Polypropylene is recyclable
Experts tell us that the most desirable destination for plastics is recycling, as it saves resources, avoids waste and creates jobs. However, recycling plastics is what we do the least, and it is not clear to us whether all plastics are truly recyclable.
To recycle plastics, each one would have to be separated and treated properly. But despite the yellow garbage cans, we all have serious doubts that the fate of the plastics we civically deposit in them will result in proper recycling.
Plastics can be recycled in 3 different ways: either by using a plastic to make products from that same plastic (for example, recycling PET bottles into new PET bottles), or using a plastic to make a different product (for example, using PET to make fabrics, or transforming bags into plastic granulate that can be used to make other products), or breaking the plastic polymer into monomers to make new polymers (this is the most expensive and least used method).
Polypropylene is environmentally friendly
Another aspect of the research led by Suzana deals with the development of food trays made from cassava starch and reinforced with nanocomposites. “We have used nanoclays, which are powders produced by the decomposition of volcanic ashes, in a concentration between 2.5% and 5%, mixed with vegetable fibers,” says the researcher, who is testing several formulations with different concentrations. The time the material remains in the environment varies according to conditions. “When subjected to fairly high humidity, some materials degraded completely in 45 days,” says the researcher. The project, entitled Application of nanocomposites in the development of biodegradable food packaging, is part of the Young Researchers in Nanotechnology program, issued by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
When used as a ground cover, the film is used to protect vegetables, fruits and flowers from direct contact with the soil. It also prevents the development of weeds that compete with production.
Polypropylene uses
FieldEmiliano Huergo – November 7, 2021COP26: closer to the Paris goals, the private sector leads and Argentina hid its best versionThe promises of the leaders for the first time place us within the objectives of the Paris Agreement. A decarbonization that comes led by the private sector, which represents an opportunity for Argentina, but which needs to show what good it does.
As global regulations on the use of disposable products are becoming stricter, especially in the European Union, this material could quickly reach the industries of plastic bags, disposable cups, foams, mask filters, and all those applications where there is a growing demand for biodegradable materials.
Recently, LG Chem received confirmation that more than 90% of the new material decomposed in 120 days, according to the biodegradable industrial certification standards of the German international certification agency for biodegradable materials ‘DIN CERTCO’.
Polypropylene is a pollutant
Fortunately, people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of caring for the environment and reducing the waste we produce. For this purpose, biodegradable plastics were born, which seem to be the solution to the great global crisis of plastic pollution, but is everything as advantageous as it seems at first glance? If you want to know more about biodegradable plastics: what they are and types, be sure to read this article from EcologíaVerde, we explain it in detail!
OXObiodegradable plastics are not well regarded by the Ellen McArthur Foundation, which defends the circular economy, because there is no scientific evidence that microplastics take less time to degrade than a common plastic. What you are doing is simply making it more difficult to clean and remove plastic from ecosystems.