Our straw manufacturing line will hit the port of Houston and be delivered on the 26th.
We are very excited @puravidabioplastics
“Market demand for bioplastics is ballooning, with global industrial output predicted to reach 2.62 million tonnes annually by 2023… that’s only one percent of the 335 million tones of conventional plastics produced every year.”
The English metallurgist Alexander Parkes never saw the widespread realization of his spectacular 19th-century invention, celluloid, the first plastic. While a revolutionary breakthrough, Parkesine, as it was called, was expensive and brittle. It was used in objects like buttons and combs, but ultimately quality control issues led Parkes’ company to bankruptcy in 1868 just 12 years after the discovery.
Parkesine, however, was also the first bioplastic—a plastic made from renewable plant material instead of fossil fuels. And today with the environmental impact of plastics increasingly on the public mind, bioplastics are making a big comeback. They’re proposed by some as the solution to beaches deluged with plastic and fish bellies stuffed with bottle caps. And perhaps bioplastics can replace oil-based polymers that commonly trash oceans with materials that can break down more easily and would protect a planet already smothered in these resilient substances.
Bioplastic items already exist, of course, but whether they’re actually better for the environment or can truly compete with traditional plastics is complicated. Some bioplastics aren’t much better than fossil fuel-based polymers. And for the few that are less injurious to the planet, cost and social acceptance may stand in the way. Even if widespread adoption of bioplastics occurs down the line, it won’t be a quick or cheap fix. In the meantime, there is also some pollution caused by bioplastics themselves to consider. Even if bioplastics are often less damaging than the status quo, they aren’t a flawless solution.
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Cities coast to coast are banning, taxing or boycotting traditional single-use plastic straws in an effort to reduce waste and protect the environment. Yet consumers love using straws. What’s an operator to do?
There are frequent announcements from food service venues making plans to replace traditional plastic straws with alternative options that still allow consumers to conveniently enjoy a beverage. This follows consumers’ growing desire for sustainability – 53% of consumers say it’s important that a restaurant has environmentally friendly practices in place, according to Technomic’s 2017 Value & Pricing Consumer Trend Report.
Some consumers want to play an active role in their journey of environmental stewardship by buying reusable straws, but there are drawbacks to using these types of straws. There’s some concern that stainless-steel straws may contain toxic chemicals such as lead. Glass straws add elegance to any dining table, but they’re not safe to use for kids or for travel. Even popular single-use alternatives have drawbacks. Paper straws, for example, often become mushy and collapse.
Manufacturers are working hard to make straws that meet both operator and consumer preferences and needs—straws that are functional and help to achieve environmental sustainability goals.
Biodegradable straws have the advantage of being cost-effective and performing similarly to traditional straws. This means that biodegradable straws are not only seen as being environmentally friendly, they’re friendly to an operator’s budget as well.
Consumers like using biodegradable straws because it makes them feel that they’re helping to curb waste. According to Technomic’s Value & Pricing report, one-fifth of consumers say that service and amenities at a restaurant contribute to the value of their purchase, and offering biodegradable straws can contribute to that perception of value.
Vio® biodegradable* straws by WinCup answer the call for better options. Available in the two most popular sizes—7.75 inches and 10.25 inches—they perform like traditional plastic straws, with the added assurance of biodegrading 88.5% over 7 years*.
For more information about the complete line of Vio® biodegradable* straws, stirrers, lids, foam cups and foam containers that help operators and consumers stay committed to their sustainability goals, visit WinCup today.
If we’ve learned anything from the current attention on straws, it’s that every decision matters.
Read More: https://www.foodservicedirector.com/operations/biodegradable-straws-help-achieve-sustainability-goals
You may already be trying to cut down on your plastic usage because the material doesn’t biodegrade and it can pollute the planet for hundreds of years. But there’s another reason you might want to stay away.
A new study finds that plastics release many more toxic chemicals throughout their life cycle than previously thought, posing significant risks to both people and the planet. Until now, only a small number of these chemicals have been properly studied. But the new paper published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology provides the most comprehensive database of chemicals in plastic, and offers a terrifying look into just how harmful the material may be.
The team of researchers, led by Stefanie Hellweg, a professor of ecological systems design at the Swiss university ETH Zurich, identified a whopping 10,500 chemicals in the plastics they studied. The team spent two and a half years studying a wide variety of plastic products, using scientific, regulatory, and industry databases to identify all the chemicals contained within them. They then cross-referenced these chemicals with scientific databases that identified whether the chemicals were hazardous, benign, or not adequately studied.
Of these chemicals, about a quarter—2,480—were “substances of potential concern,” which means there is some evidence to indicate they are harmful. In some cases, the chemicals are known to be toxic to aquatic life, cancer-causing, or damaging to specific organs. In others, the chemicals can accumulate in humans and animals, causing problems such as memory loss over time.
Laura Leebrick, a manager at Rogue Disposal & Recycling in southern Oregon, is standing on the end of its landfill watching an avalanche of plastic trash pour out of a semitrailer: containers, bags, packaging, strawberry containers, yogurt cups.
None of this plastic will be turned into new plastic things. All of it is buried.
“To me that felt like it was a betrayal of the public trust,” she said. “I had been lying to people … unwittingly.”
Rogue, like most recycling companies, had been sending plastic trash to China, but when China shut its doors two years ago, Leebrick scoured the U.S. for buyers. She could find only someone who wanted white milk jugs. She sends the soda bottles to the state.
But when Leebrick tried to tell people the truth about burying all the other plastic, she says people didn’t want to hear it.
“I remember the first meeting where I actually told a city council that it was costing more to recycle than it was to dispose of the same material as garbage,” she says, “and it was like heresy had been spoken in the room: You’re lying. This is gold. We take the time to clean it, take the labels off, separate it and put it here. It’s gold. This is valuable.”
Read More: Here