"Ecological" plastics?

1999/12/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ekologia

The biggest problem of most plastics currently used is the time it takes to degrade. Petroleum plastics take thousands of years to completely disappear, so plastic waste is accumulating. This problem has in recent years led to new types of plastics with biological components that can be obtained from genetically modified plants.

Being biological components, the theoretical degradation of these plastics is much faster. Given the growing use of plastics, biotechnology companies are developing cheaper systems. For example, the company Monsanto has created a new type of plastic from GM rapeseed, and in the United States with fermented corn sugar thousands of tons are produced every year. These plastics, however, are not as environmentally friendly as they seem, as much more energy is needed in the manufacturing process than conventional plastic. In addition, for its degradation it is necessary to move it to special recycling facilities, not being a simple dumping to landfills.