Many bioplastic critics vehemently point out that bioplastics can't be recycled. This observation will create confusion amongst the masses. Why would anyone need to recycle a product not specifically designed for recycling?
Indeed, home and garden (H&G) compostable products like Lastic® BAMBOO ones that biodegrade and disintegrate under stringent standards like the Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA) AS5810 (tested by the ABA) and France's NF T51-800:2015 (tested by DIN CERTCO) will biodegrade in H&G conditions. So, if a company designs a product to biodegrade, why are critics screaming about a product's recyclability?
A mere glimpse into the production process provides an answer. When manufacturers produce any extrusion, blow, or injection-grade application, a certain amount of product is inevitably wasted. Because all extrusion, injection, and blow machines need to "warm up" before production ramps up, the initial resin inserted into these machines comes out of them as "purge." Purge is a solid, globby block of melted resin. Some plastic applications create one or two tons of the stuff every time a company commences production.
Let's go back to the bioplastics critics' feebly invalid argument. The only point buttressing this argument is conditional. If the purge created from production exceeds the wall thickness limit required for timely biodegradation, the purge is waste and must be landfilled. But, running purge through a low-energy shredder will transform it into a flake thin enough to biodegrade. At this point, producers can do a few things with the new flake.
First, a producer might add the flake to a compost pile. While doing so adds to a closed-loop economy, the producer ultimately absorbs a slight loss each time he or she makes his or her product, which erodes the bottom line. However, recyclability becomes an option if the resin has a high melting point, as Lastic® Bamboo Resin does.
What does Lastic® do with straw, utensil, and sheet purge? Lastic® shreds the post-production biodegradable BAMBOO products and then puts them back into its resin. The ratio is 67% original resin to 33% purge regrind. Adding the shredded purge back into the resin does not negatively affect the quality or compostability of the product. As a result, Lastic® saves money and proves that bioplastics can be recycled.
Not only does Lastic® reduce production waste, but it also reduces the increasingly shrill volume emanating from bioplastic critics' vocal cords. We aim to foment critical thinking amongst bioplastics critics so they can attack the bioplastics that deserve disparaging—like PLA.
Are you a bioplastics non-believer? We'd love to hear your reasoning. Send us a message!
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