How many people today grab a takeaway coffee cup from the local cafe to drink on the go? We don’t know, but the number must be enormous.. Most every one of the above have a plastic top that will last 100s of years. Some cafes still use plastic cups that last a similar time. Is 10 minutes of coffee worth 100s of years of trash?
These items can be seen littering our gutters and on our streets all over the place. If they were all cardboard, they would still be littered, but they would, at least, be gone in a short time.
They do not need to be made of plastic.
On the way home from the gym last week, a distance of about 1 km (1/2 mile), I counted the items of plastic litter on the curb as I walked. In that short distance I counted 63 pieces of plastic litter. Plastic drink bottles, bottle tops, candy wrappers, plastic film, polystyrene fragments etc. That seemed to be a lot to me. I guess it is a generational thing. Our parents would have been horrified to see that amount, whereas it seems to go unnoticed by our youth of today. In another 20 years how many pieces will there be on this stretch, -- 200? What will today’s youth think of that new amount then when they are older? Will their children be so readily accepting of a higher amount of litter? Home composting of biodegradable plastics on Environmental Expert
Posted on July 4, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsHome composting of biodegradable plastics on Environmental Expert.
ASTM International Committee D20 on Plastics is currently developing a new standard, WK35342, Specification for Home Composting of Biodegradable Plastics.
“Home composting reduces the amount of volume of trash for curbside collection and associated landfill fees,” says Whitehouse. “Municipalities have the same interest since their served costs are reduced from less trash collection and landfill options.
“Education is equally important, because the home consumer may have very little knowledge regarding plastic materials that can be biodegraded through the home composting process, hence they need to have the packaging marked by the brand owners so that items can be distinguished from non-biodegradable materials.”
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