Earthshell Opens First Bioplastic Factory in Missouri
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 04.20.06
Yesterday, the first factory dedicated to manufacturing EarthShell´s biodegradable packaging products opened in Missouri. Senator Christopher S. ''Kit'' Bond cut the ribbon on the factory. EarthShell is a proprietary composite made from natural limestone and starch from potatoes, wheat or corn. The new packaging poses substantially fewer risks to wildlife than polystyrene foam packaging because it biodegradable when exposed to moisture in nature, physically disintegrates in water when crushed or broken, and can be composted in a commercial facility. EarthShell dinnerware is now being sold in Schnuck Markets in the Midwest and Smart & Final stores on the West Coast and will soon be available in other areas. :: Earthshell via Business Wire
Biodegradable is all good.. but do they have a recycling system for it? and is it convenient? if i need to drive miles to get this packaging recycled would anyone do it? and if i do drive miles to recycle this the gas i consumed will cause more environmental impact than to recycle the packaging.
you also have to take into account that when you throw stuff in the garbage bin it goes to the landfill, and it will not be exposed to water or moisture when it is under million tones of garbage.
What's the environmental damage from mining for limestone though? I'm glad it's biodegradable, but "natural" doesn't always equal good.
I hope that the above environemtal issues can be worked out because I am glad to see any product that reduces the consumption of petroleum.(polystyrene=petrol by-products) Hopefully it will be another blow for independance from oil.
I for one am excited. I compost, so it will be nice to just break it up and drop it in the heap with the leftovers. Can't wait to see it.
And I don't know about the process, but we get a lot of lime in our water - I expect it isn't the massive excavation of limestone that is in our minds. We'll see.
Can't wait to see this product in restaurants, etc.!
I read their biodegradation studies. This stuff will break down in 60-90 days even if left lying on a parking lot or grass lawn. And it does break down a good bit buried in a traditional landfill. You can also compost it in a backyard compost pile.
I guess the real problem is that most communties simply dump everything in the landfill, the worst option for this stuff. So if your community does this, you'd have to compost it yourself.