‘Your future depends on what you do today’

Plastic pollution is currently one of the biggest environmental concerns, which needs to be addressed with the most efficient solutions on urgent basis. Alternatives like jute or paper bags are preferable but we needa replacement which carries the beneficial characteristics of plastic – something that is cheap, durable and waterproof.As the Father of our Nation once quoted, “your future depends on what you do today.” Today we need new technologies and innovation that can completely replace plastic, give us the safer and cleaner environment that we wish for ourselves and for our future generations

Bakelite was known to be the first true synthetic plastic invented by Leo Baekeland, back in 1907.A material composed of molecules, which is not organic. It was an amazing breakthrough. Bakelite was durable and heat resistant and could be molded into almost any shape. People called it “the material of a thousand uses”. However, it turned out to be a harsh reality that ‘the material of thousand uses’ lasts over thousand years making it one of the major environmental concerns.
Today we are surrounded by plastic objects, from the food containers to the smallest thing like the button stitched on the cloth is made of plastic. Our dependence upon plastic is increasing day by day; we make so much of it, and throw so much of it away. Out of the 9.1 billion tonnes of plastic that the world has produced since 1950, 6.9 billion tonnes has become waste, and only 9 per cent of that has been recycled. The rest ends up in landfills and in the world’s oceans, where plastic pollution is ravaging wildlife, beaches, cities and many more. However, solutions are not impossible to find in this era of innovation and technology. Dependency on plastic makes it hard for people to avoid it as it has somehow become one among the necessities though we do not want to admit it. Nevertheless, scientists and researchers from all over the world have introduced new technologies that can help to replace plastic.

Some innovative solutions
According to a recent UN Environment report “Alternatives to Plastic” biomass-based polymers can be efficient if used in closed loop system.

• In September 2018, crafting plastic studios invented a compostable bioplastic “Nuatan” with the Slovak University of Technology made of cornstarch, sugar and used cooking oil. It is safe enough for fish to eat, lasts up to 15 years, can withst and high temperature and is biodegradable.
• Scientists from the Centre of Sustainable Chemical Technologies (CSCT) at the University of Bath, China have successfully created a plastic that does not use harmful chemicals, and is biodegradable. It is made of sugar and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is added to a natural substance called thymidine at low pressures and at room temperature.
• Researchers at Sweden’s Lund University developed a thermoplastic made from potato peelings and water that can biodegrade in nature within two months. Potato Plastic makes compostable cutlery, straws and salt bags by heating a mixture of hot water and warm potato starch, pouring the liquid into a mold and putting it in a fridge to set. The potato starch is taken from peelings from fast food outlets, or potatoes deemed unfit for sale in supermarkets. The design, by a student from Gothenburg, was shortlisted for the James Dyson Award.
• A United Kingdom-based startup Skipping Rocks Lab came up with an amazing invention, an edible water bottle – Ooho, made from seaweed extract. According to the startup, the sustainable packaging degrades in a natural environment in six weeks on average and the proprietary material is cheaper than plastic. The company has won a number of awards including the 2016 UK Energy Globe Award. The water ball can fullybe swallowed and digested, as well as hydrating people in the same way as drinking water. The product is made from a seaweed extract and is tasteless, although flavours can be added to it.
• A French company Lactips developed a patented, milk-based thermoplastic packaging material that is biodegradable and water-soluble at low temperatures through a project called Ecolactifilm. The Lactips packaging film is based on casein – a protein derived from milk with clay and a reactive molecule (glyceraldehyde) which makes the plastic much stronger, but still biodegradable and breaks down harmlessly in water or home compost. The film takes three weeks to biodegrade.
• A 15-year-old Australian girl, Angelina Arora developed a biodegradable plastic from the protein extracted from the prawn shell. Prawn shells consist of a hard yet flexible protein called chitosan, a version of chitin — the second most abundant organic material on the planet, that is found in fungal cells, insect and spider webs.
• In 2016, Sarah Munir for Bakeys manufactured edible cutleries made of three flours: rice, wheat, and sorghum. It helps us change the way we eat and think about waste. We can eat with it and then eat it. The cutleries are fully vegan, preservative-free, trans fat-free and dairy-free. The edible lunch spoon goes perfect with ice cream, yogurt, and a variety of soups. The spoon itself does not degrade within liquids due to the presence of a large quantity of sorghum, a hearty crop that is strong, abundant, and requires very little energy for cultivation.
• A company in New York named Ecovative uses mushrooms to turn agricultural bio-waste into packaging. This company develops an array of environmentally friendly materials that perform like plastics but are made by mushrooms – specifically, by their webs of thread-like roots, known as mycelium, which consume crop waste. These materials can be grown and recycled, as opposed to being drilled, pumped, refined and discarded.
• An Indian company Papco manufactures eco-friendly containers “Bagasse” made of sugarcane which is stronger than Plastic.Bagasse, the fibrous remains left behind after extracting sugarcane juice, can be used to make disposable cutlery and containers. Regular plastic plates cost only 1.5 but this green ware plates might exceed to4 to 8 though the environmental benefits outweigh any cons.

There is a wide range of applications to reduce our dependence on the unnecessary use of plastics. As per the World Economic Forum, by 2050 plastic waste in the oceans will outweigh the number of fishes. However, the realisation from consumers and policymakers can be the urgent action to stop the flow of disposable plastics and alternatives can have a significant role in reducing our dependence. It is important for individuals and industries alike to make an effort to minimise the negative environmental impacts of their activities.

There are even solutions to reduce the existing plastic pollution. Ideonella Sakaiensis 201-F6, a bacteria founded by a Japanese scientist can digest plastics. All we need is to apply these innovations. It might surprise Baekeland and those early inventors, who spent so long trying to dream up long-lasting synthetic alternatives to nature’s bounty, but many of today’s innovators are returning to nature as they seek solutions for some of our planet’s major environmental challenges, including plastic pollution.