Can bio-plastics combat the scourge of plastic debris on land and sea?

It’s a story that we’ve all heard countless times before - the tragic tale of a majestic bird or fish, whose unassuming and oh-too-brief life was cut short by the careless hands of a human being.  Did you know that over 100,000 marine animals and one million sea birds die from plastic entanglement every year?

While the statistics are not quite so stark for land animals, camels have died from plastic “rocks” in their intestines. Similarly, elephants and cows have been found with internal blockages caused by having eaten plastic.

And, in Ireland, squirrels have mistaken plastic for food with drastic consequences.  A Dutch study of fulmar seabirds in the North Sea found that 95 percent of the birds had plastic in their stomachs.

Sadly, we are well and truly engulfed in the “plastic” era. Life is so fast paced that we have become accustomed to the disposable culture and it’s unlikely that the rate of plastic consumption, - already at 300 tonnes per year globally - will decrease in the near future.

How can our culture of excess co-exist with a thriving and recovered wildlife population?  Well, bio-plastics might be part of the solution.

Bio-plastics are plastics made from corn, potatoes, rice, wood cellulose and wheat fibre. They can be used for cups, bottles, cutlery, plates, bags, bedding, furnishings, carpets, film, textiles and packaging materials, which contribute to a large percentage of the current plastic debris.

Bio-plastics have almost half the carbon footprint of standard plastic.

And, the production of bio-plastics does not require fossil fuels unlike traditional plastics, or “petro-plastics”.  They are also often biodegradable and can be used in composting, allowing minerals back into the soil.

Some bio-plastics do contain toxic chemicals which remain hazardous to the environment.   But, they are a step in the right direction, which with further tweaking, may provide some of the solution to the plastic pollution of our land and oceans.

Laura Quinn won 1st prize in the 2017 An Taisce Young Environmental Reporter competition.