At the beginning of April, I returned from a trip to the USA, the land of opportunity. Despite cultural similarities, the North American way of life is very different compared to a small-scale country like Austria.
Apart from the fact that everything is simply bigger in the USA - the cars, the houses, the chocolate bars, the drinks - I noticed one thing in particular: Plastic is everywhere!
In the morning at the breakfast buffet, you looked in vain for metal, ceramic or paper. Everything, but really everything was made of plastic. Even the apple shone so unnaturally that it seemed to be made of plastic.
The breakfast cereals, butter, jam etc., American food is packed in portions in plastic. The plates, cutlery, cups and, of course, the chairs and tables were all made of this highly unappealing material - polyethylene, PVC, polypropylene and whatever else they are called.
At the same time, nowhere else will you find so many products in biodegradable ("eco-friendly") plastic packaging as there.
Are these bioplastics really better? What is behind the terms "biodegradable" and "based on renewable raw materials"?
For the past 20 years, there have been global efforts to produce plastics that are not made from crude oil. These plastics are then preceded by the small and short term "bio", which in my opinion is misleading and misleading.
The term "bio", which in the food sector means organic farming and has positive connotations, is not protected and means "biobased" or "biodegradable" before the word plastic.
Biobased" refers to plastics that are partially or, in rare cases, completely made from renewable raw materials. The remaining component, however, is again a product made from crude oil.
"Biodegradable" (according to DIN EN 13432) are substances that degrade to more than 90 percent to water, carbon dioxide and biomass after a specified time under defined temperature, oxygen and moisture conditions in the presence of microorganisms or fungi.
Biodegradable plastic therefore does not have to be made from renewable raw materials and may therefore be made from 100% petroleum. Bioplastic labeling is therefore highly inadequate.
Films and packaging made from corn and potato starch are currently the most common. A major supplier of this starch is Cargill, an American seed producer that is largely owned by Monsanto. This means that packaging made from corn and potato starch cannot guarantee that the starch products do not come from genetically modified plants.
An organic bag made from genetically modified plants.
A widely used bioplastic called PLA (polyactide) is made from lactic acid, the patent for which is held by the US company DuPont, which also owns the largest seed producer Pioneer, which some people know from the Austrian documentary "We feed the World".
With these plastics, the ethical question must be asked as to whether food should be used as packaging material! In view of the fact that 870 million people are undernourished, they should be viewed very critically.
So is there really no good alternative to plastic made from crude oil, which pollutes our oceans, contaminates the soil and whose plasticizers, such as bisphenol A, make us ill?
It is important that we take a critical look at developments and consciously follow them. There are many innovations that are moving in the right direction.
Cellulose film can be made from 100% renewable wood, which is sustainably sourced and ethically harmless. Genetic engineering is also not involved here.
Biodegradable plastics should be recycled in the same way as conventional plastics because they are produced using a lot of energy. Composting them just because it is possible would be a waste.
However, it is even better to avoid plastic altogether. Far too many people still reach for the optional plastic bag in the store.
We still have a long way to go to achieve the perfect alternative packaging, but we have already taken the first steps!
