Skip to main content

[INFORMATION] Sugar-Based Plastic Can Be Tossed in the Compost Alongside Banana Peels


Sugar-Based Plastic Can Be Tossed in the Compost Alongside Banana Peels

BY DAN NOSOWITZFri Feb 19, 2010
It's not yet the norm here in the States, but if this new sugar-based plastic actually takes off, composting might become as widespread as it is elsewhere--because this stuff, unlike current "biodegradable" plastics, breaks down in a matter of months, instead of centuries. This is a big deal.
There are biodegradable plastics on the market now, and some retailers actively use it instead of normal plastic bags. But even though it's made of natural materials like corn, it still takes as long as a few hundred years to decompose--better than vinyl, sure, but not exactly ideal. This new type of plastic, developed by researchers at Imperial College London, is created from glucose polymers extracted from trees and grasses. Not only is it faster to decompose, but it would halt dependency on fossil fuels, which are used to make 99% of today's plastics, and it's said (though no details are provided) that its production is more energy-efficient than typical plastic.
The development team is currently engaged in creating a market-ready version of the tech, but is optimistic that it can be done. Hopefully sometime soon we'll be able to toss plastic wrappers and packaging into the compost bin along with our banana peels.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

[ENVIRONMENT] Big Food vw. Big Insurance

Big Food vs. Big Insurance By MICHAEL POLLANPublished: September 9, 2009 TO listen to President Obama’s speech on Wednesday night, or to just about anyone else in the health care debate, you would think that the biggest problem with health care in America is the system itself — perverse incentives, inefficiencies, unnecessary tests and procedures, lack of competition, and greed. No one disputes that the $2.3 trillion we devote to the health care industry is often spent unwisely, but the fact that the United States spends twice as much per person as most European countries on health care can be substantially explained, as a study released last month says, by our being fatter. Even the most efficient health care system that the administration could hope to devise would still confront a rising tide of chronic disease linked to diet. That’s why our success in bringing health care costs under control ultimately depends on whether Washington can summon the political will to take on ...
3 comments
Read more

[INTERESTS] Infographic: The Ten Most Expensive Pieces of Art Ever Sold

Infographic: The Ten Most Expensive Pieces of Art Ever Sold By Cliff Kuang Last week, a mysterious rich man paid $104.3 million [1] for a six-foot tall sculpture by Alberto Giacometti, making it the most expensive piece of art ever sold. Following that news, GOOD and graphic-design firm Karlssonwilker [2] created an infographic of the ten most expensive pieces of art of all time. (Full-size here [3].) (The title, Not-So-Starving Artists, is deceiving because it's hard to starve if you're all dead. The real lucre goes to Christie's and Sotheby's, the two major auction houses.) Obviously, the graph is a schematic, but here's the actual works, if you're curious to learn more: 1.Walking Man I by Alberto Giacommeti--$104.3 million 2.Boy with a Pipe by Pablo Picasso--$104.1 million 3.Dora Maar with Cat by Pablo Picasso--$95.2 million 4.Adele Bloch Bauer II by Gustav Klimt--$88 million 5.Triptych, 1976 by Francis Bacon--$86.3 million 6.Portrait du Dr G...
Post a Comment
Read more

[NEWS] Chocolate Bond

British high-end chocolate maker and retailer  Hotel Chocolat , which currently operates over 40 stores in the UK, the Middle East and the US, wants to expand even further. But rather than turning to banks or big investors for money, they're inviting customer to buy bonds. Bonds that will pay chocolate returns. Two values of Chocolate Bond will be issued: both with the return paid in monthly Tasting Boxes. Holders of a GBP 2,000 Chocolate Bond will receive six free tasting boxes a year worth GBP 107.70 per year, and those holding a GBP 4,000 bond will receive thirteen boxes, worth GBP 233.35 per year. Which comes down to a 5.38% return. After an initial term of three years, and on every anniversary thereafter, bond holders can redeem their bond for a full return of their investment. If they decide to continue to hold the bond, the monthly boxes will keep on coming. The company doesn't have to worry about the logistics of interest payment in kind; it already operates a tasting...
1 comment
Read more