Study: Bio-Based Plastics Could Ultimately Replace Up to 90% of Total Global Consumption of Plastics

[hankthecrank]

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/11/study-biobased-plastics-could-ultimately-replace-up-to-90-of-total-global-consumption-of-plastics-in.html#more

Study: Bio-Based Plastics Could Ultimately Replace Up to 90% of Total Global Consumption of Plastics in 2007
8 November 2009
Eurobiop
Projections of the worldwide production capacity of bio-based plastics through 2020. Source: PRO-BIP 2009. Click to enlarge.

Replacement of up to 90% (270 Mt) of the total global consumption of plastics in 2007 with bio-based plastics is ultimately technically possible, according to new study by authors at Utrecht University, commissioned by the associations European Bio plastics and the European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE). How fast this substitution will occur depends on a multitude of factors.

Study authors Martin K. Patel, Li Shen and Juliane Haufe project that by 2020, worldwide bio-plastics capacity could increase to as much as 4.40 Mt (about 1.5% of 2007 consumption) under a high growth scenario—approximately 30% higher than the projections based on company announcements (3.45 Mt) and the companies’ expectations (3.44 Mt).


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good news I hope

[buzzycrumbhunger]

1. I just got a new phone made of that stuff

I really want an iPhone, but until I can get one without AT&T, refuse. This isn't really comparable, but it's a good interim option for me (I do my most manic web surfing via computer, not phone). I assume there are non-Sprint equivalents to it--it's a Reclaim. It's made of 80% recycled and 40% bioplastic (i.e. corn) and is pretty cool. The GPS is awesome (no more driving in circles because my head's up my arse!) Of course, it's recyclable when you're done with it, and comes packaged in recycled cardboard with no obnoxious plastic. Definitely targeting the tree-huggers, but as a phone, it delivers. I figured it was a harbinger of things to come. Corn--who'd'a thunk it? And unlike gasohol, it smells nothing like farts. :)

[Submariner]

2. Well,...the Pacific trash Gyre is kind of overloaded now

so biodegradable plastics might be a good thing....

[FarCenter]

3. Biological plastic and biodegradable plastic are two different things

Just because a plastic is made from biologically produced materials doesn't mean that it will biodegrade after use.