October 1, 1999. Copyright 1999. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

GREEN GOLD FROM YELLOW FIELDS

LONDON, October 1, Graphic News: ÒIÕVE GOT one word for you, kid: plastics.Ó That was the advice given to Dustin HoffmanÕs terrified character in the 1967 film ÒThe Graduate.Ó And how right he was. Plastics are everywhere and are so durable that they will clog trash heaps for thousands of years.
But now petro-chemicals Ð the raw products of conventional plastics Ð could be replaced with fields of genetically-modified oilseed rape, corn and sugar, producing ÒbiodegradableÓ plastics.
These new Òenvironmentally friendlyÓplastics have the advantage that, unlike petroleum-based plastics, they are made from renewable resources. 
However industrial commercialisation of agriculture requires genetically modified crops that are as standard in quality and chemical characteristics as the oil-based chemicals that they are to replace.
Critics of GM remained opposed to any use of the technology in agriculture. ÒThereÕs a huge amount of research needed before anything should be contemplated that involves letting GM out into the environment,Ó said Friends of the Earth campaigner Pete Riley.
Worldwide biodegradable polymer consumption reached 31 million pounds/year in 1996 and is projected to reach 150 million pounds/year by 2001. Most of this growth is expected in Europe where landfilling regulations, recycling fees and development of composting is spurring the demand for biodegradable polymers.
Biotechnology leader Monsanto recently announced that its scientists can produce plastic from GM oilseed rape but admits itÕs at least a decade away from commercialisation.
Monsanto is not alone in looking at plastic from agricultural crops. AustraliaÕs A$1 billion a year raw-sugar industry is moving to follow Brazilian researchers into a new industry producing biodegradable plastic from sugar cane.
In America corn has become the Ògreen goldÓ of commercialisation, with 20 percent of the annual nine billion bushel, $20 billion crop being used as industrial raw product.
Minnesota-based Cargill Dow Polymers manufactures polylactic-acid polymers from fermented corn-sugar. The companyÕs Minneapolis plant makes about 20 million pounds of PLA polymers which are used in biodegradable plastic packing.
Fast-food giant, McDonaldÕs, has now introduced biodegradable cutlery in North America. Biocorp of Columbus, Ohio produces reSourceWareª which has been in use in McDonald restaurants in Austria, Germany, and Sweden since 1997.
Nearly 113 billion disposable cups, 39 billion disposable eating utensils and 29 billion disposable plates are used in the U.S. every year, and half these items are made of plastic.
Sceptics suggest that plant-based plastics may not pass the Òlife-cycleÓ test for green-ness. Friends of the Earth say the process of turning plants into plastic is so energy-intensive that it causes more pollution than making plastics from petrochemicals.
Furthermore you canÕt just dump them in a landfill and forget about them. To biodegrade them to carbon dioxide and water requires a specially-built composting centre Ð and these are few and far between except in parts of Europe.
/ENDS
Sources: Nature, Reuters, The Economist