Plastic bottles are such an environmental abomination, that's what makes their use so sexy. We can feel good about ourselves when we buy a product made from plastic bottles. We're being good little consumers.

Posted by Sheri Jobe | January 8, 2009 2:21 PM

What's with plastic bottles?
Well, as you know, the U.S. alone produces more than 60 billion of 'em every year and it's a "growth" industry. It would be my guess that the "hoopla" about bottles is partly driven by plastic recyclers who are trying to hype their contributions toward saving our planet (which by the way, are at a miserable 20-30 percent. Only two or three out of every ten make it to recycling--the rest end up in our landfills, streams and oceans).

Wouldn't it be great if those plastic bottles could be more of a cradle to cradle product? Most of the plastics that are currently produced are made from sequestered carbon (coal or oil) that has been hidden inside the earth for millions of years.

Now, we're digging it up and pumping it up, to make plastic. ENSO Bottles is working on a PET plastic bottle that will be, biodegradable, compostable, and will recycle (hopefully, recyclers will realize the need to recycle all plastics); and they are working on a way to make plastics from sustainable non-food biofuels (algae).

There is a lot of misinformation regarding plastics coming from both environmentalists and manufacturers. Plastics make our lives better, but bottles and other types of plastics need to become "Cradle to Cradle" products. If they do, we can have sustainable plastics that will make our lives better and not hurt us or future generations.
Max

Posted by Max Clark | January 9, 2009 5:38 PM

Thanks for your comment, Max. When will the ENSO biodegradable PET bottle and algae-based plastic be commercially available? Please keep us posted!

Posted by Nina | January 10, 2009 7:32 PM

Nina:

You're welcome. Whenever I look into what can be done to make our products more earth friendly or when I think about what we (all of us) can do about saving our planet it seems a bit overwhelming. When I search the internet I run into tons of information pro and con on what needs to be done.

That‘s why I've started working with ENSO Bottles....they are doing something that I believe will make a change. I know it isn't the final answer but it is a step in the right direction. Plastic bottles are currently a big problem and we need to do something now...not tomorrow...not when everybody agrees...now.

In answer to your question when will "Earth Friendly Bottles" be available?

ENSO Bottles is currently offering their second generation bottle. That bottle can be produced clear or color of choice. It will biodegrade, compost or recycle.

The clear version isn't quite as clear as current PET plastic bottles but then again that's one way to identify our earth friendly bottle.

We haven't started making them from bio-fuel but that is high on our agenda and hopefully will be something we can offer in the future.

But for now, we offer a plastic bottle that is earth friendly...it's just one step but if we all take just one step toward improving our planet..... We will make a difference.

Now all we need is for a lot of beverage companies to start using earth friendly plastic bottles.

Max

Posted by Max | January 12, 2009 3:52 PM

Hi Max, have the ENSO bottles been tested and approved by any third-party institutions? Do they meet the ASTM D6400 or ASTM D6868 specs?

Posted by Nina | January 13, 2009 12:51 PM

ENSO bottles are biodegradable PET bottles which break down in aerobic, anaerobic and compostable environments, leaving behind biogases and inert humus.

Our bottles are ASTM D 5511 certified and all testing for biodegradability is done through third party institutions. The current degradation cycle is 1-5 years in a landfill or compost environment. There are specific certifications such as the ASTM 6400, that require shorter degradation cycles. One of the great benefits plastics offer is the extended shelf life. A standard bottle will remain in the landfill for hundreds to thousands of years. We are excited to be able to offer a bottle that retains the beneficial properties of PET plastic (shelf life, strength and appearance), yet still decomposes in a very short period of time. This creates a balance between degradation time vs. function and degradation in a landfill (anaerobic environment) of 1-5 years is very good.

Posted by Teresa | January 23, 2009 9:44 AM

The Evolution of Biodegradable Plastic

Biodegradable plastic is plastic that biodegrades into humus when disposed of, due to the action of the micro-organisms that turn dead plant life into humus, the organic part of soil. The result is a rich and fertile soil.

There have been three generatons of biodegradable plastic. The first was starch based plastic, PLA, almost always made out of corn. The second generation was oxo-biodegradable conventional plastic, and the third, the current generation, is biodegradable conventional plastic.

PLA, or corn-based plastic

PLA, or corn-based plastic, was the first generation of biodegradable plastic. It is still made and promoted by corporate giants that have huge financial and political power, such as the Dow Chemical Company, Cargill, Inc., and Archer Daniel Midlands, but it has many drawbacks.

It is billed as 'sustainable,' as it is based on food sources, primarily corn. However, if all of the disposable plastic products in the world were made out of corn, 150,000,000 tons of corn would be used to make plastic. Prices for corn would rise dramatically, and third world hunger would increase even more dramatically. There are currently 850,000,000 hungry people in the third world. If we imagine that condition worsening greatly, the result could only be a humanitarian catastrophe of appalling proportions. That is the real ramification of 'sustainability' in today's world.

Furthermore, PLA isn't a very good plastic. It imparts an off taste to water when used for water bottles, it melts when used as soup spoons, it's weak, and therefore items made of it are heavy, it has a short shelf life, and it often starts to decay before use, while still on the shelf. What's more, almost no recyclers accept it for recycling. In fact, recyclers dislike PLA and are trying to ban it, because it gets confused with more conventional plastics, and ruins their recycled plastic batches.

The state of California is promoting this product by limiting the use of the term biodegradable, and all synonyms for biodegradablilty to PLA, which decays within 120 days in commercial (not home) composting facilities. Unfortunately PLA decays so fast in an oxygen-free (anaerobic) environment (typical of landfills,) that it generates methane in landfills before they are capped to tap the methane. Generating methane quickly in landfills is undesirable because it is a potent greenhouse gas. If it is generated before the landfill is capped, it outgasses into the atmosphere, promoting global warming. (Click to see video about using methane from landfills.)

Oxo-Biodegradable Plastic, the Second Generation of Biodegradable Plastic

The second generation plastic oxo-biodegradable plastic was very different than the the previous generation of biodegradable plastic called PLA, starch-based plastic, or 'spudware. Oxo-biodegradable plastic had many advantages over PLA-It was invulnerable to water, one might adjust it to the desired biodegradation rate, some products could contain recycled content, it could be recycled, it didn't diminish the grain supply, it was stronger, less expensive, and was made from an otherwise useless industrial byproduct, naphtha.

This second-generation biodegradable plastic is little known in the US, but is is well established and widely used in Europe. Tesco and Carrefours, the largest grocery chains in the world, and in France, respectively, package their customers' groceries in oxo-biodegradable 't-shirt' bags. In fact, the largest bakers in Mexico and South Africa package bread in oxo-biodegradable bags, and oxo-biodegradable plastic is becoming common in India and China. The US is so far behind the curve on this, that it is a little embarassing.

Oxo-biodegradable plastic doesn't biodegrade when deeply buried in landfills, because it requires an initial phase of degeneration which required certain environmental factors-oxygen and one of the following three circumstances-heat, UV light, or mechanical stress-and because the subsequent biodegredation part of the degredation only works in oxygenated environments. These circumstances don't exist when deeply buried in landfills, so oxo-biodegradable plastics don't have any benefit for products deeply buried in landfills.

The Third Generation of Biodegradable Conventional Plastics,
which are used in our products.

There is now a third generation biodegradable product which is the standard plastic we use daily, naptha based plastic, with an additive that will cause it to biodegrade without the need of heat, UV light, mechanical stress, or oxygen. This third-generation plastic is called biodegradable plastic, and it biodegrades when placed into the ground due to the action of micro-organisms naturally occurring in soil. We are now using the third generation additives in all of our products. It has all of the benefits of oxo-biodegradable plastics-it is recyclable, is invulnerable to water, one may adjust the desired rate of biodegeneration, some products can have recycled content, it doesn't diminish the grain supply, and it is stronger, less expensive, and made of an otherwise useless industrial byproduct.

Additionally, this new plastic will definitely biodegrade when buried in the ground in either aerobic or anaerobic environments, ie. in a land fill. Like PLA, this new plastic will produce small amounts of methane in a land fill if deeply buried, but not so quickly as PLA, and like PLA, it will produce small amounts of carbon dioxide as a result of the metabolism of micro-organisms if it decomposes in the presence of oxygen.

With this new generation of biodegradable plastic, bidegradation is delayed long enough that there is time to cap the landfills, so the methane is burned off or even used to generate electricity, as is being done in almost 500 US land fills currently. Like all of our products, this new plastic is recyclable and completely non-toxic to people, plants, and animals, and is made of ingredients approved by the FDA for food contact.

In our view, by using conventional biodegradable plastic we are following in the footsteps of the plains Indians, who used every part of the buffalo, the chief resource in their environment. We take an industrial byproduct that used to be wasted and turn it into useful packaging materials and other disposable items. Then the disposable items are turned into humus, to the benefit of the soil and the plants it nurtures. Waste gasses from the conversion process are then used to make electricity. We thus have progressed from wasting an asset to generating three benefits from it for people and our planet. -by Tim Dunn, published at http://biogreenproducts.biz

Posted by Tim Dunn | February 16, 2009 4:38 PM

Thanks for the info, Tim.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun | February 18, 2009 3:31 PM

I’m conducting a short survey to determine what consumers know about biodegradable bottles. It only takes a moment and doesn’t gather personal information.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=fktlqEFDW1aNgZgWodfrRA_3d_3d

Thanks.
Max
http://www.ensobottles.com

Posted by Max | July 26, 2009 10:45 PM