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Starch-based bioplastic that is said to be biodegradable and sustainable is potentially as toxic as petroleum-based plastic, and can cause similar health problems, new peer-reviewed research finds.
Bioplastics have been heralded as the future of plastic because it breaks down quicker than petroleum-based plastic, and is often made from plant-based material such as corn starch, rice starch or sugar.
The material is often used in fast fashion clothing, wet wipes, straws, cutlery and a range of other products. The new research found damage to organs, changes to the metabolism, gut microbe imbalances that can lead to cardiovascular disease, and changes to glucose levels, among other health issues.
The authors say their study is the first to confirm “adverse effects of long-term exposure” in mice.
It does mean no petroleum was used to make the plastic, which is one environmentally-friendly aspect.
That’s incorrect, making things from crops that use farms which could be wildlife habitat and use oil based fertilizers and pesticides isn’t necessarily better or emit less net co2. It may in some cases be better but just like corn based ethanol it can also increase food shortages and depending on where it’s grown be worse than just using oil.
oil from the ground is a limited resource, farmland is relatively plentiful (more importantly governments want enough to feed more than their own people domestically even if the people won’t ever want that much corn in their diet).
That’s also incorrect. Oil is effectively unlimited, in the sense that we will stop using it on a large scale within the next 2-3 decades and after that demand will be lower than supply, the same situation we have with coal now.
And farmland is not plentiful at all, even though most of the world is covered in farmland it is always in short supply. That’s why Brazil farmers cut down and burn rainforest for farmland to feed cattle, or cut down orangutan habitat to grow palm oil. There is a 1:1 relationship between farmland and habitat for animals.
In what fantasy world do we stop using it large scale for any reason other than supply dries up? Freight ships run on oil, planes run on oil, both do not have economically viable alternatives yet. Cars run on oil and it will take more than 2-3 decades until 95%+ of global cars are EVs. Plastic currently uses around 10% of global oil supply, so even if everything else drops to 0 we still need a lot.
Demand will decrease at a gradual and then rapid pace while there will be plenty of production even with decreased levels of oil exploration. I didn’t say none, only that supply will exceed demand.
It barely makes it that far.