Yet another federal proposal has emerged to clarify labeling for recyclable, compostable and reusable packaging. Supporters include the US Composting Council, the Paper Recycling Coalition, Recology a...

At a Massachusetts lab, pebble-sized pellets are transformed into forks and films that won’t leave microplastics in the environment. These are bioplastic pellets.

At a Massachusetts lab, pebble-sized pellets are transformed into forks and films that won’t leave microplastics in the environment. These are bioplastic pellets.

Packaging holds, insulation is marginal, structural plastic fails. Moisture is the binding limit across all four substitution cases.

Newswise — Compostable plastics could be part of a solution to the world’s plastic waste problem. But currently these materials need industrial composting facilities to break down. In a step toward making a home-compostable plastic, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have augmented polylactide (PLA) — a widely used biobased and compostable polymer— with a small amount of an additive. Tests show it helps the material degrade substantially faster without sacrificing critical qualities like strength or transparency. “PLA can be made to degrade much more effectively under practical composting conditions without compromising the properties that make it useful in everyday applications.” — Marc Hillmyer PLA is currently found in products such as food packaging, textiles, and biomedical devices, and it accounts for roughly two-thirds of total bio-based and biodegradable plastics production worldwide. “Composting is considered one of the most effective end-of-life strategies for PLA products, especially food-contaminated single-use products, because it eliminates the need for additional sorting and washing processes,” says Marc Hillmyer, a corresponding author of the paper. This process converts organic waste into environmentally innocuous products such as small organic acids. However, PLA “is only industrially compostable in engineered environments where it degrades over a few months,” he...

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The lab tests products for how well they break down and how beneficial the material is for plants.

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STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WAOW) - The Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology (WIST), in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, will