Link: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/02/asia/soybeans-plastic-wrap-intl-hnk/index.html
Soybean is one of the important ingredients in Asian diet, commonly used to make tofu, soymilk, etc. Recently, scientists have found another use of soybeans: an alternative for plastic. William Chen, a professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, invented a biodegradable food wrap made of cellulose. According to Chen, they can extract the cellulose from the large amounts of residues of soybean products, and will form a form of fiber after going through a fermentation process. Durian husks, which are full of cellulose, can also be turned into plastic wraps.
This is not the first case of cellulose based plastic wraps, but it is the most sustainable. Chen's approach not only helps reduce the amount of plastic but also reducing the amount of food waste. F&N, a soy-based drinks producer, had collaborated with Chen's lab by providing residues directly from the factory. These bio-plastics costs "almost nothing" because the materials are free, the only charge would be expenses such as storage and quality control.
Previous bio-plastics are problematic when degrading because it requires full exposure to temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius for a long time to fully degrade. But Chen's soy-based bio-plastic will be digested by microbes and completely disappear with in a month. Chen says, "My dream is that our technology, which is cheap and simple to implement, will cut plastic and food waste and create a cleaner environment."
Questions:
1. Do you think this is a sustainable approach to reduce plastic usage?
2. How would the government or the people maximize its impact?
3. In what ways can the government help in reducing plastic?
I think the government can help in reducing plastics by helping Chen develop and make his soy-based plastic available to the public. It obviously must be tested, approved, and produced somehow, and Chen will certainly need all of the help he can get. As for actually using the plastic, it may be difficult to convince the public to switch. So, given that Chen's current findings continue to positively expand, it may be worth the government's consideration to attempt to add extra taxes to non-soy based plastics in an attempt to get customers to choose the soy based plastic. The money earned from taxes could go toward development of more soy-based plastic products, or toward disposal of plastic waste.
ReplyDeleteIf the production and distribution of these soy-based bio plastic material are more sustainable than the current alternative, then I believe it would be wise to incorporate such a wrapping. On the surface level, the obvious choice would be to implement this form of wrapping, but there are many other factors to include in which the negatives may overwhelm the positives. In order to maximize this product, the people must be given incentives to incorporate this wrapping in their day to day lifestyle. To achieve this, the government could potentially increase the taxes on plastic-wrapping goods--ultimately giving soy-based bio plastic an edge in the market. To prevent the mass proliferation of plastic usage altogether, the government, as a collective, must utilize their resources to a create a economically-efficient and sustainable food containers while also limiting the production of plastic through taxes.
ReplyDeleteIf it truly works, then I think this is a sustainable approach to reduce plastic usage - it would be a smart and efficient way to ensure there is less waste in the environment. In terms of how the government or people could maximize the impact of this seeming discovery, they could potentially replace the current for of plastic waterbottles, containers, packaging materials, etc. in order to provide the same efficiency, in a safer way. Rather than continuing to use the plastic which produces an enormous amount of waste, people should use the "soy plastic" in any and every way possible. Ultimately, the government can help in reducing plastic by changing the way we use plastic in order to to minimize the amount of it. By continuously relying on plastic because it is seemingly "efficient", we would not be exploring the different ways to produce similar materials. This "soybean plastic" is a step in the right direction as far as helping the environment goes.
ReplyDeleteIf this form of plastic waste management is functional, then it very could be the solution to the plastic crisis. Over the years, plastic waste has become a growing concern due to its detrimental effects on our ecosystem. I believe that the government needs to be involved in order to implement this solution on a larger scale and even better, on a global scale if governments are willing to work together to solve the global plastic crisis.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this could be a potential solution to the plastic crisis if it is as sustainable as it leads on to be. Finding sustainable ways to live seems to be rising in our political agenda as a nation, as well as in our world in general. For this to be a serious solution, I believe it needs to be implemented on a large scale. Using "soy" plastic in every possible way can result in great change in our current environmental state. The government could maximize the impact by implementing policy that forces the use of "soy" plastics and create incentives for people to switch to its use.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that this could be a genuine solution to the absurd amounts of plastic that we use each year - more than 300 million tons of it each year, in fact. And the saddening part is that the majority of it is single-use plastic, meaning that after it is used once, it goes right into the trash can. I think that this soy-based plastic alternative is definitely implementable given that it is extremely cheap, however, the government should take initiatives to promote and encourage this method in order for it to be effective in replacing current plastics. Change is both difficult and slow, and so companies will definitely need both support, perhaps financially or through incentives. I also think that consumer awareness will also help the issue, since ultimately, consumers are the people that companies and businesses are interested in the most; we inevitably support the companies we purchase from (aka give our money to).
ReplyDeleteI am not all that familiar with the science behind this, but given the sheer amount of plastic that is used globally, I don't know if this new biodegradable cellulose fibers will be enough to make a substantial impact. Having said that, I do have much respect towards this group for its efforts for a more sustainable future and commend the brilliant idea they have come up with. The government can definitely implement policies to reduce our environmental footprint in many ways, but that goes back to the problem that the U.S. isn't doing it's part as a world leader regarding topics like such. We probably have more potential having this idea get picked up by a wealthy environmental enthusiast, honestly. I look forward to seeing where this can go, and hopefully it doesn't fall under and get forgotten like countless other propositions of potential solutions in the past.
ReplyDelete