Tonight I want to share some of the sites I have used as resources in my quest for understanding of sustainability, greener plastics and current issues. This is only a partial list of the many sites I could recommend (and will write up in a future post). Please feel free to add sites that I have not included . . . → Read More: Some Bioplastics and “Green” Links]]>

Because I approach this blog as a form of non-traditional education, I follow the industry closely through twitter, linkedin and other social networking outlets. When I come across a question, I search the web, scientific journals and printed literature for answers.

Tonight I want to share some of the sites I have used as resources in my quest for understanding of sustainability, greener plastics and current issues. This is only a partial list of the many sites I could recommend (and will write up in a future post). Please feel free to add sites that I have not included in the comments.

Green-Plastics.net - This site was created by the son of the man who wrote the book on Green Plastics. I’m not sure how involved E.S. Stevens is still involved in the site, but I trust everything posted on Green-plastics.net as being gospel. I have actually written posts about how much I appreciated what was written on their site. A must read resource.

Greenplastics.com - A wiki created as an accompaniment to the book mentioned above. The sister site of green-plastics.net.

Greener Package - One night I was frustrated because the environmental blogs I was following didn’t have any industry input. Most were from the armchair critic that did not understand the full scope of environmental, financial and regulatory impact of making packaging choices.

Greener Package has a wealth of information, especially in the forums. Many of the active members work in the biopolymers or packaging industries and they will have very intelligent debates about everything from recyclability, biodegradation, current waste management infrastructure etc.

Greeneon – I recently found this website when browsing people in the biodegradable plastics group on LinkedIn. It is run by current and former Graduate Students at my current grad school, University of Massachusetts -Lowell. The focus of their site is biodegradable plastics.

Our interest is to share more and more knowlege of biodegradable plastics around the world and explore novel applications out of a variety of biodegradable plastics that are derived from natural as well as conventional petroleum based resources. We strongly believe that the use of “Green Plastics” would benefit the society and help in contributing towards a green revolution.

Green Packaging Woman - A relatively new blog focused on women in the packaging industry. Some of the posts are also focused on products made from recycled materials.

Sustainable Plastics? -  The site for a project of the Institute for Local Self Reliance. Addresses sustainable plastics and their lifecycle as well as issues with currently available traditional plastics.

Society of Plastics Engineers – Pretty self explanatory.

In the game, called oceanopolis, the user is trapped on an island paradise and must collect and turn in recyclables on the island. As they collect items the user is educated about recycling, earns points and can purchase items.

I tried the game for a few minutes and found it even less appealing than most regular games . . . → Read More: A Facebook Recycling Game]]>

I remember a time when facebook was to connect with friends not to play “social” games. The latest game I have heard of, is a recycling game created by Greenopolis, a company founded to reward the population for recycling.

In the game, called oceanopolis, the user is trapped on an island paradise and must collect and turn in recyclables on the island. As they collect items the user is educated about recycling, earns points and can purchase items.

I tried the game for a few minutes and found it even less appealing than most regular games of this type. Where are these recyclables coming from? Are they washing up on shore perfectly intact? Someone should find who is dumping all this trash into the ocean and jail them. Seriously why am I going around an island clicking my mouse randomly on magically appearing item?

Perhaps some will use the game for entertainment, but I suspect  that people actually using the game will be doing so to collect greenopolis points. These points are reedemable for a variety of discounts or coupons from restaurants, theaters and retail establishments.

Have you tried the game? Do you like it? Let me know.

Both these concepts are important in the goal of environmental sustainability. An ideal that does not “save the earth” but rather preserves a more pleasant environment for future generations of humans and wildlife.

Bioplastics are not perfect. As useful materials they are still . . . → Read More: Two concepts of Bioplastics – Degradability and Renewability]]>

Bioplastics are interesting materials for two reasons:

1. They can reduce our dependence on petroleum in their production by using renewable feedstocks such a corn, sugar cane, chicken feathers, algae, cashews etc.
2. They can be formulated in ways that allow the material to degrade. Allowing for the plastics to lose the permanence for which they have often been scorned.

Both these concepts are important in the goal of environmental sustainability. An ideal that does not “save the earth” but rather preserves a more pleasant environment for future generations of humans and wildlife.

Bioplastics are not perfect. As useful materials they are still in their infancy. Future materials and their applications show no limits and someday we might rely on them as much as we do traditional plastics.

The Society of Plastics Engineers recently published a short web article about Bioplastics and Global Sustainability. It discusses some recent reports about the future of the market for bioplastics, and some of the challenges posed by the structure of bioplastic molecules. My favorite part of the article however was this figure showing different traditional and bioplastics in a scheme of degradable versus non-degradable and renewable versus non-renewable. It is a demonstration that not all renewable plastics degrade and that some traditional plastics do.

As I was packing my lunch today I noticed something on the packaging of the hummus I was using. Next to the logo and title was a stamp that said “New! Earth Friendlier Pack” and “More info at sabra.com”.

I was curious, the tub was a simple transparent plastic. I didn’t notice anything unusual about it. I wanted to know what they had changed.

So I went to the sabra.com website, as instructed. I couldn’t find the promised information. So I searched for it on Google.

The information was there, buried in the News section. Sabra was making . . . → Read More: What does “Green” even mean?]]>

As I was packing my lunch today I noticed something on the packaging of the hummus I was using. Next to the logo and title was a stamp that said “New! Earth Friendlier Pack” and “More info at sabra.com”.

I was curious, the tub was a simple transparent plastic. I didn’t notice anything unusual about it. I wanted to know what they had changed.

So I went to the sabra.com website, as instructed. I couldn’t find the promised information. So I searched for it on Google.

The information was there, buried in the News section. Sabra was making changes to be “green” by transitioning to 100% recyclable plastic throughout 2010. Their chosen material is PET, the most commonly used material in recycled goods. Sabra’s statement as to why they believe this to be the best packaging solution is below:

Sabra began transitioning packaging in 2009 to PET (1), made of 30-45% post consumable recyclable raw material, the most commonly used recycled plastic by consumers.  Use of post-consumer recycled content in recyclable plastic is widely accepted as the most sustainable plastic packaging solution, by reducing the use of virgin material while taking considerable amounts of plastic out of the waste stream.

Green and sustainable packaging is an evolving field. There are no right and wrong answers. As technologies change and new materials become available new pros and cons emerge. The most important aspect might be that companies are trying to find solutions that are better for the planet period.

The author, Gary Hirshberg, is the CEO and founder of Stonyfield farms, an organic yogurt company based in New Hampshire, USA. We have always been happy with the quality and flavor of their products and are proud of the success of a NH company.

The book was published in 2008 and at the . . . → Read More: Stonyfield’s new plant based yogurt cup]]>

Several years go I picked up a book called Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World. I loved that book.It was about how environmentally responsible business can make a profit while being good for your body and for the environment.

The author, Gary Hirshberg, is the CEO and founder of Stonyfield farms, an organic yogurt company based in New Hampshire, USA. We have always been happy with the quality and flavor of their products and are proud of the success of a NH company.

The book was published in 2008 and at the time Hirshberg explained the company’s rationale for using polypropylene (#5) plastics in the single serve cups. At the time plastics from renewable resources did not meet the performance and cost requirements that Stonyfield’s high quality standards required. Stonyfield co-operated with Preserve to recycle #5 plastics into household items. Visit Preserve’s Gimme 5 program to learn more.

Bioplastics are finally starting to meet corporate needs though. Stonyfield recently announced that their multipacks will be made from 93% plant based materials. The thermoformed multipacks were previously made of polystyrene (PS). Single serve cups will still be made of PP.

They will not be making the same mistakes as Sunchips made with their customer base

Except for the “THIS CUP IS MADE FROM PLANTS” stamp on the bottom, you probably won’t notice any difference in the new cups. They look, sound, and feel just like the plastic you’re used to.

Stonyfield does acknowledge that the NatureWork‘s Ingeo PLA is currently made from corn in it’s commercial form. While corn based plastics are sometimes vilified, Stonyfield explains their decision:

If we were to wait until the day when PLA can be made from non-corn inputs, we would postpone, for years, our using packaging with almost half the climate impact and greatly reduced human toxicity for years. We chose not to wait for the perfect day but instead to take a big step forward on our sustainable packaging journey.

The decision is exciting and has the internet talking. Read more at these sites and blogs:

• From Cornfield to Cup – The New Sustainable Packaging Journey, Stonyfield blog
• Stonyfield Farm makes switch to PLA for yogurt multipacks, Greener Package
• Lifting the Lid on Stonyfield’s New Plant-Based Packaging, Joel Makower
• Stonyfield Plants Seed for Better Packaging, Triple Pundit
• Stonyfield Introduces New Yogurt Cups to World, Londonderry News
• Stonyfield Presents Breakthrough Cup Made From Plants, Food and Equipment News

Have an opinion on the packaging? Additional links?

JP Labs (Middlesex, NJ) is working on a product called Nano-Indis. It is a smart packaging with self-reading indicators. The indicator changes by destroying nanostructures allowing the message to change rather abruptly after an appropriate time or process.

Some monitoring conditions in which the labels would work:

all the things you can put in the compost bin- CTBarimoore

A few months ago I wrote a post about the federal regulations regulating marketing claims of “green plastics”. This post only briefly touched on the testing standards surrounding these claims.

Last week, after hosting a great Webinar titled A New Life for Plastics: End-of-life Solutions in the Age of Greener Materials, greenbiz.com published an article about the lack of standards in the bioplastics industry titled Improved Standards Needed for Bioplastic Claims.

With a lack of standards that match how facilities are really operating, . . . → Read More: Bioplastic Standards]]>

all the things you can put in the compost bin- CTBarimoore

A few months ago I wrote a post about the federal regulations regulating marketing claims of “green plastics”. This post only briefly touched on the testing standards surrounding these claims.

Last week, after hosting a great Webinar titled A New Life for Plastics: End-of-life Solutions in the Age of Greener Materials, greenbiz.com published an article about the lack of standards in the bioplastics industry titled Improved Standards Needed for Bioplastic Claims.

It is a long post, but it is full of valuable information. I know I will be bookmarking it and reading it as a reminder from time to time. Be sure to read Bioplastic Standard 101, and read it often.

How do we increase the rate at which employees actually use these office recycling bins? Here are a few ideas I have, comment below if you have any ideas I have missed.

There are ways of improving a product’s ecofootprint without changing to newer materials however.  Some of these changes may actually save your company money in energy and material costs.

Another innovation they are pioneering for the fast food industry is the reusable, recyclable side dish container. The polypropylene (PP) side dishes are microwavable, dishwasher safe, leak resistant and are fully recyclable at the . . . → Read More: KFC’s Packaging Efforts]]>

KFC (the restaurant formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken) is making an effort to improve the environmental impact of their food packaging. As part of this effort, KFC has been making efforts towards increasing the recycled content of their paperboard product. This is valuable because paper products which have been in contact with food (especially greasy food) can no longer be recycled due to contamination.

Another innovation they are pioneering for the fast food industry is the reusable, recyclable side dish container. The polypropylene (PP) side dishes are microwavable, dishwasher safe, leak resistant and are fully recyclable at the end of life. This is a major improvement in the packaging of mashed potatoes, gravy, macaroni and cheese, green beans and coleslaw, which were previously contained in polystyrene (PS) foam containers.

There is a disadvantage to the switch. The PP containers are not as insulating as the PS containers leading to cold food sooner. But I believe the advantage of being able to store and microwave leftovers in the container itself makes up for this disadvantage.

KFC has currently rolled out the packaging to about 60% of its locations and hopes for the packaging to be nationwide by 2011. This change will eliminate 61% of their foam usage. Along with other changes in packaging KFC is eliminating 17% of their total plastic consumption.

As other blogs have pointed out, there is no guarantee that the majority of KFC’s target customer base will actually reuse or recycle the product. People go to KFC for fast food on the go after all. It is however a greener package at it’s base than the PS foam. The KFC website lists these advantages:

Reduces the shipping cube by 14% over expanded polystyrene foam (EPS)

Replaces single-use, nonrecyclable expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) with a reusable and more widely recycled resin, polypropylene (PP)

Represents the highest value in stored energy when incinerated as an end-of-life solid waste component and part of a waste-to-energy program, at 38 million British Thermal Units (BTUs) per ton of material

Requires 25% less energy to produce than general-purpose polystyrene (PS) production

Generates half the amount of greenhouse gases as compared to general-purpose PS

Even if only some of KFC’s customers reuse the container I personally think it’s a step in the right direction. Ideally I would love to be able to bring my own reusable containers to the takeout window and have the employees place my food in those containers. But being able to reuse or recycle food packaging from a fast food restaurant sounds like a good idea to me.

What do you think of the idea? Is it greenwashing? Too little? Would you reuse a container obtained at a fast food restaurant?