse the planet back to health.
The company plans to break down sustainable plant sugars into simple chemical structures that can then be reassembled to form a new plant-based plastic, which could appear in the market by 2023.
The project will apparently make 5,000 tonnes of plastic every year in the beginning, using sugars from corn, wheat, or beets, though the company expects the production to grow with the increase in demand for renewable plastics.
In the meantime, Avantium aims to use plant sugars from sustainably sourced bio-waste so to have minimal impact on the global food supply chain.
Via: BGR