Cheese makes a tasty addition to any meal, but did you ever guess it could be used for packaging?

Researchers say that a biodegradable plastic made from cheese byproducts could reduce the need for synthetic packaging and keep useful materials out of the landfill.

The bioplastic made from whey protein is the result of the three-year WheyLayer project, a European Commission-funded research and development project in Spain’s Catalonia region that aims to solve a common packaging woe.

In the food industry, oxidation of oils, fats and other components can lead to unpleasant colors and flavors. So, keeping oxygen out of packaged food is essential.

SEE: 5 Absurdly Over-Packaged Foods

Plastics like PE (polyethylene) and PP (polypropylene) are excellent moisture-blockers, but to keep out oxygen, they must be coated with expensive synthetic polymers.

Most of these polymers – such as EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol polymer) and PVDC (polyvinylidene chloride polymer) – are petroleum-based and extremely difficult to reuse, as it is almost impossible to separate each layer for individual recycling.

Whey, the milk protein byproduct of cheese production, provides similar oxygen-blocking properties, but it’s much cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

The new packaging – developed by Barcelona-based research company IRIS – replaces synthetics with whey protein-coated plastic fibers, which could save loads of money and make packaging more readily recyclable.

After packaging is used, whey protein can be chemically or enzymatically removed, and underlying plastic can be easily recycled or reused to make new packaging.

RECYCLING MYSTERY: Bioplastics

In addition to saving money and raw materials, the new application could also keep millions of tons of whey out of European landfills. Each year, European cheese factories produce 50 million tons of whey. Some of it is reused as food additives, but almost 40 percent is thrown away.

Discarded whey collected from cheese producers can be filtered and dried to extract the pure whey protein, which can be used in several thin layers to create a plastic film for use in food packaging.

While the packaging is subject to patent applications, researchers expect it to appear in consumer products within a year. The bioplastic is expected to be used for cosmetics packaging first, and food packaging applications will follow.

The technology will likely be used in the European market at first. But many companies from around the globe showed interest in the packaging when researchers took it to the Interpack international trade fair for packaging and processes back in May.

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So I saw an official Heinz ketchup plant bottle yesterday and I felt good and bad about it. Using renewable sources is awesome don’t get me wrong, but it still does not solve the problem of plastic waste in landfills and in nature! Only 5% of plastics get recycled and the rest end up as waste. While going renewable with the Heinz bottle is a great step forward, many consumers are completely oblivious to what the “plant” bottle is. A grad student from Florida conducted a survey asking random consumers questions regarding the plant bottle. 50% of the participants believed that plant bottles are biodegradable. 68% of the participants believe that PET plant based beverage bottles are better than traditional PET plastic bottles because they are biodegradable.  From the results of the survey it is clear that these average consumers are confused of the capabilities of plant based bottles.  Let me know what you think of the new bottles in the comment box below!

Heinz to Use Plant-Based Bottles Made by Coca-Cola

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#1 PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) – #1′s are usually Fizzy drink
bottles, oven-ready meal trays and water bottles . These items are
recycled at a rate of 19.5% the highest of all recycled items.

#2 HDPE (High-density polyethylene) – #2′s are Milk bottles, detergent
bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners and grocery, trash
and retail bags. These items are recycle at a rate of 10.7%, the second
highest of all recycled items.

#3 PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) – #3′s are Cling film (plastic food wrap),
vegetable oil bottles, loose-leaf binders and construction products such as
plastic pipes. These items are recycled at a rate of 0% which means, not
at all….so what’s the point of throwing them in the recycling bin?

#4 LDPE (Low-density polyethylene) – #4′s are typically Dry cleaning
bags, produce bags, trash can liners, bread bags, frozen food bags and
squeezable bottles, such as mustard and honey. These items are recycled
at a rate of 5.6%.

#5 PP (Polypropylene) – #5′s are Ketchup bottles, medicine bottles,
aerosol caps and drinking straws. These constantly used items are
recycled at a rate of 1.7% .

#6 PS (Polystyrene) – #6′s are Compact disc jackets, grocery store meat
trays, egg cartons, aspirin bottles, foam packaging peanuts and plastic
tableware. These items are recycled at a rate of 0.8%.

#7 Other - #7′s are Three- and five-gallon reusable water bottles, certain
kinds of food containers and Tupperware. These items are recycled at a
rate of 6.1%.

As you can see, recycling rates even for the most commonly recycled  items are pretty low. Even though Recycling is important waste continues to accumulate in landfills, at sea, and shipped to other countries…that is why ENSO biodegradable and recyclable plastics are so important. For the ENSO plastic that does not end up getting recycled, at least it will biodegrade!

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Marine life can mistake pieces of plastic for food.

Imagine you’re sailing the waters between Hawaii and California. The sun is at your back, the wind is in your hair, and there’s a giant pool of plastic garbage larger than the state of Texas in front of you.

Meet the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an enormous mess of plastic and other litter swirling around in a system of rotating ocean currents called the North Pacific Gyre. Not only is the Patch incredibly damaging to the environment, but it could also be permanent unless we reform plastic production around the globe.

See, the world produces around 300 billion pounds of plastic every year, and the Clean Air Council reports that Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. Only a fraction of all this plastic is recycled, with the majority ending up in landfills. Sadly, some is also dumped illegally into our oceans by various civilian, military, cruise and merchant ships, and by other means.

The problem with traditional plastics in oceans is the same problem with traditional plastics in landfills — they could last there for hundreds or thousands of years. The sun, saltwater, currents and other elements aren’t enough to break down objects like PET plastic water bottles; the plastic will only disintegrate into smaller and smaller pieces that never fully decompose into biomass and bio-gases. Marine life can mistake these small pieces of plastic for food, eat them and become poisoned. And even if the plastic isn’t ingested, it still leaches toxic chemicals that, once released, are very harmful and impossible to collect and remove.

A traditional PET plastic bottle could last for hundreds or thousands of years in the ocean.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is 90 percent plastic, making it the ultimate example of the negative impact plastic has on our oceans. And it and other areas like it (yes, there are more) will continue to endanger plant and animal life unless manufacturers begin producing plastics that can biodegrade into safer components.

One thing that could prove crucial to this battle is the presence of oceanic microbes like bacteria and fungi. Bottle developer ENSO Bottles has designed a form of PET plastic with organic compounds in its molecular structure — nutrients that the microbes find irresistible. These microorganisms eat away at the plastic, breaking it down into non-harmful matter in a process that typically lasts between one and five years. A traditional PET plastic bottle, on the other hand, could potentially take hundreds or thousands of years.

Where our oceans are concerned, this new biodegradable PET plastic could mean the difference between a giant floating patch of plastic the size of Texas … and cleaner oceans for generations yet to come. Which version of the future will you choose to support?

For more information about the technology ENSO Bottles uses, visit ensobottles.com.

To learn more about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the effort to eradicate it, visit tedxgreatpacificgarbagepatch.com.

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This statistic was touted in the news as an ever-growing commitment by consumers across the country to recycling efforts. But all is not what it seems.

According to a report in Consumer Digest (January-February 2010):

“Recycling programs vary from city to city, and there’s no national tracking system. Information regarding what’s being stockpiled is anecdotal, at best.”

While “facts” are available regarding PET plastic, it’s difficult to track down accurate comparable information on HDPE plastic, making it hard to gage any across-the-board success of recycling programs.

In the fourth annual surveydone by Plastics Recycling Update, 40% of HDPE recyclers said their volumes increased in 2009 while another 40 percent said their volumes were down. In the same survey, 53.8 percent of PET reclaimers said their volumes increased in 2009 while only 15.4 percent said their volumes declined.

As you can see, it’s challenging to figure out the overall picture in regards to how much total plastic is being recycled in the U.S.

True statistics on how much of which type of plastic has been recycled is difficult to find

PET (#1 plastic) and HDPE (#2) plastic make up approximately 96% of all plastic bottles produced in the US. This includes milk jogs, water, soft drink and juice bottles, shampoo, toiletries, laundry detergent, household cleaners, salad dressings and other types of food jars.

Many of the recycling statistics focus on just water and soda bottles, said Danny Clark, President of ENSO Bottles, Inc.

“They completely exclude the billions of shampoo, soap, food and non- food PET and HDPE bottles,” he said.

“While the increase for those specific segments is a move in the right direction,” Clark said, “we feel that it would be best to include all possible PET and HDPE bottles when making claims of improvement.”

“We are missing the boat and confusing many people about recycling by focusing on and cherry picking the “good stuff”.

With the decrease of total PET bottles and jars available for recycling in the US, it begs the question: do the numbers really reflect what’s going on in the market? Without any reliable gage or reporting mechanism, shouldn’t the focus be on getting the overall big picture instead?

Statistics (what there are of them) are showing that consumers are concerned about and aware of the increased need for recycling, while the recycling market is declining due to low market prices for recycled material. If only one side of the equation is successful, does that really mean the entire process is?

If the numbers don’t really reflect what’s going on, it seems that we need to put something in place that will give a more accurate view. The question is, what’s the mechanism that will help us do that? Is it legislation? Private industry stepping up? An NGO creating an overall reporting process? What’s your idea?

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Sonoma, CA, September 25, 2007 – PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles have garnered a great deal of media attention recently, some of it raising questions about PET safety. According to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), the trade group for PET packaging, it’s time to clear up any fallacies and set the record straight: Consumers can continue to rely on the safety of PET bottles.

If you drink a single-serve water or carbonated beverage from a plastic bottle, chances are you’re drinking it from PET, identified with a small number “1” or “PETE” on the container side or bottom. The PET bottle is a well-accepted package all over the world and is completely safe to drink from as well as lightweight, unbreakable, and recyclable.

But, can you safely freeze a PET bottle? Yes. There is no danger in the freezing of PET bottles, and no truth to the rumors that dioxins leach from frozen PET bottles. There is no dioxin in PET plastic. Dioxins are formed by combustion in incinerators at temperatures above 1700 degrees F. — and by volcanoes. Furthermore, freezing does not affect PET bottles.

Leave a PET bottle in your hot car? Yes. The idea that PET bottles “leach” chemicals when heated in hot cars is not based on any science, and is unsubstantiated by any credible evidence. This allegation has been perpetuated by emails until it has become an urban legend, but it just isn’t so.

Reuse a PET bottle? Yes. Just wash it first, as you would any other food or beverage container after use.

Do PET bottles contain “bis-phenol A” which some claim can cause birth defects? No. Bis-phenol A is not used to make PET, nor is it used to make any of the component materials used to make PET.

What about the chemicals called “phthalates? They are not in PET. In spite of the similarity of part of PET’s chemical name, PET is not the kind of “phthalate” that is being talked about. The type of “phthalate” about which concern has been raised is used to make various plastics more flexible, and in that role is called a “plasticizer.” PET does not contain plasticizers or the type of “phthalate” that is used in plasticizers.

What about Antimony? Antimony oxide is often used in extremely tiny amounts as a “catalyst” in the production of PET plastic. Its very low toxicity combined with very low extraction rate from PET translates to very, very low risk. Its use in PET does not endanger workers, consumers, or the environment.

NAPCOR Contacts: Dennis Sabourin (707) 996-4207, X13 or Kate Eagles, x16

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• The first PET bottle was recycled in 1977.

• An estimated 9,400 curbside collection programs and 10,000 drop-off programs collect PET plastic in the United States, currently.

• Approximate number of PET beverage bottles per pound:
  16 oz. — 18 bottles per pound
  20 oz. — 16 bottles per pound
  1 liter — 12 bottles per pound
  2 liter — 9 bottles per pound
  3 liter — 5 bottles per pound

• Cubic yards conserved in a landfill by recycling PET beverage bottles:
  4,800 recycled 16-ounce bottles saves a cubic yard
  4,050 recycled 20-ounce bottles saves a cubic yard
  3,240 recycled 1-liter bottles saves a cubic yard
  2,430 recycled 2-liter bottles saves a cubic yard
  1,350 recycled 3-liter bottles saves a cubic yard

• Since 1978, manufacturers have reduced the weight of a two-liter bottle by about 29%, from 68 grams to 48 grams.

• Recycling a ton of PET containers saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space.

• According to the EPA, recycling a pound of PET saves approximately 12,000 BTU’s.

• The average household generated 42 pounds of PET plastic bottles in the year 2005.

• Custom bottles (which are bottles used for products other than carbonated soft drinks) represent 62% of all PET bottles available for recycling.

• Fourteen 20 oz. PET bottles yield enough fiber for an extra large T-shirt.

• It takes 14 20 oz. PET bottles to make one square foot of carpet.

• It takes 63 20 oz. PET bottles to make a sweater.

• Fourteen 20 oz. PET bottles yield enough fiberfill for a ski jacket.

• It takes 85 20 oz. PET bottles to make enough fiberfill for a sleeping bag.

Used from NAPOR website.

Danny Clark
ENSO Bottles, LLC
866-936-3676
www.ensobottles.com

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Sonoma, CA, September 25, 2007 – PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles have garnered a great deal of media attention recently, some of it raising questions about PET safety. According to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), the trade group for PET packaging, it’s time to clear up any fallacies and set the record straight: Consumers can continue to rely on the safety of PET bottles.

If you drink a single-serve water or carbonated beverage from a plastic bottle, chances are you’re drinking it from PET, identified with a small number “1” or “PETE” on the container side or bottom. The PET bottle is a well-accepted package all over the world and is completely safe to drink from as well as lightweight, unbreakable, and recyclable.

But, can you safely freeze a PET bottle? Yes. There is no danger in the freezing of PET bottles, and no truth to the rumors that dioxins leach from frozen PET bottles. There is no dioxin in PET plastic. Dioxins are formed by combustion in incinerators at temperatures above 1700 degrees F. — and by volcanoes. Furthermore, freezing does not affect PET bottles.

Leave a PET bottle in your hot car? Yes. The idea that PET bottles “leach” chemicals when heated in hot cars is not based on any science, and is unsubstantiated by any credible evidence. This allegation has been perpetuated by emails until it has become an urban legend, but it just isn’t so.

Reuse a PET bottle? Yes. Just wash it first, as you would any other food or beverage container after use.

Do PET bottles contain “bis-phenol A” which some claim can cause birth defects? No. Bis-phenol A is not used to make PET, nor is it used to make any of the component materials used to make PET.

What about the chemicals called “phthalates? They are not in PET. In spite of the similarity of part of PET’s chemical name, PET is not the kind of “phthalate” that is being talked about. The type of “phthalate” about which concern has been raised is used to make various plastics more flexible, and in that role is called a “plasticizer.” PET does not contain plasticizers or the type of “phthalate” that is used in plasticizers.

What about Antimony? Antimony oxide is often used in extremely tiny amounts as a “catalyst” in the production of PET plastic. Its very low toxicity combined with very low extraction rate from PET translates to very, very low risk. Its use in PET does not endanger workers, consumers, or the environment.

NAPCOR Contacts: Dennis Sabourin (707) 996-4207, X13 or Kate Eagles, x16

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