16-year old discovers plastic-eating microbe: Is this the answer to our plastic problem?

Last week, Daniel Burd, a 16-year old Canadian student, won the top prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa for his discovery of microbes that will break down polyethylene bags. This article in The Record explains his procedure and how he was able to isolate the specific microbes that will break down the plastic. So far, his microbes have achieved a 43% degradation of the plastic after 6 weeks. Burd theorizes that in 6 more weeks, the plastic would be completely gone, although he has yet to prove that.

First, I want to congratulate Daniel for his hard work on behalf of the environment and for possibly achieving what so far adult scientists have not been able to. Amazing. Being able to biodegrade plastics without the use of toxic heavy metal additives (as are used in oxo-degradable plastics) could be a useful tool in cleaning up the plastic mess we have already created.

But does this mean that plastic bags are now off the hook and that plastic packaging has been redeemed? Can we continue to use as much of it as we want guilt-free? Plastic is still made from oil, a non-renewable resource. It's manufacture uses energy and creates pollution in the form of pre-production plastic pellets, aka nurdles, that can escape and cause harm to the marine environment. And unlike paper bags which biodegrade easily and naturally when exposed to the elements, plastic bags will need to be processed in a controlled way at a temperature of 37°C (99°F) because the microbes that break them down don't exist in abundance in the natural world, certainly not in the cold ocean.

Daniel's discovery could be good news for the environment, but only if it's used as a way to break down the plastic waste that already exists and isn't simply used as an excuse to create more. When asked the question, "Paper or plastic?" we're learning to answer, "Neither. I have my own reusable bag." Paper is biodegradable, but we don't use biodegradability as a reason to cut down more trees for bags. Biodegradable plastic, whether made from corn or sugar or now possibly oil, shouldn't be squandered either.
 

 

A Bittersweet Symphony called D2W

Back in September, I wrote about the plastic AT&T Yellow Pages bag that showed up on my doorstep unsolicited. Here's the update. I called the Yellow Pages, found out to whom I should write, and sent this letter (PDF file).

Not long afterwards, I actually received a telephone call from Jim Troup, the head of environmental issues for AT&T Yellow Pages. We had a long conversation about plastic bags, Yellow Pages recycling, and different types of degradable bags the company has tried. He told me he is researching alternatives to the plastic bags, and that they actually did an experiment up in Redding, California, with a bag made of a plastic called D2W. He called this plastic "chemo-degradable" rather than "bio-degradable" and said that AT&T was still looking for something fully biodegradable and would let me know when they'd made a decision.

Weeks went by, and I forgot about D2W plastic, until I received a comment and email from blogger Jessica at Bwlchyrhyd asking about this very product. So I figured I'd better look into it. D2W is a plastic made by a British company called Symphony Environmental Limited. It breaks down due to additives in the plastic that are added during the "extrusion stage of manufacture, when polymer granules are heated and melted to form packaging films." The web site calls these additives "metal salts." The metal salts cause the plastic polymers to break down to such a degree that eventually, micro-organisms can take over and finish the job biologically. The end product is "some H2O, some CO2, and a small amount of biomass." Here is a more detailed description of the degradation process.

Sounds great, right? Not so fast, pardner. Let's look at all the pieces of this description logically in light of what we know about all the problems of plastic.

First, what exactly are the "metal salts" that are added to the plastic, and can they leach out of the plastic while it's degrading? I contacted Symphony to find out the answer to this question and received this Word Document, Technical Paper “Heavy metals” and essential trace elements, which states that "the commonly used transition metal compounds in commercial oxo-biodegradable plastics are manganese, iron, cobalt and nickel." The paper goes on to explain why we should not be concerned about "heavy metals" being added to the plastic. Not being a chemist myself, I sent the paper to Solvig, a chemistry teacher I know, who wrote me the following:

The metal compounds are used to catalyze the breakdown of the plastic in the presence of light, heat and oxygen. Catalyst tends to be active in trace (extremely low) concentrations, but I don’t know if that is so in this particular product. If on the other hand there is a high concentration of nickel in the product, we will end up with high concentrations of nickel in the compost.

How would the nickel be taken up from the soil? The amount of nickel taken up by plants has little to do with its concentration in the soil. The accumulation of nickel in various parts of the plant remains constant whatever the concentration of nickel of the soil. [However,] the uptake of nickel from the soil by other organisms such as bacteria or other critters is not discussed.

They finish by saying: If you added degradable polyethylene film as mulching to the soil it would take 500 years to increase the nickel content of the soil by 1ppm. However, they don’t explain what they mean by that. How much biodegradable plastic are they talking about??? Just one little container, or a composting plant’s worth.

In an ideal world all the biodegradable plastic would be broken down in a composting plant, and the amount of nickel and cobalt released would depend on the amount of plastic in relation to the amount of other food and garden waste it is mixed with.

My feeling is that there is no danger of poisoning people when this stuff is broken down, but I don’t know since I don’t know what the concentration of metal is. Let’s stick with the precautionary principle and avoid single use items whether biodegradable or not.

So that's question #1: Will the metals present in the plastic prove toxic to us in the long run? At this point, I don't think we know. So many other additives in plastic, like phthalates and Bisphenol-A were once thought safe and are now being found to leach into our water and food.

Second, the web site description says that the metal salts are added during the "extrusion stage of manufacture, when polymer granules are heated and melted to form packaging films." Let's remember that D2W film is still being made from ordinary petroleum-based plastic granules, the same pellets commonly called "nurdles" that are being found in our oceans and taken up into the food chain. These raw plastic pellets do not contain any additive to help them break down. If they blow off a ship into the ocean, which they often do, they will remain there basically forever, attracting pollutants like PCB and DDE and concentrating them even as they enter the bodies of fish and other marine animals.

Any plastic film made from petroleum-based plastic contributes to the pollution of our oceans simply through the transportation of the raw material to the manufacturer. To state my opinion less formally, if we can't find some way to keep these little buggers from blowing about and washing down storm drains, we oughtn't be making things out of them.

Third, it takes energy and materials to create any disposable products, including products that biodegrade. Symphony's answer to the question of reusable bags (PDF) is this:

Long-term re-usable shopping bags are not the answer. They are much thicker and more expensive, and a large number of them would be required for the weekly shopping of an average family. They are not hygienic unless cleaned after each use. Whilst sometimes called “Bags for Life” they have a limited life, depending on the treatment they receive, and become a very durable form of litter when discarded.

Shoppers do not always go to the shop from home, where the re-usable bags would normally be kept, and consumers are unlikely to have a re-usable bag with them when buying on impulse items such as clothing, groceries, CDs, magazines, stationery etc.

However, for those who believe in long-term re-usable bags, they can be made from extended-life oxo-biodegradable plastic and will last for five or more years.

I disagree that long-term use reusable bags are not the answer. And the comment about reusable bags not being hygienic is just plain ridiculous. We are so germ-phobic that we can't have our produce touch material that's been previously used? Do we not realize that fruits and vegetables are plants that grow in dirt fertilized by manure?

I believe that reusable bags should be the number one alternative for carrying home purchases and perhaps some type of degradable bag could be a distant second for those who forget to bring their bags to the store and are willing to pay for a disposable one. I think we ought to be charging fees for one-time use bags and containers in the first place, which would help to remind folks to bring their bags with them.

What do you think?
 

 

BioBags vs. Plastic Bags: A Continuing Debate

In response to yesterday's post on Eco-runners collecting litter in BioBags, an anonymous commenter had this to say:

If you're planning on landfilling non-reusable, non-recyclable materials, there really isn't any point in using compostable bags to do it in. Organic material doesn't compost or properly biodegrade in landfills. It breaks down anaerobically, producing methane.

It would probably better to reuse one of those pernicious plastic shopping bags, which would ensure that its marine-life killing career would be diverted to a landfill and save the biodegradable, compostable bags for an application that will actually result in their decomposition (like collecting compostable waste) instead of just making us feel better.

I responded with a comment of my own, but I'd like to expand on the issue with a few more thoughts on why using biodegradable bags for garbage is preferable to using plastic grocery bags.

Plastic grocery bags are made from polyethylene. As far as I can tell, polyethylene has not been shown to leach toxins like other plastics, but that fact alone does not make it a good candidate for the landfill. Polyethylene is made from ethylene gas derived from nonrenewable natural gas or crude oil. And once made, it doesn't go away. Like all petroleum-based plastics, polyethylene will last many human lifetimes without biodegrading, whether we put it in a landfill or leave it out in the rain.

What is the point of extracting a non-renewable, super long-lasting resource only to use it once and throw it away? Disposable products are a ridulous waste of such a potentially useful material. The commenter suggests that we can divert plastic bags from our waterways by burying them in landfills. I have a better idea.

We should be reusing and recycling the plastic bags that currently exist. And by recycling, I don't mean creating new disposable plastic bags from old ones. While doing so might prolong their life a little bit, it's a short-sighted solution at best. There are currently markets for creating lumber out of the resin derived from plastic bags. Let's take that increasingly scarce material and build things that are meant to last. That's the best way to keep them out of the mouths of sea turtles.

And as for biodegradable bags not composting in a landfill, that may be true. But plastic bags certainly will not. And whereas petroleum-based plastic is a non-renewable resource, organic materials such as corn and sugar are grown and harvested in a season.

Now, I am not suggesting that because we can create bags and other disposables from organic materials, we should continue our mass consumption of disposable products. Growing field crops takes its own toll on the earth. I believe that we still need to reduce our waste as much as possible.

But in terms of eco-running, which is the context in which this discussion began, picking up litter on the street requires some kind of container. And if the street sweeper is not doing it, and if the only people who care about collecting the plastic waste before it enters storm drains and does its damage are a few idealistic runners with bags, then let those bags be made from renewable, biodegradable materials and save the petroleum for the long haul.
 

 

Eco-Running: leaving the route better than you found it.

26-year old Samuel Huber started what he calls "eco-running" as a way to help the world while out doing his favorite thing, running. On his eco-runs, he carries a few small garbage bags and picks up litter all along the route. Recently, he has made the switch to biodegradable, compostable BioBags. Check out his web site and mention of BioBags and this blog, Fake Plastic Fish, at http://eco-runner.blogspot.com. I want to not only commend him for his efforts but join in the eco-running movement he's trying to start.

So, this morning, BioBag in hand and latex gloved, I did a 30-minute eco-run towards Berkeley and back. My bag was full within the first 12 minutes, and I found I needed to stop picking up big things and concentrate on the items that, if washed down a storm drain, could end up inside the bellies of marine animals: bottle caps, small toys, a comb, a pacifier, plastic bags, even a rubber glove.

Stopping to pick up garbage slowed me down a bit (my average pace was 11:20/mile) and actually got me out of competition mode, the mode I tend to be in while recording my stats with the Nike+ iPod. You know, I'll bet running would be a lot more fun if I gave up the Nike+. But I don't know. The accountant in me wants all numbers all the time! (What, you couldn't tell that from my weekly plastic tally?) Chi Running's Danny Dreyer recommends leaving the watch at home. Maybe I'll try it once a week on my eco-runs.

And yes, if you're wondering, it was a little weird passing people as I ran carrying a garbage bag and wearing a latex glove. But at this point in life, I'm pretty much over caring about how I seem to other people. (Actually, I think I stopped caring by the end of high school, but that's a story for another day and another blog.)

Speaking of latex gloves, does anyone know whether modern latex gloves are made from natural rubber or some kind of petroleum-based synthetic? According to this web site, they are made from rubber. But are all of them? (Here's a cool video about how latex is made.)

So, what to do with all the trash I collected? My plan is to retrieve the hard plastic bottle caps and other pieces of plastic, wash them off, and add them to my collection. I have this idea that I'll use them in some kind of weird art creature thing some day. Then, any recyclable items will go in their proper recycling bins, and I'll tie up the bag around the rest and put it in the garbage can. I may be saving 100% of my own plastic waste, but I'm not about to start hording other people's.

 

Store Report: Elephant Pharmacy

Just like Whole Foods, this natural pharmacy contains very few items that are not packaged in plastic. Recycled toilet paper in plastic. Recycled napkins in plastic. Natural cellulose sponges in plastic. Natural cleaning products in plastic. Natural cosmetics, drugs, foods, bric-a-brac in plastic. Here are the few plastic-free items that I found and bought:

2 boxes of BioBags, 3 gallon size. BioBags are made from corn and are 100% biodegradable and compostable. We are going to use them in our kitchen garbage can instead of the plastic grocery bags that we have been using. Hopefully, we won't be putting much into them anyway. We put all of our food waste into the green compost bin; we put all of our paper, cans, and curbside-recyclable plastic into the gray recycling bin; and since the beginning of this plastic project, I have been saving all the non-recyclable plastic "for later."

Ever since I heard about Casabella natural cellulose scrubbers, I've been searching for them in area stores. I finally found them at Elephant Pharmacy... in a 3-pack packaged in plastic! Feh! I stood in front of the scrubber display and pondered this dilemma for a full 5 minutes before I noticed the cute Loofah-Art scrubbers above them. (Short people like me often miss things that are over our heads.) Loofah-Art scrubbers are made from organically-grown loofah, and the only bit of plastic in the packaging is the tiny thingy that connects the loofah to the cardboard backing card. (What are those tiny thingies called?) I thought I could deal with a tiny thingy of plastic. So this scrubber is what we will use to clean our dishes from now on.

And finally, I spent way too much ($19.99) for this Bag-E-Wash plastic bag dryer. You put it on the counter or hang it under the cabinet and leave your washed plastic bags on it to dry. It could be useful. Or it could be a good idea that gets pushed to the back of the counter and gathers dust. I'm not much of a dish-washer to begin with. Just ask Michael. Yeah, I do my dishes, half-heartedly, eventually, and this could be just too much for my non-domestic nature to handle. But why think negatively? It could be fun, right? Or it could be that Michael will do it! Now there's a great idea!

And here's an awesome looking product that I didn't buy: Burt's Bees Rosemary Mint shampoo bar. It smells wicked cool, and it comes in a cardboard box with zero plastic. I didn't buy it because I'm already using the Re-Incarnate shampoo bar from Lush (more on that later.) But it's on my list. As soon as the current shampoo bar is gone, that thing is mine!

Eventually, I found myself once again in a toothpaste aisle opening boxes of toothpaste hoping to find something without plastic. No go. I don't think such a thing exists anymore. Not in the U.S., anyway. And no mouthwash that's not in a plastic bottle either. So when I got home, I looked up recipes for homemade tooth powder, and here's one I found on the Yes! Magazine Web site:

Combine equal parts salt and baking soda. Add a tiny bit of stevia for sweetness (1/16th tsp stevia per 2 tablespoons baking soda/salt.) For flavor, add a few drops of peppermint oil or 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon. (I wonder if peppermint extract would work as well as oil.)

So, I'm gonna do it. If I haven't found any other alternative before my current tube of toothpaste runs out, I'm just going to make my own. Martha Stewart will be so proud.
 

 

Store Report: Whole Foods, Berkeley & E-mail Response

I took a notebook, pen, and some canvas bags with me today and went on a fact-finding mission to Whole Foods Market on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. I wanted to find out what non-plastic options were available at this hipster natural foods mecca. And mostly what I found were shelves and shelves and shelves of plastic. Unless you stick to the produce or bulk foods sections, which inhabit about 1/4 of the store, you will find it difficult to find much in this store that is not contained in or does not contain some type of plastic. So, here's a run-down, section by section.

1) Outside -- the garden section. I was curious to find out if I would be able to purchase plants for my roof garden that were not contained in plastic pots. While Whole Foods does carry herbs and vegetables grown in biodegradable Eco-Forms pots, all non-edible flowers and plants come in plastic. I wonder if I'll ever be able to buy another shrub or if must stick to planting seeds from now on. Seeds are not so bad. I have a beautiful money plant that I planted 2 summers ago, and just look at it now!

2) Bulk Foods -- There is one aisle of bulk foods. It's not as extensive as Berkeley Bowl or Rainbow Grocery (Oh how I miss shopping at Rainbow Grocery when I lived in San Francisco!) but it does contain a fair selection of nuts, dried fruits, flours, salt, sugars, broth mixes, granola and cereal flakes, rice and other grains, beans, trail mix and candy, honey, and you can grind your own peanut butter. I was thrilled to find bulk pretzels, but when I got them home I discovered they were stale. There was a bin labeled "chocolate chips," but it was empty. And surprisingly, there wasn't any bulk pasta at all. There were both plastic and paper bags available for the bulk items.

3) Frozen Foods -- I addressed the problem of frozen meals in my previous post. It's impossible to tell what plastic is inside the box without opening it, so I bought a Seeds of Change brand frozen meal this time, just to test it out and see. I'll let you know after I open it. Vegetables -- surprisingly, all the vegetables except for one brand were packaged in plastic bags. What ever happened to the cardboard boxes covered in wax paper that used to contain spinach and peas and french cut green beans? I got excited for a second when I noticed the square Cascadian Farms box of spinach, but then I noticed the label that read "microwaveable flavor seal pouch" inside.

I did discover one excellent-looking non-plastic enclosed brand of vegetables: Stahlbush Island Farms Fruits and Vegetables. These vegetables are flash-frozen and are packaged in natural kraft paper bags. Unfortunately, Whole Foods only carried 2 varieties: cauliflower and butternut squash. Nothing green, although, according to the web site, Stahlbush also produces spinach, peas, broccoli, corn, and sweet potatoes, as well as fruits. I'll have to do some research to find out where else these products are sold. (7/13/07 update: The "natural" kraft paper bags are lined on the inside with a layer of plastic!)

The other important frozen item I checked out was ice cream. Ben & Jerry's comes with a plastic seal around the lid. Haagen-Dazs has a plastic film under the lid. I surreptitiously pulled up the lids on 2 other pints of ice cream -- Stonyfield and Strauss Family Creamery -- and the winner is: Straus Family Creamery! There was nothing but creamy, inviting, chocolate ice cream under that lid. I can't wait to finish up the Ben & Jerry's I already have so I can buy some of that!

4) Bottled water -- My favorite drink during the day is 2/3 sparkling water mixed with 1/3 fruit juice. Here, the choices were better. Besides San Pellegrino mineral water, which is just expensive, Whole Foods also carries its own 365 brand of Italian mineral water which comes in your choice of plastic bottles or glass bottles with metal caps. I think we know what my choice is. There were other flavored sodas in glass bottles as well.

5) Personal care items -- Several brands of soap are sold plastic-free, including Sappo Hill bar soaps which have no packaging at all. All of the deodorants come in plastic. All of the toothpastes come in plastic. I saw something called Eco Guard bandages (an alternative to bandaids) and when I looked them up online I saw that they were made from recycled PVC plastic. How much of it is recycled content, they don't say. Whole Foods also carries Preserve toothbrushes, which are made from recycled Stonyfield yogurt containers and are 100% recyclable, and also Natracare feminine hygiene products that are biodegradable and non-chlorine bleached. (i've been using their panty liners for years.) Another product I'm going to check out are BioBag trashcan liners. They are made from corn and according to their web site, 100% compostable. Does anyone know anything else about these? Are they legit?

5) The Dairy case -- All the refrigerated soy milk cartons have plastic caps with one exception: the quart-size carton of Wildwood soy milk. However, the Wildwood half gallon does contain the plastic cap. What is up with all these plastic caps on milk cartons these days??? I don't want to pay extra to buy quart-size cartons when I go through a half gallon a week! (If I don't find a better alternative, I may stick to Silk even with the plastic cap.) Also in the dairy case, yogurt and cottage cheese -- all in plastic tubs. Milk cartons without caps (but I've been told that some milk cartons these days are coated with plastic.) And butter. Good old butter in cardboard and waxed paper.

6) Pasta -- Every single cardboard box or paper bag of pasta in this section contains a plastic window. Why do we need this? Why do we need to see the pasta inside? We don't get to look inside cracker boxes to see the crackers; we rely on the picture. We don't look inside cereal boxes or cookie boxes or any number of other packages of dry foods. What makes pasta different? Can anyone answer that question? So, since Whole Foods has no bulk pasta and no packaged pasta without windows, I'll be buying pasta elsewhere.

7) Herbs, spices & teas -- Whole Foods sells bulk herbs, spices, and teas. I bought some Frontier organic loose Earl Grey tea that smelled just great! Most of the packaged boxed teas are wrapped in plastic. I didn't really bother checking them too much. Whole Foods also sell herbs and spices in glass jars with metal lids, but do not be fooled! Under the lid is a plastic bottle cover with holes for sprinkling. Stick with bulk, I think. And oh, I was happy to see that you can still buy vanilla extract in a glass bottle with a metal lid, just like in the old days.

8) Meats and Cheeses -- They only way to purchase these plastic-free is to order them fresh from the meet or deli case. Not much more I can say about that.

9) Hot prepared foods and salad bar -- Whole Foods has a large hot foods section, soups, and salad bar. They use brown cardboard boxes for the salad and cardboard cartons for the soup, but the hot food is served in honkin' big plastic trays and all of the packaged prepared foods in the refrigerator case, including salads, are in plastic as well. I don't know if you can ask for a non-plastic option when you purchase hot food.

10) Chocolate candy aisle -- One of the most important sections in the store, if you ask me. There are large bars wrapped in paper. But if you want something small to fill your candy dish, you're out of luck. I'm giving up my favorite candy dish filler, Whole Treats dark chocolate Belgian Little Bites. They are velvety and rich and tiny -- only 25 calories each -- but they come in a plastic bag and are individually wrapped in plastic covers. I can't justify them, although I'd like to.

It was these last two items, the Belgian Little Bites and the hot food served in plastic, that prompted me to write to Whole Foods Market a few days ago before my excursion today. I don't have a copy of the e-mail I sent, but here is the response from Whole Foods:

--------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Green Mission and Private Label Packaging
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:39:45 -0500
From: "PrivateLabel Customer Service"
To: "Customer Questions (CE CEN)" ,

Dear Beth,

Thank you for your email.

The reason the Whole Treat Dark Chocolate Belgian Bites are packaged the way they are is to make single serving easier. They are meant to be able to grab a piece of chocolate and go. This way you the customer does not have to worry about the chocolate melting in their hands or pockets before it ever gets to their mouths.

As far as green mission goes, we are currently working with our package designers and outside firms to help us better walk the walk. We want to be as green as our customers expect us to be as it is one of our Core Values.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/corevalues.html
Caring About Our Communities & Our Environment

Sustainable Agriculture
We support organic farmers, growers and the environment through our commitment to sustainable agriculture and by expanding the market for organic products.

Wise Environmental Practices
We respect our environment and recycle, reuse, and reduce our waste wherever and whenever we can.

Community Citizenship
We recognize our responsibility to be active participants in our local communities. We give a minimum of 5% of our profits every year to a wide variety of community and non-profit organizations. In addition, we pay our Team Members to give of their time to community and service organizations.

Integrity In All Business Dealings
Our trade partners are our allies in serving our stakeholders. We treat them with respect, fairness and integrity at all times and expect the same in return.

I have logged your comments in our customer/product database, which is forwarded to the buying and product development team on a regular basis. It is comments like yours that help us constantly review and improve our products. "Satisfying and delighting our customers" is a core value at Whole Foods Market. We are always interested in hearing what our guests are saying about our products. We take everything into careful consideration when reviewing product lines. Thank you for your insightful input on our product.

Thank you,

April Riggs
Product Information Associate, Private Label
550 Bowie l Austin , TX 78703 l (p) 512-477-5566 x: 20020

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So, that's my Whole Foods report. Seems like they as a company, like many of us individuals, are somewhat conflicted. They sell organic food in plastic containers. They compost their waste and sell it to gardeners in plastic bags. Their Berkeley store is solar-powered, yet they sell regular light bulbs. I guess shopping at Whole Foods is better than shopping at Safeway, which I guess is better than shopping at Walmart.

Maybe tomorrow I'll report on Market Hall, which is just down the street from me in Rockridge. Good night.