Starch-based bioplastic that is said to be biodegradable and sustainable is potentially as toxic as petroleum-based plastic, and can cause similar health problems, new peer-reviewed research finds.
Bioplastics have been heralded as the future of plastic because it breaks down quicker than petroleum-based plastic, and is often made from plant-based material such as corn starch, rice starch or sugar.
The material is often used in fast fashion clothing, wet wipes, straws, cutlery and a range of other products. The new research found damage to organs, changes to the metabolism, gut microbe imbalances that can lead to cardiovascular disease, and changes to glucose levels, among other health issues.
The authors say their study is the first to confirm “adverse effects of long-term exposure” in mice.
Landfills don’t necessarily sequester the CO2 for long. Often, they release the carbon as methane. Methane is a much worse greenhouse gas than CO2, and so landfills often pipe the methane to be burned. The amount of CO2 released for every unit of methane is a smaller greenhouse concern than the original methane, but none of this should be considered sequestration.
If the plastic is not degrading then it’s not releasing anything, be it methane or CO2.
Isn’t one of the big talking points against plastic the “it’ll be around for thousands of years” thing?
The plastic is degrading, as everything on the earth does.
It’s not degrading as fast as the makers said it would, thereby leaching poisons into the ground and waterways.
Again, a properly built landfill doesn’t have that problem. I specified that right from the start. They’re designed to manage leachate.
And ofc they never fail. Right?
Your standard of acceptability is “perfect”, then?
Yes, especially when it comes to pumping more toxins into our air, soil and water … that we need to be healthy so we can be healthy.
When your standard is “perfection” then nothing at all will ever meet it.
Doesn’t mean we don’t try.