Why Recycling is NOT Enough to Solve Plastic Bottle Pollution
The environmental impact that we humans have is very complex. Much of what we do in our daily lives have unintended consequences. There are some that believe plastics need to eliminated from being used. There may be some valid points to their argument however, the alternatives are usually not as environmentally friendly as what we have today. In most cases plastics provide a more environmental and healthy packaging solution than their predecessor. Yes, it is true our abuse of plastics has lead to pollution issues in the oceans, landfills and other areas that we may never be able to fully clean up. Although there are a number of environmental groups, organizations, companies and many individuals who are diligently trying to solve the plastic pollution issue.
Are ENSO Bottles the Answer to Eliminating Sea Pollution
Recently, ENSO Bottles was asked to address the following questions:
- How do Enso bottle behave in a low temperature marine environment?
- When Enso bottles eventually fragment in the ocean, do they attract POPs in the same way that Petroleum plastics do, posing potential human health threats through the food chain?
- Why has Enso chosen petroluem plastics as opposed to a plant based, biodegradable material?
These questions come up all the time, so we thought we’d post our answers to these questions on our blog. So here it goes…
In any environment where there is a bio-active environment, ENSO bottles will naturally biodegrade. Currently, there is a lot of research going into marine degradation, but there is still a lot of work to do. Marine environments vary drastically from region to region due to various water depths, types of water, etc. Unfortunately, marine environments are more complicated than soil environments.
It’s also, important to understand the type of polymer and how it behaves in marine environments. For example, PET which is used for water, soda, juice and other beverages is a dense polymer and will sink to the bottom. There is very little bioactive environments found directly in marine environments, but at the bottom of those marine environments this is a lot of bio-active, microbial activity. This is where the bottles have the highest opportunity to biodegrade. In reality, we need to keep plastics out of the ocean regardless of the kind. We have dumped garbage into the oceans for decades and are now dealing with those consequences. Biodegradable plastics are better than non-biodegradable plastics, however in our opinion no plastics in marine environments is the solution.
Currently, there are no plant based technologies that make environmental sense. We believe plant based plastics are a good fit for packaging that involves food items, so that there is the highest chance possible for making it into a professional composting environment. Plant based plastics require an initial chemical breakdown before microbes can do the rest. This chemical breakdown happens from the exposure to high temp (140 degrees) for 10 days. If plant based plastics do not make it in such environments they will last just as long as traditional plastics. Most people do not realize this.
Bottles basically have two main disposal paths: recycling or landfills, the third, although small, but important is liter. The technology we utilize allows ENSO bottles to be fully recycled without contaminating the recycle stream, but for those bottles (which are the majority) that end up in bio-active environments, they will naturally biodegrade with the help of microbes. We fully believe that we need to improve recycling so that it becomes the primary solution for plastics. Coke is setting a good direction with using plant material as biochemicals which end up as the same strong polymers we have today, but are from non-fossil fuels. Plant based plastics will last forever in landfills just like standard plastics. They, also do take up farming resources and require A LOT of petroleum resources. Keep in mind that petroleum is also a plant based material. It is fossilize algae that is processed. A true plant based environmental solution will revolve around feedstocks such as algae or waste material from other processes.
In the end, it is extremely tough (close to impossible) to design a plastic that will be perfect to all environments and all disposal methods. We felt that something needed to be done today and the step in the right direction is to integrate into the existing infrastructure of recycling and landfilling. We believe no matter the type of plastic it doesn’t belong in the ocean or other marine environments. The solution that works today is to allow plastics to be recycled, and will naturally biodegrade if placed in bioactive environments. This is the best solution available today until we move away from fossil fuels.
ENSO Bottles is a small company in comparison to the companies producing hundreds of billions of bottles per year. Somebody needed to step up and do something, and not wait until tomorrow or until the perfect solution arrives. We believe we have taken a step in the right direction by doing something now, and will continue our quest in bringing to market the best available technologies which will solve the problem with plastic pollution.
Many thanks,
Danny Clark
Addicted to Plastics
I recently watched the documentary by Ian Connacher titled Addicted To Plastics. This was a three year journey around the world documenting the current status of plastic from production, use, trash, pollution, recycling and health. I recommend this movie to anyone who really wants to understand our current situation with plastics.
Recycling – Is it just a business?
This is a question that I’ve been mulling over for the past couple of weeks. Recently I’ve been reading books and articles that suggest that recycling is more of a business than an environmental solution. The articles claim that the majority of the recycling industry is not based on “helping the environment” but is about picking the easiest and largest money making bottles – #1 PET and #2 HDPE beverage bottles.
How many ENSO bottles does it take to power a light bulb?
How much energy can the off gassed methane from an ENSO bottle generate?
To calculate how much energy can be created from ENSO bottles take the weight of the ENSO bottle multiply it by % carbon, multiply by 1.33 (molecular weight of CH4 16 / molecular weight of carbon 12 – this converts the carbon to methane), then multiply by 22.4 (L/g – ideal gas law).
Are PET Bottles Safe?
NAPCOR Reassures on PET Safety with Answers to Common Concerns
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.
Floating Plastic
Did you know that Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic does not float? PET is used to make the bottles you use everyday for; soda, water, juice, etc., and beverage containers are just the tip of the iceberg. Almost everything we drink from is made from PET plastic, and it doesn’t float.
What does this mean?
If you Google “Pacific Ocean Gyre” and look at some of the documentary from various informational programs, you will see the staggering issue we have created in our oceans. The really bad news is that the stuff they are reporting on is a different kind of plastic that is used for the lids and caps of these beverage drinks, as well as more industrial applications, and is the stuff that floats. So basically we are aware of the problem on the surface literally.
Greenpeace reports that 70% of our plastic that ends up in the ocean is found at the bottom of our ocean. We have no idea what the effect will be on our deep ocean ecosystem. We know that when fish and other marine life mistake the plastic for food, they are being injured and dying as a direct result of plastic pollution. Plastic has become an integral part of our lives and is probably going to stay around. We need to develop plastics that are more earth friendly, that won’t harm our oceans or future generations.
ENSO bottles provide such a solution in that they are truly biodegradable through microbial digestion. If ENSO bottles end up in the ocean, landfills or litter, they will become food for microbes found iand biodegrade into biogases and humus. Our goal is to have plastic that doesn’t become part of our food chain. If all plastics were biodegradable then plastics that end up in oceans or any other microbial environment would biodegrade by microbial activity.
We all need to do more if we want to make a difference. We need to change the way we humans look at our environment, we need to recycle more, and purchase responsibly. There is a growing interest in becoming better stewards of our planet. I believe we will come together to help, not hurt our environment. It’s for all of our future well being, besides, who wants to order a plastic sandwich instead of a fish sandwich?
By Del Andrus
Biodegradable Plastic are You Confused?
Biodegradable Plastics, what does it mean and why is there so much confusion about something that sounds so simple to define? The ASTM defines biodegradable plastics as “a degradable plastic in which the degradation results from the action of naturally-occurring micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae”. Sounds simple enough, so why all the confusion? The confusion really comes from two aspects; 1) confusion between using the term degradable vs. biodegradable and 2) the loose use of the word biodegradable.
One Step to Success
The other night I was helping my daughter with her math homework. She was frustrated and overwhelmed with the amount of problems and the difficulty level. After several hours of this, she stopped cold in her tracks. “I am not going to do this anymore, this is too hard, there are way too many problems and I don’t even know how to solve them! I might as well just quit.”
Can your company pass the “Sniff” test?
Nestlé expecting sustainability-savvy suppliers
By Mike Verespej
CHICAGO (Nov. 21, 4:15 p.m. ET) — There are a lot of things companies can do that create an appearance of being green and sustainable. But Kim Jeffery wants to do things that actually enhance sustainability and the environment.
“Are you trying to look good, or are you trying to do good?” asked the president and chief executive officer of Nestlé Waters North America, in a Nov. 6 interview during Sustain ’08 in Chicago.
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