Is bioplastic the „better“ plastic?

Bioplastics are said to be the “better” plastic of the future: biodegradable, eco-friendly and just as convenient. But is that actually true?

We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What can we do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.

#PlanetA #Bioplastic #Biodegradable

READ MORE:

More about biodegradable plastics:

Carbon, land and water footprint of bioplastics:

Biodegradability of different plastics:

Reporter: Kiyo Dörrer
Video Editor: Henning Goll
Supervising Editor: Joanna Gottschalk

Thank you to the additional interviewees: Janis Brizga, Hans Meerman, Katharina Schlegel

[morphman]

I think the lesson from around 4:48 is important to learn.
Ethanol and ethylene can both be made into polyethylene. One is bio-based, one is petrol-based. One is artificially created, the other naturally occuring.
Both end results are identical.

They are not just equivalent, they are the exact same chemical compound!

Synthetic or natural doesn't matter, it is the resulting compound, or its effects, that matter.

[jean-francoisgirouard]

Nice video! What about bioplastics made from algae? Agriculture often leads to too much Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the water, causing excessive growth of algae, so we could collect that instead of growing crops.

[notanalien]

Remember, the first rule is to REDUCE, not RECYCLE

[kasimirb]

Just 50 years ago they knew nothing else but sustainable solutions for packaging etc. Maybe we just go a step backwards?

[NynNahh]

The company I work for created a bioplastic based of wood that is actually biodegradable. And no, we don't destroy forests, so it isn't harming food production or anything of the sorts. I feel proud to work here. Thanks for the info in this video! :)

[Transvaal]

Man, what the hell are we doing to our planet... Pretty depressing.

[Goni]

Nice to really know the benefits and issues that remain with these options, Good stuff as always!

[qgykvpi]

The plastic shown in the video appears to be plastic from PLA material. PHA, which decomposes without heat, looks better in the future than PLA, where raw plastic is decomposed only by heat. In the future, PHA materials will be more perfect eco-friendly materials.

[randomnobody]

40% of plastics used is packaging? Neat. Is that consumer oriented packaging like the bag my bread and hotdogs come in, or is that wrapping that goes around crates when they are shipped in bulk?

Not sure if this is one such scenario but there have been so many other causes of pollution that's dominated by industries/companies it's hard not to be cynical. Can we as consumers really make a difference or is this yet another attempt to shift the focus away from where the real problems lie?

[DemeDemetre]

Over here in country Georgia (NOT the state of the US) we use biodegradable bags and reusable cloth bags, maybe make a vid about that?

[jonasarnesen]

We have all the materials to avoid plastic. Glass, metal, wood, paper, and many more. The problem is the Industry not willing to use other materials because of money and the people who are either unwilling or to poor to afford those.
And there's simply no option for many essential products to have without plastic.

[wilfdarr]

Thank you for the honest investigating: sadly rare in journalism today.

[afsanaaktar]

My mind is absolutely blown... you need a tv show!

[withwingsaseagleeyes]

Forget all the other plants,
You should just use hemp fiber and if you need an oil base the hemp seed oil.
Most everything can be made out of the Hemp Plant.

[debbiehenri]

Several years ago, I tried to compost 'supposedly' biodegradable plastic magazine wrappers. After about 3 years at the bottom of the heap, they were still as good as the day they were buried and I had to fish them all out.
Instead, I now try to buy as many products as I can in card boxes or tins. However, I'd really like to see the plastic bags that wrap freezer products, veg and fruit be changed to fully biodegradable.

[morphman]

Thing is that it's not the consumer plastics that make up the bulk of the plastic use or waste. It is the industrial plastic we need to curb.

That is why we've seen less than 1% decline in plastic dumping following 5 major countries banning single-use consumer plastic 4-5 years ago.

If it was the plastic spork you get with your little plastic fruit cup that was the culprit, we would see a massive reduction in plastic dumping and plastic consumption, but we haven't. Not even locally in the regions that banned them.

[yssxyz]

What is sad is even if we reduce our plastic use, it's just small amount and seems not to effect the environment at all. But if we act eco-friendly way, some around us realize and follow us!! This video was so exciting and made me realize how complicated plastic problem is. Thank you so much!!

[Phloneme]

Perhaps you want to check out starch-based plastics such as bin bags?
I actually used them in school to show that they actually are biodegradable: They test positive with iodine solution, and if you soak snippets of it in alpha-amylase, you can actually detect carbohydrate monomers such as glucose fairly quickly.

[laszlojuhasz]

I assumed that bioplastics and composites can be made from biomass of any plant not just corn. Besides a soy car, Henry Ford also made a hemp car! The true solution for all our packaging needs may be in hemp paper and hemp waxed paper and glass!

[emanuele]

Very nice video. Have you ever heard about PHAs (Polyhydroxyalkanoates)? The behaviour of this material is different compared to other bioplastic like PLA.