Researchers invent 100% biodegradable 'barley plastic'

When news is announced like this the focus is always on biodegradable. They already make biodegradable plastic from corn. But it has two problems: it is more expensive and has a rough finish which isn't as desirable as a smooth shiny surface.

Here in Michigan we have been trying to find a use for sugar beet waste for over forty years. Nothing has ever really caught on. Very little barley is grown however in the state but I guess there could be if this proves to be competitive with regular plastic. In fact Northern Michigan which has too short a growing season for corn would be an ideal candidate.

No one ever talks about paper bags. Growing up that's all we ever used and it was easily biodegradable. But stores went with the cheaper solution.

And how is it ensured it does not partially degrade beyond use in well use? The balance is kinda big question. I do not want some material protecting food do degrade before best by date. Or in storage if I forget it there for few months.

will this end up on the pile of other biodegradable plastic/plastic alternatives that we don't use as they are marginally more expensive. like the chitin bioplastic developed a few years back or the mycelium based bioplastic or the cellulose based...

and more all barely used.

how about we go back to what we used before single use plastic? waxed paper wrappers, small wicker punnet baskets for fruit burlap sacks for vegetables, infinitely recyclable glass and metal beverage container.

Isn't there this tension between "useful as a food package / eating utensil" and "harmful as trash"? You want something that is just biodegradeable enough that it doesn't become a forever problem, but not biodegradeable enough that it mixes with food or becomes useless as a food container.

The worst offender is compostable bags: They can hold trash for about 1 day before they become the trash.

Can it be used for medical products such as syringes and vials? Is research being done there?

I had a close relative admitted in hospital for 2 weeks and I saw them use and throw so much plastic like I have never seen before; think 100 gallon bucket of plastic. I am not discounting the benefits plastics have brought to medicine such as hygiene, but I am concerned its environmental impact.

I also understand that industrial plastic waste is probably an order of magnitude greater than that in medicine.

But I am curious what sort of test a biodegradable/sustainable plastic would need to stand for it to replace traditional plastics.

The most biodegradable plastic is the one that is never produced

What's the use case for plastic that degrades? I mean we humans know when we're done with it, but surely it's going to interact with environmental triggers.

I understand the benefit of not having plastic in landfills and not making it from fossil fuels! My question is "when could I depend on something using this plastic?"

The burning question, is how affordable is this material? That’s why we use plastics to begin with.

Also see the proposed EU regulation on packaging and packaging waste.[1][2] It aims to "bring clarity to consumers and industry on biobased, compostable and biodegradable plastics".[3] In the US we have companies like BPI and ASTM. :/

[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/AUTO/?uri=celex:5...

[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/procedure/EN/2022_396

[3] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_...

Sounds rather similar to PLA, corn based plastic:

https://www.treehugger.com/pros-cons-corn-based-plastic-pla-...

Found out about wheat based plastic when I bought some reusable food storage containers. This was not clearly labelled but instead a smalltext on the back of the package.

As a person with an extreme gluten allergy, I freaked out and had to return it before even trying.

If any plastics manufacturers see this, and you use barley, wheat, or any other gluten containing material (like rye), please also include a "Certified Gluten Free" seal when your processing plant has been verified to be safe. Otherwise I can't use your product.

Chemical leeching is a big issue with all plastics, afaik. That is, they leech chemicals that are not fit for human consumption in trace amounts into food.

I heard that a researcher investigated many bioplastics and other better plastics and found that none of them improved on this issue. They did in fact face enmity when enquiring about the matter. I don't have a source for this unfortunately.

I'd be very interested to see if this barley plastic improves on the issue.

If the plastic is made from renewable plant material and has no other environmental impact, why does it need to biodegrade? Can't you just bury it without fear of contaminating water or relasing microplastics? And won't that effectively sequester carbon?

they should call it barely plastic :)

They don't say on what order it is biodegradable. Is it a week? That would be useless for its use as a disposable carrier for food, beverages, etc; these are the things that are polluting our world on a large scale. Or is it a decade?

It's nice that this seems to address the problem of microplastics, but how about the other problems associated with plastics? Phthalates/endocrine disruptors/bisphenol?

Looking forward to never hearing anything about this again.

Isn't "biodegradable" one of those terms that translates to "turns into microplastics after 3 months in industrial composter"?

The issue is China. Most of Europe and USA have laws that disuade single use plastics.

In China where you can get door to door delivery for a single cup of bubble tea that includes, a plastic cup, lid, straw, and spoon, plastic holder to keep the cup upright , thermal bag to keep the bubble tea cold , and another bag for the delivery guy to hand carry. It’s fucking bonkers the amount of waste they produce.

It's good that there is research in this area but I always doubt whether it can be scaled up to a meaningful level without doing other damage. In the end I think we need to work more on reduction and reuse even if it's mildly less convenient.

Can't wait to never hear about this ever again

Hot take, plant origin plastics should be deliberately engineered to be non biodegradable so we can lock that carbon up in a landfill instead of releasing it back into the atmosphere

This is no different to creating a ‘Nut plastic’ and advocating to use it to package food

Totally ignoring the rights to safety people with severe gluten and nut allergies have.

We won’t tolerate this. We won’t stand for it.

People with life threatening allergies and potential to get injuries (crohns) will not allow this to become standard practice

Most labelled gluten free food is not gluten free. Its just under a specific threshold. It still makes many people very ill if they eat it.

Wonder how gluten-free Danes feel about this tech.

I'm incredibly pro-tech as a rule, but my first reaction here was a groan. We'll probably be forced to use plastic replacements that are 100x more expensive and come with a new set of problems.

I hate it with a fiery passion when environmentalism is disconnected from numbers.