Conventional Oil Based Plastics Vs. Innovative Green Plastics

Conventional Oil Based Plastics Vs. Innovative Green Plastics

The Twentieth century was filled with many inventions that have greatly influenced our world. The invention of plastic was one of the most dramatic of them all. Humans use plastics each and every day and just imagining a day without them is inconceivable. A material can be a plastic if it satisfies three conditions: its main ingredient must be a polymer material, it must be fluid at some point during processing, and it must be solid in its final form. (Stevens) In our ever-changing world, plastics have improved in areas such as: standards of living, health care, and education. Although plastics are so important, they are posing environmental hazards to our world. Three factors that affect how environmentally friendly something is are renewability, degradability, and production. (Stevens) However, there is a new type of plastic being pursued called green plastic or bio plastic. It is an alternative to the oil based plastics and there is an increasing interest in it because of what it has to offer. All in all, when comparing the two types it is evident that green plastics are better than conventional oil based plastics due their less harmful affects on the environment.

Renewability is classified as how quickly the ingredients that go into making the plastic are created in the environment. The term bio-plastic describes the polymers derived from plant sugars or plastics grown inside, which are genetically modified plants or microorganisms. (Martinez-Velon) Author of the book, What makes Green Plastics Green, E.S Stevens said, “Carbohydrate material (from plants) is more plentiful in the biosphere than all other organic matter combined. They are agricultural feed stocks that could provide a large sustainable source of biodegradable plastic materials.” (Stevens) The polymers that go into making bio plastics are abundant natural resources that are constantly being replenished by nature. “We can take natures building materials and use them for our purposes, without taking them out of nature’s cycles. We can be borrowers, not consumers, so that the process can continue indefinitely.” E.S Stevens. On the other hand, Oil based plastics are made from crude oil. Although only a small amount of oil is used to produce plastics, it is imperative because it is a very limited and valuable resource. (Wikipedia) Since crude oil is a non-renewable resource, many people are worried about an eventual depletion in the near future. To summarize, using bio plastics puts less strain on non-renewable resources, and makes good use of the resources that can be renewed.

The production of a plastic refers to how it is made and manufactured, as well as how much pollution or waste is being created during the actual process of making the plastic. (Stevens) Oil based plastics are manufactured by taking unprocessed, polymers called resin, and processing them into different shapes. During this process, they are often combined with plasticizers and other additives. (Martinez-Velon) Additives can be added to increase strength and flexibility, or to improve the appearance. An example of this would be adding colour to a plastic to make it more visually appealing. However, the amounts and types of additives used in manufacturing the plastics are a factor that influences how environmentally friendly they are. The cost of oil-based plastics is rising as the demand increases because the oil is a non- renewable resource. As a result of the continual demand and consequent value, the crude oil used to make the plastics has been called black gold. (Wikipedia) Conversely, bio plastics are a renewable resource so their price does not in fluctuate with an increase in demand. The production of bioplastics utilizes what is found naturally to make a functional plastic. All in all, because of the natural production the use of bio plastics is less damaging to the environment.

Degradability describes how quickly the plastic can be re-integrated back into the environment after it is no longer being used. (Stevens) The main disadvantage of oil-based plastics is the difficulty in the disposal of them. Because oil based plastics are a man-made compound, they are resistant to microbial degradation. (Atlas) This is because a bacterium has not been exposed to them through the course of evolution, so they are in turn defiant to decomposition. (Atlas) As a result of inability to decompose the plastics, they are instead incinerated. However, this process is harmful to the environment because dangerous chemicals like hydrochloric acid and hydrogen cyanide are released during the process.(Atlas) Another option to dealing with the mass amounts of waste plastic