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How much plastic do you use a day? Plastic is all around us! It is in our water bottles, food wrappers and shopping bags; when we perform breast cancer surgeries on 100 milligram of gloves everyday. It is so ingrained in us that we take it for granted without a second thought. However, did you know that a large amount of this plastic does not biodegrade? This means it can be in the environment for a long, LOOOOONG time (hundreds of years sometimes!) It is a long time for something to be trapped in our world. That is why scientists are working so hard to find alternatives more friendly than conventional plastics. They only seem to care about saving our planet!
One of the better alternatives is this polylactic acid, or PLA. This stuff is constructed from biodegradable gadgets much like corn and sugarcane. This is the renewable plants, as many of these can be grown again and others. Polylactic acid decomposes more quickly than common plastic when it is thrown away. This is really good news! That to mean, if it ends up in a landfill or the sea — sureounds will causing less harm. It will degrade into safe materials even faster than normal plastic.
If you think of cups in a coffee shop, for instance- some are now made from polylactic acid and not regular plastic. These cups have a great taste & are compostable. Composting is recycling of organic materials so they may breakdown naturally to become compost which will help you grow plants. This is far better for the environment than using cups that will never decompose and just lay in some landfill somewhere for centuries.
Polylactic acid and other biodegradables have a lot of fans because these materials promise to allow us live in more earth friendly ways. It is a nice feeling to realise that we can make good choices for the environment! We will see more products being made biodegradable as awareness of highly polluting ways becomes greater. Which is huge news for the health of our planet!
