Bashing plastics has been one of my more common themes here. I've gone on at length about how they're not truly recyclable and thus create waste management, industrial and public health issues.
At the same time, switching to nontoxic biodegradable substitutes for all current plastic products - packaging, durable goods, medical supplies - would trigger its own set of problems. The additional methane produced from the decay of that much material could feasibly exacerbate climate change, as research from North Caroline State University suggests.
Clearly the solution to waste management issues is not to replace one type of waste with another, but to reduce how much we waste. And within that amount, to have a hybrid solution.
I'm not waiting around for microbes to take care of plastic for me (although bacteria have apparently already adapted to take care of nylon for us), but if we can manage it in a more viable way and avoid the hazards of getting it into our food system, then plastics won't be the enemy. That's precisely what Mike Biddle's succeeding in doing.
At the same time, switching to nontoxic biodegradable substitutes for all current plastic products - packaging, durable goods, medical supplies - would trigger its own set of problems. The additional methane produced from the decay of that much material could feasibly exacerbate climate change, as research from North Caroline State University suggests.
Clearly the solution to waste management issues is not to replace one type of waste with another, but to reduce how much we waste. And within that amount, to have a hybrid solution.
I'm not waiting around for microbes to take care of plastic for me (although bacteria have apparently already adapted to take care of nylon for us), but if we can manage it in a more viable way and avoid the hazards of getting it into our food system, then plastics won't be the enemy. That's precisely what Mike Biddle's succeeding in doing.
He's overcome the challenge of sorting plastics into their respective types for maintaining their integrity and as a result, has turned a nonrenewable petroleum-based resource into a renewable one. His method is cheaper both financially and from a social cost perspective. For that reason it stands to redress a fundamental wildcard that has been distorting our economy.
