When they express varying degrees of fascination towards Lastic Bamboo Resin, potential clients, partners, and investors always have a barrage of product-related questions prepared for the team at Island Leaf Commodities.
One recurring question is this: "so, is Lastic Bamboo Resin only made of bamboo, or are there other ingredients added to the production mix?" Curious parties then inevitably follow up with another question whose answer merits serious implications: "if there are other ingredients in Lastic's Bamboo Resin, are they biodegradable and compostable?"
The answer to both questions is simple: yes, in addition to bamboo, there are two other compostable and biodegradable ingredients that makeup Lastic Bamboo Resin's composition—common sense follows that for the end product to be biodegradable and compostable, then all its parts must be biodegradable and compostable as well.
As we explained in last week's edition of The Bamboo Press, Lastic will never seek a patent for their Bamboo Resin—they will keep the recipe and process a trade secret until the end of time. This means that Lastic will divulge neither the proportions of each ingredient nor the unique compounding process that puts everything together. We can, however, name and explain the biodegradable and compostable properties of all the inputs: bio-based PBS, starch, and bamboo.
One of the main components comprising Lastic Bamboo Resin is none other than one of the world's first biodegradable and compostable resins: bio-based PBS. This polymer substitute results from a joint venture between Japan-based Mitsubishi Chemical Company and Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical Company. This team first developed bio-based PBS, which stands for polybutylene succinate, back in the 1990s, but they began making it commercially available in 2016.
The all-natural ingredients used to produce bio-based PBS are straight from the soil, not oil: sugarcane, corn, and cassava. There is indeed a company that makes petroleum-based PBS…if you are guessing that this type of PBS is neither biodegradable nor compostable, congratulations, you're correct.
The bio-based PBS grade that Lastic uses for its Bamboo Resin is food-contact approved in the European Union and the United States. Setting a high standard, scientists have shown that bio-based PBS-made applications decompose into the soil at a temperature of 30°C. Thus, it's a no-brainer why the Lastic founders use bio-based PBS as a critical input for their Bamboo Resin.
Next, Lastic uses locally (from Taiwan) grown starch from tubers like yams and taro as an adhesive. Starch enables the bamboo to stick to the bio-based PBS, which in turn gives Lastic Bamboo Resin structural integrity and injection/extrusion properties.
The final and crucial input for Lastic Bamboo Resin is, of course…. bamboo. We've decided to dedicate the next edition of The Bamboo Press to why Lastic chose bamboo, and offer a small glimpse into the production methodology. Till next week, everyone!
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