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The Effect of Polylactic Acid Products in the Environment

         

By: Oscar J. Garcia


    First of all, this article is interesting because it focuses on how we can minimize the quantity of plastic that is thrown into the ocean. This article basically tells you how to prevent plastic pollution in the ocean by using polylactic acid (PLA) products. PLA is a biodegradable material, apparently very similar to plastic, but much less harmful to the environment. PLA is a bio compostable polymer derived from lactic acid. PLA is obtained from vegetable starches, such as cornstarch, beets or wheat. This material is produced by mixing the starches that are extracted from these plants with holm oaks and fermenting them with lactic acid microorganisms. These starches cannot be consumed by humans and many times come from the residues of the cultivation of these vegetables, this means that they do not suppose an extra consumption of natural resources maintaining environmental sustainability. In addition, this material is able to degrade very easily in weeks with water and carbon oxide.

    Also, some findings that I could find in this article regarding PLA products is that they reduce plastic waste and pollution, and they Regenerate and preserve the natural environment

    Finally, some advantages that I personally saw in these products are:
  • They are biodegradable and compostable.
  • They are transparent and rigid, so they look very similar to plastic
Here we can see how biodegradable plastic decomposes. Image taken from https://www.pandopapercup.com/info/degradable-material-pla-30609505.html



References

Payne, J., McKeown, P., & Jones, M. D. (2019). A circular economy approach to plastic waste. Polymer Degradation and Stability. J. Environ. Qual. 165, 170–181.
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Comments

  1. Anahi TinajeroSeptember 21, 2020 at 4:58 PM

    This seems like a great way to combat pollution in our oceans and protect the wildlife and its ecosystems . Not only is it biodegradable, but it also does not hold an extra consumption of our natural resources. The production of PLA products should be implemented by more companies thus promoting a more sustainable way to sell their products.

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