The material that comes out of the reactor—the largest of which is about a one-gallon (four-liter) metal tank—is a honeylike liquid containing a small amount of the catalyst material, which is later filtered out. Novomer develops these polymers for companies that make plastic products, including Kodak. "It's very comparable to other large-scale polymers used to make computer cases, films and bottles," Hamilton says. Novomer's plan is to use CO₂ from businesses in other industries, such as concrete manufacturers and hydrogen producers, as the company scales its production systems.

When Cambridge, Mass.–based Metabolix, Inc., formed in 1992, the bioplastics industry was built "more on hope than anything else," says co-founder and chief scientific officer, Oliver Peoples. The commercialization of bioplastics began in earnest in 2001 when Cargill, Inc., a Minneapolis-based company that provides everything from agricultural products to risk management services, launched NatureWorks, LLC, to develop biopolymers derived completely from renewable resources at a cost on par with conventional plastics.

Metabolix creates plastic pellets using microorganisms such as E. coli. "The organism takes sugar and breaks it down, and the polymer is made inside the organism," he says. Metabolix extracts the polymer and recycles the waste. The pellets can be melted down and reshaped to create a variety of plastic products.

Peoples considers other bioplastics producers to be "fellow travelers," crucial to establishing a good reputation for polymers made from biodegradable and renewable resources. Such solidarity is important, because "it'll be a long time before you'll knock petroleum-based products out of the market," he says. "The bottom line is that people need to know these biodegradable plastics are available."

Efforts to continue making oil-based plastics could be hampered by the growing price of oil, even as the public's consumption of plastic materials grows unabated. "The future need for these materials is so great," Coates says, "there's plenty of space for all of these [bioplastics] companies."

7 Comments

1. 1. ridelo 09:33 AM 11/14/07

   And from what is the epoxide made?

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2. 2. coltakashi 10:31 PM 11/14/07

   It's all well and good to find ways of turning waste materials into useful products rather than discarding them. However, biodegradable plastics are designed to return carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere. Solid wastes that go into a landfill should be as inert as rock, so they do not release toxic chemicals in inks and dies into groundwater and greenhouse gases (including potentially explosive methane) into the air. We need waste in landfills to be firm land that can be used for parks and golf courses, not create sinkholes. We have no shortage of land for landfills. The burning of waste (which Waste Management touts in its TV ads) releases greenhouse gases and particulate pollution and leaves behind toxic residues. We need to grow up from the Earth Day myths of 1970 and be smart with waste.

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3. 3. dannyuchiha 08:09 AM 7/3/08

   The upside from this new product is the fact that less land for landfill is required. On the long run, it might beneficial for our children or grandchildren. However, it is not very useful for today's problems. We still need to cut our CO2 and other greenhouse gas production.

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4. 4. jack.123 04:57 PM 10/26/09

   Correct me, but isn't there a huge amount of plastic in the middle of the Pacific just waiting to be picked up,and recycled.

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5. 5. 4TimesAYear 01:24 PM 10/26/10

   "an emerging industry is trying to polish plastic's environmentally tarnished image by using waste products such as carbon dioxide and Escherichia coli bacteria to make biodegradable and renewable polymers."
   
   False premise. Plastic is already biodegradable. Anyone who thinks it isn't ought to park their car in the sun for a few years. Trust me, it doesn't take long for it to turn to powder.
   

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6. 6. 4TimesAYear in reply to coltakashi 01:35 PM 10/26/10

   Plastic is already biodegradable (try using your leaf filled garbage bags for insulation around the foundation of your house and see what happens when you pick it up in the Spring)
   There is no rhyme or reason to landfill law. What I find odd is that leaves, brush, etc., is not allowed in landfills, but lumber is. Here, our city also burns brush when it could be used to build up the soil and help speed up the decomposition rate of other garbage. They also allow human waste in landfills (used baby diapers) That's just not safe.

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7. 7. ellahaskin 03:57 PM 11/19/12

   I love that the adults of the world are starting to care a little bit about the environment. My generation grew up totally spoiled and throwing all kinds of recyclable materials in the trash. I think there are more things we can do to be cost-efficient and help the environment. I know that this past year we had <a href="http://www.enerliv.ca/home-insulation-services.php">insulation</a> put into our home to keep our heat in. Honestly, I think being more efficient the first go around will help big time in the long run. But I love that we are now trying to recycle pollution and turn it back into plastic that we can re-use. Too cool.

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