Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research from scientists at UC San Diego and Algenesis shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade — even at the microplastic level — in under seven months.
Sending plastic to the landfill that doesn’t decompose anaerobically is essentially the same as sending regular plastic. Also, using shitty material that has a shorter shelf life also means it allows for planned obsolescence for items you wouldn’t have thought was possible. For instance that can allow companies to put best use by dates on a refrigerator, home insulation, soles on shoes etc. For single use items it would make it so stock would be thrown out if not consumed more frequently. We would end up sending even more plastic to the landfills.
Sending plastic to the landfill that doesn’t decompose anaerobically is essentially the same as sending regular plastic. Also, using shitty material that has a shorter shelf life also means it allows for planned obsolescence for items you wouldn’t have thought was possible. For instance that can allow companies to put best use by dates on a refrigerator, home insulation, soles on shoes etc. For single use items it would make it so stock would be thrown out if not consumed more frequently. We would end up sending even more plastic to the landfills.