Plastic is an extremely valid concern among those who research wildlife and nature, for it is ubiquitous around the world and there seems to be little intention of phasing out its use in many countries, including the US. Only in the last several years have we seen plastic shopping bag bans spring up in communities around the country, and each one is met with controversy, every single time.
You’d think that something that’s so blatantly toxic on several levels would have few proponents, but human nature seems to insist that we take the easy way and continue producing cheap, abundant plastics for our everyday needs, with no attention toward their long term use. Plastic shopping bags, while definitely convenient, compact, and can be used for a myriad of things, are also cheap and inefficient, rendering a plastic bag useless to most people once it gets a hole or tear. Now that its intended use is null, what becomes of that plastic? The answer is everywhere we look in nature, and it’s not going anywhere soon.
So what about “green” plastics or bioplastics that use natural polymers that are designed to degrade naturally? Bioplastics are nothing new; throughout history there are examples of early civilizations using natural resins like amber and shellac to mold everyday objects like spoons, jewelry, and trinket boxes. Commercialization of bioplastics began in the mid 19th century, and WWII spurned the plastic industry into the worldwide behemoth it is today.
But there are some folks out there who see a better way, and it’s only a matter of time until ideas like these become part of the mainstream consciousness, much like disposable plastic everything is the consciousness of today.
The latest exciting development in bioplastics comes from researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute, who have developed a new type of plastic comprised mainly of chitosan — an abundant material produced as a result of treating crustacean shells with a strong alkaline compound — and wood “flour.” Since shrimp is one of the highest demanded items of seafood in the world, there are a lot of shrimp shells being dumped out there just waiting to be recycled into bioplastic.
The benefit of using chitosan is that not only is it derived from a naturally occurring material and will therefore degrade naturally back into the earth, but it is already used agriculturally and horticulturally to increase yield and help plants build a better defense system for themselves, so bioplastics manufactured from chitosan could actually have the potential to improve areas as they degrade.
Check out this awesome timelapse video of what happens to a single seed when it is added to chitosan bioplastics. It definitely makes us feel like the bigger picture solutions are out there!
Images via Doug Beckers, Varin Tsai
