Environmentally-friendly bioplastics

The Manila Times

Environmentally-friendly bioplastics  The volume of plastic waste continues to grow and has become a significant global environmental problem. Japanese companies are seeking solutions, with bioplastics being one promising recent development. We visit a Tokyo-based chemicals company that took a naturally-occurring microbe and developed its ability to completely break down plastics in seawater or soil. A drawback has been that bioplastics are not easy to manufacture in complex shapes, so another Japanese company used its expertise in making metal molds to overcome this problem, significantly enhancing the versatility of this eco-material.  VIDEO BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net  Follow us: Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion  Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital  Check out our Podcasts: Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein  #TheManilaTimes #DailyNews #Japan #Bioplastics #Tokyo #Environment #Plastics #Microbe #Chemicals

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:07 Durable and easy to process into any kind of product,

00:14 plastic has become an essential part of modern life.

00:21 The problem is disposal.

00:25 Each year the world discards 300 million tons of plastic.

00:30 That's twice as much as 20 years ago.

00:36 Despite progress with recycling, nearly 80 percent still goes to landfill or is

00:40 dumped in the ocean.

00:44 Plastic floating in the sea degrades into micro particles that are hazardous

00:48 for marine life.

00:50 Entering the food chain, it may pose a threat to human health too.

00:57 Looking for ways to help solve the issue,

01:00 this chemicals company developed a groundbreaking new kind of plastic.

01:06 This is a kind of bioplastic that's completely biodegradable in soil and

01:11 seawater.

01:14 What's unique about it

01:15 is that it's made with a microbe that already exists in nature.

01:21 To put it simply, these microbes eat oil

01:24 and store it in their bodies as an energy source.

01:28 It's similar to the way our bodies store fat.

01:33 Feeding plant oils to the microbes causes them to produce a special kind of

01:37 polymer.

01:39 Polymers are the raw materials of all plastics.

01:46 This polymer can be used to manufacture a wide range of products.

01:52 If these products end up in the ocean, because they were originally made by

01:56 microbes as a nutrient source,

01:58 they're also edible by other microbes in the sea.

02:02 In the end, the plastic breaks down into water and carbon dioxide.

02:06 These are the effects of seawater on a straw made from this material.

02:13 It returns to nature in about six months.

02:19 Development began about thirty years earlier.

02:22 At first, the microbes produced only very small amounts of polymer,

02:26 not enough for practical use.

02:30 It took many years,

02:32 but eventually they increased the microbes' output enough to mass-produce the polymer.

02:38 The microbes we had developed now had the capacity to be one hundred times

02:42 more productive than microbes found in nature.

02:46 They had found a way to manufacture bioplastics that would completely

02:49 break down in seawater.

02:52 The first products made with this bioplastic include drinking straws

02:56 and containers for cosmetics.

03:03 Other kinds of bioplastics are inspiring products that were never possible before.

03:10 This bioplastic, made from starches like corn,

03:13 can withstand temperatures of one hundred and forty degrees Celsius.

03:20 This special quality inspired a metal mold manufacturer to create a new product.

03:26 They developed a set of tableware for infants.

03:30 This material doesn't harm health or the environment.

03:34 That's two ways it's ensuring a safe future for children.

03:39 This bioplastic has one problem.

03:41 It's difficult to form into complex shapes.

03:45 But the company's advanced molding technologies provided a solution.

03:53 It let them make bowls just the right depth for baby food,

03:57 with infant-friendly handles.

04:01 And they're microwave safe, too.

04:04 It's the first product of its kind anywhere in the world.

04:08 Overseas firms are showing great interest, especially in Europe.

04:14 If this technology and products like this become adopted worldwide,

04:18 I think it will make an enormous contribution to the global environment.

04:24 Our world faces tremendous environmental issues.

04:27 But Japanese technology is continuously coming up with ideas to ensure our global future.

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