Living in a Toxic World recently made a post about PLA made by Nature Works. The article being discussed was written by Elizabeth Royte for the Smithsonian. PLA is a plastic polymer currently being made out of feed-grade corn for the use of packaging. (Please, read the article!)

One of the complaints is that the packaging cannot be broken down in a home composter because PLA requires certain temperatures for ten days straight. The article also mentions that PLA breaks down into an acid which makes the compost mixture too acidic and wet without the addition of a higher amount of material.

Another complaint is that the packaging is creating larger demand of recycling facilities when the facilities can't actually handle the packaging with their current system. This is apparently because a lot of facilities aren't picking up PLA from the recycling company for composting or recycling.

I don't have a huge grasp on this topic yet since this is the first I've heard of PLA, but it is interesting to note that there are large apparent benefits for PLA. It can be composted under those correct conditions, the process of making it emits less greenhouse gases, it is made from a renewable resource, and apparently it is cheaper to make than our traditional plastic (PET?).

I went to Nature Works site and found this page which lists the company's partners. They have several different ways to search up their partners, which they classify as everything from retailers who carry PLA packaging to brands that use PLA packaging to manufacturers who make the equipment from which PLA is produced. Pretty cool that one of their partners is Naturally Iowa, LLC, although not very surprising since Nature Works is in Nebraska!

Labels: environment, news