Submitted by InterestedReader on June 25, 2007 - 1:33am.
How is this plastic "green"?
It is still polyethylene and is NOT biodegradable, so supermarket bags made of it will last forever and pollute until kingdom come.
In the end if oil were used solely for the production of plastic and asphalt it would not be seen as evil, it is burning the oil that is causing all the pollution and warming effects, so I don't see the effects of growing sugar to make plastic instead of digging for the raw material... I'd rather leave the rainforest in the surface and drill for oil for plastics instead of burning the forest to make room for sugar cane farms (which is what happens in Brazil)
A rose by any other name would still smell sweet... polyethylene made of sugar will release toxic chemicals when burnt. It is not how we make plastics but what we do with them that matters. If people are led to believe that this "green" plastic is a miraculous solution they might forget about reusing, reducing or recycling.
Green?
How is this plastic "green"?
It is still polyethylene and is NOT biodegradable, so supermarket bags made of it will last forever and pollute until kingdom come.
In the end if oil were used solely for the production of plastic and asphalt it would not be seen as evil, it is burning the oil that is causing all the pollution and warming effects, so I don't see the effects of growing sugar to make plastic instead of digging for the raw material... I'd rather leave the rainforest in the surface and drill for oil for plastics instead of burning the forest to make room for sugar cane farms (which is what happens in Brazil)
A rose by any other name would still smell sweet... polyethylene made of sugar will release toxic chemicals when burnt. It is not how we make plastics but what we do with them that matters. If people are led to believe that this "green" plastic is a miraculous solution they might forget about reusing, reducing or recycling.