Climate of Our Future

by Wallace J. Nichols P.h.D
Senior Scientist, Ocean Conservancy

This article by Talli Nauman (below) struck a nerve, as I recall sitting in the “pristine” sand at Tortuguero, Costa Rica years ago marveling at what seemed to be perfect little translucent spheres throughout the beach sand. On closer inspection with my handlens, I could see a slight crease in each “nurdle”, the preproduction pellets for molded plastics and foam objects. Of course the unfortunate connection between sea turtles and plastic products is well known. But here I was in the “middle of nowhere” on a remote sea turtle nesting beach, surrounded by plastic pellets.

For more on this issue, go HERE and HERE

…and seek out and use the growing alternatives to “old school” plastic and styrofoam…

And don’t forget that September 16th is International Coastal Cleanup Day. Mark your calendar and get out there for the day.

The Green Line: Safe polystyrene an oxymoron; use a substitute

BY TALLI NAUMAN
The Herald Mexico
El Universal
Martes 18 de julio del 2006

Is there any such thing as safe Styrofoam? The answer is probably “no.” So-called safe sex, after all, still has its risks. But pressure from environmental activists has brought hope for reduction of this pollution plague and others of its ilk.

Styrofoam, as you might have heard, is just a brand name for polystyrene foam, which is actually a plastic. The petrochemical industry makes it with the fossil fuel by-products benzene and ethylene. That’s bad, because reliance on the substance encourages dependency on energy hogging processes using non-renewable resources.

What’s more, in developing polystyrene foam, manufacturers created a monster: a light-weight material so sturdy that its life span has no known end and its accumulation literally amounts to millions of tons. It doesn’t break down like normal substances in the sun, wind and rain. Much of it ends up as packaging waste, accounting for a fair share of the volume of debris in dumps and water bodies. If wildlife or livestock eat it, they can die. If people burn it, they generate dioxins, which are a growing toxic health menace.

Proliferation of polystyrene in Mexico dates to decades ago when packaging and plastic industry chamber members teamed up to successfully crush a proposal requiring product makers to take back their containers.

Now ways to recycle polystyrene foam are coming to light. In Loreto, Baja California Sur, a homegrown initiative gathers used polystyrene foam and channels it into construction materials. In Dublin, Ireland, University College researchers recently demonstrated that the soil bacteria Pseudomonas putida can convert heated polystyrene foam into a slow decomposing plastic that is strong enough for making dinnerware and packaging.

These potential fixes for the current polystyrene foam waste problem seem out of reach for most communities. But the entry into the market of a more environmentally friendly substitute called foam laminate puts litter control right in the hands of retailers and consumers.

I was pretty pleased when I first came across this kind of material. It was in the form of packing pellets commonly called peanuts, which I have historically despised in their polystyrene presentation for their utterly irritating worthlessness. The new variants were accompanied with an explanatory note that they were 100 percent biodegradable and readily decompose in water. “You can either reuse them in your own packages, recycle them through your compost pile, or water them into your lawn,” it said. I couldn’t wait to chuck them and watch them go poof.

AT STORES EVERYWHERE

As it turns out, at least one company is supplying foam laminate products in Mexico as of now. You can go get them at 300 Walmart stores, thanks to a purchase agreement the discount giant made with the licensee EarthShell Hidalgo, S.A. de C.V., which got its supplies from Missouri-based ReNewable Products Inc., and is working on installing its own equipment to begin domestic manufacturing.

The products are plates, bowls, take-out boxes and food wrappers. They look and feel like polystyrene, so they can be used for the same purposes. But they are composed of 45 percent recycled content, natural limestone, paraffin, wood fiber and starch from potatoes, corn, wheat, tapioca or rice. So they can be scrapped and dissolved. Their price is competitive with polystyrene foam and other so-called disposable food service items.

The U.S.-based non-profit environmental certification group Green Seal has recommended EarthShell’s hinged boxes, making them the first rigid food packaging to receive that blessing. This July’s Good Housekeeping magazine dubbed EarthShell plates and bowls one of “50 Easy Ways To Go Green.”

As Green Seal notes, durable, reusable table settings are better for the environment than foam laminate; and non-rigid packaging is less bulky for landfills. But if you have occasion to use heavy-duty throw-away items, biodegradable foam apparently is a viable way to go. It takes less energy, virgin raw materials, water and chlorine bleach in production than the polystyrene variety.

The environmental movement has worked hard for the technological applications and consumer awareness that got us to this turning point in history. Now it’s up to those of us who want to live less dangerously to make educated choices when we go shopping.

Talli Nauman is a founder and co-director of Journalism to Raise Environmental Awareness, a project initiated with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. (talli@hughes.net