 |
| (3) |
STOP! Take a moment to look at all of the things you use during the day like
your cellphone, computer, debit card, toys, etc. What do they all have in
common? They all have parts made of plastic. Plastics such as Low Density
Polyethylene (LDPE), which is one of the most common plastics, is fairly easy
to produce but is very difficult to dispose of since it does not breakdown very
quickly when it is in the landfills.
Although LDPE is one of the most useful plastics, it has not always been
the safest. Many plastic products like polyethylene contained a toxic chemical
known as Bisphenol-A (BPA), (2). Researchers tested the chemical on rodents and
found that it delayed puberty, slowed growth and caused diabetes (2). The
up-side to these results was that there was such a small amount of the toxic
chemical in the plastics that you would not be able to eat enough food that
touched the plastic to be able to be affected by the BPA.
As an overall concept, getting rid of these hard to recycle plastics
would be great but the reality of it is that almost everything is made with
plastics like polyethylene. It would cost governments and companies millions to
stop their production lines and convert to a more green and bio-degradable
material. There are a few companies out there that are trying to find solutions
to our plastic problem. One of these companies has developed a new type of
plastic that uses starch as a substitute in the plastic (1). This reduces the
amount of polyethylene in the plastic. At the same time the starch is
biodegradable and when it breaks down in the landfills it makes it easier to
disintegrate the rest of the plastic.
References
(1) Camann, A., Dragsbaek, K., Krol, S., Sandgren, J., Song, D. (2010)
Properties, Recycling and
Alternatives to PE Bags
(2) Medicine Net (2008).Plastic: Health and Disease Prevention - What is
low-density
polyethylene (LDPE)?
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