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RE-USABLE ALTERNATIVES TO CLINGFILM – Sustainable(ish)

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Clingfilm, or plastic wrap, or cling wrap, or saran wrap, or whatever you like to call it - the thin stretchy stuff that sticks to itself food wrap that has become a ubiquitous part of packed lunches and fridges everywhere.In fact, unwrapping sandwiches wrapped in clingfilm is now a compulsory part of the pre-school curriculum*.

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Your Kitchen Doesn't Need Plastic Cling Wrap

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Your Kitchen Doesn't Need Plastic Cling Wrap

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I don't remember the last time I bought plastic cling wrap. If I had to estimate, it's been close to a decade, around when I started working for Treehugger and thinking about the environmental impact of single-use plastics.

I haven't missed it. There was an adjustment period at first when I had to figure out how to store leftovers differently, but once I got the hang of it, I never really thought about cling wrap again-until my aunt pulled some out at Christmas and I watched in amazement as she covered dishes to stash in the fridge. I'd forgotten that's what people do!

Living without cling wrap isn't hard once you figure out some alternatives. Here's how I manage.

Amass a collection of containers for storing leftovers. This does require an extra step of transferring food from the dish you cooked or served it in to a sealed container with a lid. (My aunt does not have such a collection, hence the reliance on cling wrap.)

Whenever I'm in a thrift store, I check the kitchen wares section and have been able to build a good collection of glass Pyrex containers with sturdy plastic snap-on lids. I also buy extras so that if I'm ever giving food away, I can put it in a thrifted container and not worry about needing it back because it cost so little.

Mason jars work well, too, and empty pickle or pasta sauce jars that have been washed out. Make sure you have a wide funnel to make pouring easier and cleaner-and the right-sized lids. All leftover cooking liquids, like diced tomatoes and coconut milk, get transferred to jars if I haven't used the full amount in the can but know I can soon.

If I need to freeze something, like a half-can of tomato paste, I put a bit of parchment or foil over the top of the aluminum can, wrap an elastic around it, and stick it in the freezer. It thaws quickly in a dish of hot water. I also freeze surplus food in old, clean yogurt containers, though I'm careful not to add hot or acidic foods or thaw in hot water to avoid leaching chemicals.

If you can't be bothered with transferring food to containers or there's too much of it, you can cover serving dishes with upside-down dinner plates and stash in the fridge. Sometimes I use a tea towel to cover a bowl if I'm not concerned about something drying out-or I combine a tea towel with a dinner plate to provide an extra barrier.

Keep some sturdy ziplock bags on hand. I have the same three or four large bags that I've been reusing for the past year. I wash them with hot soapy water and dry between uses. They're a good substitute for cling wrap whenever I need to keep something sealed that doesn't fit into a container, like some discs of pie pastry that need to chill overnight. Sometimes I use an elastic to hold a ziplock or grocery bag over a bowl of slow-rising bread dough to prevent it from getting a dry crust, or I'll flip a mixing bowl over a serving plate that's holding something large, like a leftover birthday cake.

If I have to transport something like a quiche in a pie plate, I'll slide it into a clean grocery bag and tie it tightly to keep it sealed.

For packing sandwiches in my kids' lunches, I use stainless steel containers. In a pinch, a beeswax wrap or parchment paper will do, or a clean milk bag. (We live in Canada where milk is sold in bags that can be washed, dried, and reused indefinitely.)

When I have bits and pieces of food hanging around, like small chunks of cheese or peeled ginger root or extra cloves of garlic, they go into containers or clear glass ramekins with plastic lids so I can see what's there.

Partially cut fruits and vegetables-like half a lemon, green pepper, or melon-I put upside down on a plate in the fridge where it's the first thing I see every time I open the door; this helps me remember to use it quickly. I do the same with onions and have not had an issue with the smell, though it's never in there for more than a day and I make sure the cut side is down.

Other people I know swear by silicone food bags and stretchy lid covers, but I don't have much experience with those. I prefer to use what I have, as it does the job, saves money, and reduces clutter in the kitchen.

Cling wrap is not going to make or break the plastic pollution crisis-admittedly, there are far bigger sources of plastic waste out there-but it's one of those simple things that you can learn to live without quite easily. Commit to not buying it anymore and you'll figure out alternatives as you go.

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Your Kitchen Doesn't Need Plastic Cling Wrap

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You don't need cling wrap in the kitchen. Here are some tips on how to store food without relying on this single-use plastic and embracing zero waste.

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We live in a world of convenience and " throwaway culture."

Think about it: Straws, plastic bags, water bottles, cellophane food wrapping and Styrofoam containers are an entire class of products engineered for micro-lifespans. In other words, they populate our landfills after the briefest of uses. What's more, their low price points utterly fail to account for the true "net cost" of production, which includes resource extraction, the energy required to manufacture, and both international and domestic shipping.

At Tru Earth, one of our core values is the idea that "little hinges swing big doors." We believe that small actions can amount to big change. Small actions, habits and purchase decisions, like swapping out these single-use disposable items for more durable kitchen goods, can make a big-maybe even a radical-difference.

20. Beeswax food wrap...instead of plastic wrap and sandwich bags

Welling Media

Beeswax food wrap is made of a fabric-most often cotton-which has been coated with a layer of food-grade beeswax, rosin (a form of plant resin), and coconut or jojoba oils. The result is a flexible yet grippable, tacky textile which can be used as a Cellophane substitute. Use it to wrap partially consumed cheese, fruit and vegetables, as a temporary container lid or to transport sandwiches and other dry-prepared foods or snacks. When taken care of, one beeswax food wrap can last 150 to 250 uses, or about a year. Disposal is easy-just toss it in the compost or organics bin.

19. A bento box lunchbox...instead of paper bags and plastic baggies

Ditch the sandwich bags and paper bag entirely with a bento box lunchbox. Another upside? You won't have to tote (and clean) multiple lunch containers. For lunches containing leftovers that need to be reheated, we recommend one made of wheat straw (a hardy yet compostable natural plastic) or glass. For meals that won't be microwaved, this stainless steel lunchbox boasts a leak-proof lid.

18. Bamboo utensils...instead of plastic forks and knives

When dining on the go, it's incredibly hard to resist using plastic utensils. Compostable alternates are more expensive for food purveyors to provide to their customers, so they can be hard to come by. Owning a bamboo cutlery set means never being stranded without a spoon. Tip: Look for a set that comes in a handy carrying case so you won't misplace items between home and the office.

17. Stainless steel straws...instead of plastic straws

It's 2020 and truly, no one needs to be drinking from a plastic straw. We don't much care for paper or bamboo straws which fall apart quickly. Instead, we prefer stainless steel straws for their durability, dishwasher-safe construction (they will not rust) and zero aftertaste.

16. Reusable bags...instead of plastic grocery bags

BYOB-that's bring-your-own-bag-has been a popular idea for years now with most shops selling their own branded totes. Sturdy, reusable grocery bags are easier on the hands than strained, awkward plastic bags, especially for apartment dwellers who must travel multiple storeys between the parkade and their front door.

For those with big families who drive to the grocery store, reusable and even collapsible bins and crates are a clever solution.

A simple European-style string market bag is as fashionable as it is convenient. Toss one in the bottom of a purse; it takes minimal room and you'll always have a bag on hand.

Wait, are reusable bags better for the environment?

In 2018, Denmark's Ministry of Food and Environment published a study titled Lifecycle Assessment of Grocery Carrier Bags, comparing the environmental impacts of plastic, paper, polyester and cotton shopping bags. It revealed that generally, "with regards to production and disposal," commonly found low-density polyethylene bags have the "overall lowest environmental impacts for most environmental indicators."

The study found that you'd have to reuse a paper bag 43 times before offsetting the environmental costs of manufacturing it. For a recycled PET tote bag it is 84 times and shockingly, a conventional cotton tote needs to be used 7,100 times.

The bottom line:
What should consumers do? According to this The Atlantic article, "Ecologically speaking, the best practice for tote bags might be one of two extremes: use them all the time, or not at all."

15. Make your own cleaning products & store them in refillable bottles

The household cleaners that line the shelves of grocery stores often contain a laundry list of undisclosed ingredients and according to one study, a little over half contain ingredients that are known to be harmful to the lungs. What's more, these products are all wrapped or stored in plastic bottles and jugs.

The good news? A very simple list of simple, even food-grade, ingredients do the trick for most household messes-safely, cheaply and effectively. All you'll need to get started is white vinegar, Castile soap, baking soda, lemons and reusable amber glass spray bottles.

Read: 35 Easy Eco-Friendly Home Cleaning Hacks You Wish You'd Known Sooner

14. Dishwashing blocks...instead liquid dish soap

No Tox Life

From soap to laundry detergent to all-purpose cleaners, an overwhelming volume of the liquid products found in our homes is accounted for by water. Liquids, of course, must be stored in plastic or glass containers and are heavier to ship than their concentrated counterparts, resulting in added environmental emissions. A better alternative is purchasing goods in distilled, bar, block or strip format and then adding the water yourself-starting in an unlikely place: Your kitchen sink.

No Tox Life makes a vegan Zero Waste Dish Block® dishwashing soap that lathers up to cut grease and grime. It's fragrance-free and contains aloe vera so it's gentle on the hands. The massive 637-gram block can last up to a year. (There's a smaller, 167-gram bar, too.)

13. Sustainable sponges

MR.SIGA

Here's the problem with conventional sponges: They are often chemically dyed, contribute to microplastic leaching (which can reach the ocean and then enter the food chain), and are made of synthetics which are not biodegradable. Also, some sponge manufacturers boast "microbial protection" which translates to an added coating of chemicals. (Ew.)

Goods news, better-and just as effective-alternatives exist.

For scouring, there are coconut, hemp or bamboo bristle brushes. For gentle, non-abrasive cleaning, we like Swedish Dishcloths which are made from wood fibres. Note: It's important to purchase cellulose sponges with care to ensure no polyesters are hiding in the filling. All of the above can be tossed in the organics bin or composted at the end of their shelf life.

Build a zero-waste kit for bulk shopping

The best way to reduce waste and single-use packaging is to shop zero waste. Bulk container shops are becoming a mainstay in big cities, but you'll also be surprised by the number of goods sold in bulk at a traditional grocery store. It's also a cheaper way to shop. However, you'll need to invest in some glassware and eco-friendly bags to package and store your goods.

12. Mesh produce bags Welling Media

Instead of using the single-use plastic bags commonly found in the produce section of a grocery store, BYO-Bag-a Reusable Cotton Mesh Produce Bag, that is. When shopping for a mesh produce bag, look for sturdy construction that can support the weight of bulkier fruit and vegetables. Since the textile will be interfacing with food, organic cotton is preferred.

11. Drawstring cotton sacks

LUCKIPLUS

These organic cotton drawstring sacks are appropriately sized for bulk bin purchases of dry items like beans, pasta, lentils, dehydrated fruit, nuts and snacks.

10. Glass jars

Jars are handy for shopping for bulk olive oil, vinegars, sauces, peanut butter and other wet items that need to be tightly sealed. Be sure to make a mental note of the jar's weight before filling. Mason jars come in standard sizes: Quarts (1L; 32 oz), pints (500ml; 16 oz) and half-pints (250 ml; 8 oz).

9. Mini glass spice jars

Gala Houseware

Invest in a set of 8-ounce, air-tight mini jars for bulk items like spices and powders. Don't forget to label them as items might look alike once at home. You won't want to confuse cornstarch with baking soda, for example.

8. Linen bread bags

Bread Story

If you shop at a bakery or a grocery store that sells bread by the loaf, you'll notice they're often slipped into a paper or plastic bag. A re-usable linen bread bag eliminates single-use packaging and if it's big enough, can accommodate multiple loaves or buns. Once home, transfer your baked goods into a bamboo bread box.

Say bye-bye to beverage bottles and cans

Once upon a time, glass bottles were made by hand and costly to own; beverages were typically poured and served from barrels in commercial establishments or brewed at home*. By the early 20 th century, glass bottles were being mass produced. In 1916, Coca-Cola introduced its signature glass bottle; by 1935, the beer industry switched to cans; and in 1947, the world started its love affair with plastic bottles. It wasn't until the mid-1960s that container waste registered in the national psyche as a problem.

Despite the introduction of per-unit deposit fees and curbside recycling, a 2017 study shows that only 9% of global plastics are ever recycled. In the U.S., the average municipal recycling rate is 35%. Germany, the most efficient, comes in at 68%. It's proof that in today's culture of convenience, the best strategy is to get as close to zero-waste as possible.

7. Invest in a water bottle you love

The problem with reusable water bottles is that they can start to feel disposable. Typically low cost and found in abundance, water bottles fall victim to an easy-come, easy-go mentality. To commit to using a reusable water bottle, invest in one you'd hate to lose. We prefer an insulated bottle constructed of stainless steel with a narrow neck-for a few reasons. They're dishwasher safe, corrosion-resistant, sturdy, won't absorb an odor or leach in the sun/heat. They have a long product lifespan and stainless steel can be recycled. If you're the forgetful type, keep one in your car, on your desk, in your backpack and in the stroller.

6. Invest in a travel mug you'll actually use (and better beans)

YETI | Ello | Kinto

Much like a reusable water bottle, you're not likely to use a travel mug unless you love it. We're talking, well-insulated, totally leak-proof, fits in your cup holder and has a design or print beholden to your heart.

Part two is brewing at-home coffee (or tea) that tastes better than the café near your office or the local drive-thru franchise. This might mean investing in a better coffee maker or upgrading the quality of your beans. Building a preference will lessen the odds that you'll make a convenience purchase served in a single-use paper cup. It'll also save you a ton of money.

5. Kick the can: Bootleg your favourite soda instead

Aarke | SodaStream

We get it, making the switch to a reusable water bottle is easy when the difference between the taste of tap and bottled water is nominal. But what about your favourite carbonated beverage? Enter a soda maker. While SodaStream exploded into the North American scene in the 2010s, soda makers have long been popular in Europe. (Interesting fact: Pepsi bought SodaStream in 2018.)

All you need to clone your favourite soda is the appliance (typically $99-$330, depending on the brand and design), a CO2 cylinder (which can be exchanged at participating retailers) and syrup. Alternatively, you can blend your own flavours with limes, lemons, cucumber and herbs like mint and basil. Or, drink plainly as seltzer water.

Without cans or bottles to ship and recycle, a soda maker is much better for the environment-and it is kind on consumer's wallets, too. Investing in a soda maker pays itself off quickly. According to this article, carbonated Voss water is 1,600% more expensive than made-at-home seltzer water when compared at a per-litre cost. San Pellegrino rings in at a premium of 760%.

4. BYOBG (Growler)

Kick it old school and BYO-Bottle.

A growler is a vessel commonly used to transport draft beer. They can be made of amber-coloured glass, stainless steel or ceramic, and typically come in two standard sizes: 64-ounces and 32-ounces. These days, most craft breweries and brew pubs sell their own branded growlers. Purchasing "take-out" beer from your neighbourhood brewer serves two great purposes: Reducing the consumption of bottles and cans, and supporting a local business.

Tip: Fresh beer stored in a growler will last one week in the fridge; be sure to clean and dry well between uses.

You can also use a growler to purchase and store cider or kombucha, which is sometimes sold on-tap in specialty grocery stores.

3. Reusable coffee filters

Eco-Sopure | Pinyon Products

If you use a coffee machine that requires coffee filters, make the switch to a stainless-steel basket or cotton hemp filters. (If the latter sounds too granola for you, note the 4.5-star Amazon rating!)

If you're ready to do away entirely with filters, a French press or espresso machine means grinds can be placed directly in the compost or organics bin.

2. Infusers...instead of tea bags

ARKTEK | IHUIXINHE

Not only are they a single-use item, believe it or not, tea bags can be a sneaky source of plastic. And since they're steeped in boiling hot water, there exists the risk of leaching. It's estimated that pressed tea bags (the ones with crimped edges) contain 20-30% polypropylene, while pyramid-shape "silken" tea bags-generally considered a premium bag-can be made from nylon, PET or plant-based plastics. The better choice is to choose a food-grade stainless-steel tea infuser.

1. Reusable UNpaper Towels...instead of paper towels

Marley's Monsters UNpaper® Towels

Made in Oregon, Marley's Monsters UNpaper® Towels are made of single-ply cotton flannel and come in packs of six, 12 or 24. They're just a little bit clingy so you can actually wind them around your traditional countertop paper towel holder.

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20 Eco-Friendly Products to Replace the Single-Use Disposable Items Haunting Your Kitchen

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We live in a world of convenience and " throwaway culture." Think about it: Straws, plastic bags, water bottles, cellophane food wrapping and Styrofoam containers are an entire class of products engineered for micro-lifespans. In other words, they populate our landfills after the briefest of uses.

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How to Break Up with Plastic Cling Wrap this Festive Season

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How to Break Up with Plastic Cling Wrap this Festive Season

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If there is an ideal time to find less-wasteful, safe alternatives to plastic cling wrap, now is it. With all the plates of food, leftovers, and transporting delicious spreads to parties and picnics, we need a hygienic way to cover and contain our food. So why not do so zero waste style? At Biome, we have all your reusable food covers, well, covered - including plastic free, reusable food wrap alternatives.

Our Top Plastic Wrap Alternatives

Here's our top ideas on what to use instead of plastic cling wrap:

1. Beeswax Food Wraps, 100% Plastic Free

A popular substitute for plastic wrap, beeswax wraps can cover most things - sandwiches, veggies, bowls and plates. The beeswax preserves moisture to keep food fresh, is naturally antibacterial, and can be easily cleaned by wiping gently in cool (not warm) soapy water. To use you simply wrap items or press the wrap around a bowl using the warmth of your hands to mould and seal.

This eco friendly alternative to use instead of plastic wrap is also easily mended by melting beeswax onto worn areas. With proper care, most wraps can be reused for a year, and the ones we stock are completely compostable.
Browse our beeswax wrap varieties here >
2. Vegan Wax Wraps, 100% Plastic Free

If you're vegan or allergic to pollen and honey, these vegan wraps make great beeswax alternatives. Made with plant-based candelilla wax and soy wax, their benefits are the same as beeswax, without the antibacterial property.

However, as candelilla wax is two-times denser than beeswax, this may alter pliability and durability. But both options keep food fresh, reduce plastic waste and are zero waste.
Buy our vegan wax wraps here >
3. Reusable Silicone Food Covers

A lon lasting alternative to wax wraps, these stretchy covers are made from food-grade silicone that can be used for years. It can stretch, wrap, stick and seal to anything, and is BPA, PVC and lead free.

Although silicone is not household recyclable, Biome will happily take your old silicone wrap and give it to a commercial recycling scheme.
Buy our silicone wraps here >
4. Silicone 'Suction' Food Covers

A great invention, these covers create airtight seals as soon as they're placed on a smooth-rimmed surface (like a glass cup or a ceramic bowl). This seal means preserved freshness, no spills or leaks, and retention of hot and cold temperatures. As seen below, they also comes in a variety of sizes. Don't take our word for it - see how airtight these covers are with our YouTube video!

Buy our silicone food covers here >

5. Fabric Food Covers

These food covers by 4MyEarth are made from food-grade cotton canvas, with a biodegradable interior coating to keep food fresh. This means a low waste product (as the elastic may need to be binned). It can also be washed in the dishwasher or with clothes! Ethically made in India and PVC, BPA and Phthalate Free.
Buy cotton food covers here >
6. Glass Containers & Lids

Glass food and drink storage are impermeable, non porous and eliminate chemical leaching and stains. Glass is also extremely durable, so it may last longer than food covers (unless you drop it!). All our glass containers are BPA and toxin free, can be reused endlessly making them great value for money.
Buy our glass containers here >
7. Put a Lid On It Bowl with Lid

Taking food to someone's house, a picnic or BBQ? Cover your food with the Put A Lid On It bowl with lid. Simple, stylish and made in Australia with 100% recycled food-grade plastic.

Perfect for prepping for parties, packing away leftovers or simply eating in. Plus, the lid doubles as a platter. Find Put a Lid on It Bowls & Salad Servers here

MORE READING
10 Plastic Free Christmas Celebration Ideas What's a Thrifty Santa? How Our Team Are Paying it Forward This Christmas

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How to Break Up with Plastic Cling Wrap this Festive Season

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If there is an ideal time to find less-wasteful, safe alternatives to plastic cling wrap, now is it. With all the plates of food, leftovers, and transporting delicious spreads to parties and picnics, we need a hygienic way to cover and contain our food. So why not do so zero waste style?

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Top 4 environmentally friendly alternatives for polystyrene packaging

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Top 4 environmentally friendly alternatives for polystyrene packaging

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Top 4 environmentally friendly alternatives for polystyrene packaging

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The Australian Government is banning polystyrene packaging. Here are four alternatives that are better for the planet and your wallet…

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One of the materials that are really discussed when it comes to packaging is plastic.

Because of that, there are a lot of beliefs about whether plastic is good or bad for the environment and how sustainable the material is.

We at Limepack offer a couple of different plastic packaging solutions since it is one of the most durable materials that exist.

That of course also makes us a bit biased in terms of plastic and the pros and cons of it. In this post, we have tried to gather all the different questions related to plastic cups.

So we will both go through how plastic and plastic cups are made, the different types of plastic and in the end, we will talk about their lifecycle.

How is plastic made?

The way plastic is made depends a lot on which type of plastic there is used for the plastic cups.

So let's start with going through the three different types of plastic that is used for making plastic cups.

The kind of plastic there is used for making the plastic cups do also have a large influence on their impact on the environment(We will go into depth with the environmental impact later).

The three different types of plastic is PET, rPET and PLA plastic.

PET plastic

PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate, which is the most common type of plastic.

It is especially used for bottles and more flexible plastic materials since it is really durable, and if it is collected correctly it can be recycled and used for other rPET.

It also the most used material for making plastic cups because there is a large supply of it, and it is approved to be in contact with food materials.

The plastic is made from Naphtha oil which is a fraction of raw oil, this is made during a refining process where the oil splits into Naphtha, Hydrogen and other fractions.

The oil extract Naphtha then become plastic via a process called Polymerization. The process connects ethylene and propylene to form polymer chains which in the end is what PET plastic is made of.

rPET plastic

rPET stands for recycled polyethylene terephthalate, and it is the most commonly used type of recycled♻️ plastic, because the durability of PET makes is easy to recycle and still ensure a high quality.

Recycled PET is becoming a more widely used kind of plastic general, and a lot more companies are trying to make their products from rPET instead of normal PET.

This is especially the construction industry, where more windows are made from rPET plastic. It could actually also be the frame for glasses.

When the PET material has been sorted, the materials are grounded into particles known as plastic flakes, a bit like paper pulp.

The purity and how well these plastic flakes are perved, and how well they are washed and rinsed from bacteria will determine the quality of the recycled plastic.

Before the materials are dried and made ready to use in the production of other materials, it goes through a process to remove non-melt contaminants.

PLA plastic

PLA is short for PolyLacticAcid, which is a kind of bio-plastic. It is the most widely used bio-plastic in the world.

PLA plastic is widely used as a material for both packaging, construction, and other products due to it being called bio-plastic.

We will dig into later on how environmentally friendly it is. We can as an example both make paper cups and plastic cups in PLA plastic.

One of the main problems with PLA plastic is that supply is a lot lower than the demand for it, why the prices for it are a lot higher than PET and rPET plastic.

PLA plastic is a polyester produced by plant-based materials such as corn starch or sugar cane. When using this to produce PLA plastic there a couple of steps.

The materials used go through wet milling, where the starch gets separated from the rest of the materials that are extracted from the plant material.

The starch is then mixed with acid or enzymes and finally heated. The corn starch will become D-glucose, and it then goes through a fermentation process which will turn it into Lactic Acid.

How are plastic cups made

When it comes to plastic cups and how plastic cups are made it actually makes a difference if it is disposable or reusable plastic cups.

You might also know reusable plastic cups as hard plastic cups. The type of plastic cup does not only influences how they have produced but also their environmental effects and what they are normally used for.

The plastic cups are made through a process called injection molding, where the plastic materials are mixed with liquids and inserted into the template for plastic cups, that determines the size and thickness of the cups.

The injection molding process starts with the raw material being put into a machine called a hopper.

The machine actually just consistently mixes the kind of plastic with other materials needed to form the end resulted. When the materials have been mixed in will be poured into the templates and when it has the right thickness and size it will stay in the template and cool of.

The only ling lefts are for the plastic cups to be slowly heated to remove the cast from the surface.

So what influences if the plastic cups are made as a disposable or reusable one depends on the templates the manufacturer uses.

This is actually still a rather big set-up for the manufacturer, which is also the reason why manufacturers specialised in either making disposable plastic cups or reusable plastic cups.

Printing on plastic cups

To-go drinks are becoming a more influential part of our lives, and it is also becoming a part of many more cafes, juice bars, and etc. selection.

Why it is also important for the small juice bar to differentiate from the rest of the competitors. Printing on plastic cups is a great way to do that, it might actually also be the easiest one because the juice bar already needs the plastic cups for selling them to-go.

We help a lot of customers get print on their plastic cups, and we work with a couple of manufacturers who have different printing methods for the plastic cups - We will go through the different printing methods on plastic cups, they are flexo-print, offset print, tampon print, and digital print.

Tampon print
Tampon printing is the most used printing method for plastic and especially plastic cups in smaller quantities, that is because of tampon print being really good for printing on convex surfaces.

The Tampon printing method works as a stamping effect, where the ink is taken directly from the printing plate and placed onto a flexible silicone pad and later stamped onto the plastic cups to be the print.

The reason why Tampon print is not widely spread in other categories is that it's difficult to make a print that covers the whole surface, and is best for making a print on each side of the cup.

Flexo-print

Flexographic printing is mostly used for printing on the surface of convex plastic packaging in large quantities.

This is due to the high cost of the printing plate and setting up the printing plates because you need a printing plate for each colour.

The flexographic printing method works with rollers that are rolled directly onto the plastic cup to put on the print, to ensure a faster and cheaper printing method.

The printing plates are made of plastic, why they can be used to print many cups before needing to be changed.

Offset printing

Offset printing is the most used printing method when it comes to printing large quantities.

The printing method is especially used for magazines, newspapers, and products that need the same printed on it in a high volume.

The offset printing technology uses printing plates made of aluminum that then transfers the print onto a rubber "blanket" that rolls the print onto the product.

It is called offset because the printing plates do not directly print the product, but a roll does instead.

Offset printing is probably the most efficient printing method, but it actually also give the most accurate colour reproduction.

Which is also why more plastic cup manufacturers choose this printing method since the print is accurate on convex surfaces and the transparent background.

Digital print

When it comes to plastic cups, we do not have the knowledge or been able to research us to the knowledge of people who could make digital printed plastic cups.

It is mainly because Digital Printing as a method uses CMYK-colours, and the technology for printing CMYK colours on plastic cups are not available today.

If digital printing were able for plastic cups, it would help make the minimum order quantity become lower and the start-up cost as well, because the cost of a printing plate is next to zero.

Colours used on plastic cups

Printing on plastic cups does of course also require some colours that can be printed on plastic cups.

So in the following will talk a bit about Pantone colours used on plastic cups.

You might be wondering why cannot print it with CMYK colours, but the simple answer is that the way the colour scheme work it cannot be printing on plastic cups with the current technology.

Pantone colours

The reason why Pantone colours are the only colour scheme that can be printed on plastic cups is that Pantone colours are not mixed when the print is put on.

Since the Pantone colour scheme consists of 1867 specific colours, the colours are added directly in the area where they are needed in the print.

The reason why it is important that the colours are not mixed when added onto the print is that the plastic cups are transparent and if the colours are mixed they will become unclear.

This is also the reason why when buying plastic cup that you have to pay extra for each colour you add in your design.

How are plastic cups transported?

One of the most important things when buying plastic cups, and measuring the environmental impacts of plastic cups, is the delivery of the plastic cups and how they are transported.

The plastic cups can be transported in multiple ways, and the transportation method often depends on how much in a hurry the customer is.

Plastic cups are normally transported with a truck or cargo ship depending on where they are produced.

Some packaging is also sent with a plane to be able to reach a deadline, and as cargo planes are very common you can ship something across the world in one day.

We do not know of any plastic cup producers that send their plastic cups with a plane.

We do therefore not go more into depth with the co2 emission of transporting plastic cups with a plane.

What is worth noting is that the co2 emission is 2 to 3 times higher when transporting something a plan than with truck, and 11-15 times as higher than with ship.

Just to illustrate it, below I have shown how much CO2 from the different transportation methods. The metric is grams per ton of freight and per km of transportation.

Airplane (average cargo B747) - 500g

Lorry or Truck - 60g to 150g

Train - 30g to 100g

Ship - 10g to 40g

Whether the plastic cups are sent with cargo truck or ship normally depend on if the plastic cups are produced in Asia or in Europe.

So let use as an example that we should deliver some plastic cups in Germany, and we have one manufacturer in China and another manufacturer in Greek.

The distance from Hong Kong to Port of Hamburg is 22737 kilometers with ship, where the distance from the middle of Greek to Port of Hamburg 2502 kilometers.

To make this calculation we would have to take the amount of the distance the truck or ship has traveled, the weight of the shipment and the mode's specific emissions factor.

Let's say the plastic cups weigh 1 ton since it is an easy number to use.

We would then Multiply the 2502 kilometers with 1 ton, and that would be 2502 ton-kilometers.

Hereafter we would have to multiply the emission factor with the ton-miles and let's say the truck emits 90 kilograms of co2 pr. ton-kilometer. (90 x 2502) which is then 225.180 grams of co2 for the transportation of 1-ton plastic cups with a truck.

Ship for the 22737 kilometers is 0,568 tons of co2

Truck for the 2505 kilometers is 0,225 tons of co2

Due to the long distance that the ship had to cover it releases more co2 during transportation, but if it was 40% of the distance, it would not emit more co2 under transportation.

Most of all plastic cups are though produced in Asia and sent with a ship to Europe. We do though experience that more and more choose European production due to the lower delivery times.

What are plastic cups used for?

As I have already covered there are two different types of plastic cups, when it comes to being used for to-go drinks. It is reusable plastic cups or disposable plastic cups.

The two different types of plastic cups are normally used in different settings.

Disposable plastic cups

The disposable plastic cups are normally used at open events where people can sit around with their friends. The disposable plastic cups are of course primarilly used for to-go drinks from a café, juice-bar or a milkshake from the local ice bar.

Plastic cups are transparent which makes it easy to show the drink inside, and they are really durable so they can be used to both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Disposable plastic cups can sometimes also end up competing with reusable plastic cups, in what the event organisers should use a cup for the drinks.

This is especially the case at festivals and 2-day events, where the attendees could be really bad at reusing the plastic cups and it would, therefore, be more beneficial to use disposable plastic cups.

Reusable plastic cups

The reusable plastic cups can come in two different types. One of the types is used for soft drinks and alcoholic drinks, it is because they are a bit of transparent.

The other types are used for hot drinks such as coffee and tea because some are made with a sleeve that protects the customers from burning their hands.

The transparent reusable plastic cups are mostly used in closed communities, this could be an entertainment park where the different shops have to use the same reusable plastic cups and it, will in that way be easy to collect, wash and reuse.

The reusable plastic coffee cups are also primarily used in closed communities, but more often at fairs and professional indoor events.

They are actually also used by many consumers to bring their morning coffee to the office since you can get a lid for the cups.

Some larger offices do also have reusable plastic coffee cups because the employees move a lot from different sections and would like to bring their coffee with them.

What is more environmentally friendly?

When talking about environmentally friendly products, and ensuring that products are becoming more environmentally.

The focus is often on how the products are decomposed or can be recycled, often we forget the consequences and emission of co2 during the production of the products.

In this section we will try to cover the co2 emitted from reusable and disposable plastic cups under production, and what this means for their environmental friendliness.

In the articles that we found, about this area we only found an article that compares disposable cups in foam and paper as a material, they compare it with reusable cups made from plastic and ceramic.

Since the research does not compare disposable plastic cups and reusable plastic cups, then to find the closest result we use disposable cups in foam material as the disposable cup to compare with reusable plastic cups.

This is because the co2 emitted during the production of disposable foam cups and disposable plastic cups almost match each other.

The research concludes that if we both take co2 emitted during the production and during their life-time(washing the reusable cups) into consideration, then reusable plastic cups have to be used 30 times for the emitted co2 being the same as with disposable plastic cups.

( REF) The conclusion will then be that, whether a plastic cup or reusable plastic cup is the most sustainable plastic cups, depends on how many times the reusable plastic cups, in reality, is reused.

In Denmark, the entertainment park Tivoli, says that their reusable plastic cups are on average reused 6 times, which is a closed park.

How are the plastic cups degradable?

How and whether plastic cups do as with a lot of other things in this post depends on which materials the plastic cups are made in.

The difference is though only between PLA and PET plastic since rPET is made from the same materials as PET but it is just recycled. So we will below split it up to these two categories.

PET and rPET

Unfortunately, PET and rPET is not able to degrade in nature, as well it cannot degrade in commercial degrade machines.

Why it is so important for plastic to be collected and thrown out, if possible it should be collected and sent to recycling.

Mostly when plastic is thrown out it will be be sent to energy companies, where it can be burned as bio-fuel.

PLA is as PET and rPET not degradable in nature, why calling PLA plastic cups biodegradable is a bit of a stretch.

But PLA plastic is degradable in special industrial facilities, and the PLA plastic can only be degraded in these facilities because they need to be kept at a certain temperature mixed with some chemicals for at least 60 days, and then they will start to degrade.

It is therefore super important the PLA plastic cups are gathered and sent to correct facilities, so they can be degraded.

There are though two problems with it, these industrial facilities to degrade the PLA plastic are not that common and mostly spread in the UK.

The other problem is that the sorting facilities are not able to tell if the plastic cups are made of PLA and PET plastic, and if PET plastic goes into the same machines as PLA plastic, it can destroy the whole degrading process. ( REF)

How about recyclability?

The perfect way for making plastic cups and plastic materials more environmentally friendly is by making sure that the plastic is recycled, and made into new products.

It both ensures that there are not used more oil in the production, but reused it again. This will also ensure that there is emitted less co2 under the production of plastic because we do not need to get the oil up from the ground.

The recyclability of the materials depends on which material the plastic cups are made from.

You will quickly notice that there are a lot of similarities between the different materials, both in terms of how it is recyclable but also what makes it difficult to recycle.

As you might already have guessed in terms of PET plastic, it is recyclable. There are though a couple of cases where PET plastic is harder to recycle.

It is especially if the plastic is used for food packaging because the recycling process for materials that have been in contact with food is different than if it used for other purposes such as construction work.

The PET plastic from food materials will normally end up with the rest of the PET plastic, the recyclability of PET plastic is depending on how well the garbage sorting system is working in the country.

The best way to ensure that more PET plastic is recycled is that making it possible to sort PET plastic that has been in contact with food in the bin, and the rest in another.

This would ensure that all the PET plastic is sent to the correct recycling facilities, so nothing has to be sent to be burnt unless if the country does not have facilities for recycling.

When it comes to degradability of rPET plastic it actually the same as with PET plastic, but rPET plastic can only in recycled around 9 times.

When the rPET plastic has been recycled more than 9 times the quality of the plastic will not be high enough, and manufacturers of plastic products do not want to offer products of this quality.

PLA plastic is able to be recycled as with PET plastic, there is though a couple of problems that might complicate the recycling process for PLA plastic.

The first thing is that since PLA plastic is not as a durable material as PET plastic the end material of recycled PLA plastic does not have a very high demand among manufacturers.

The second thing is that PLA plastic cannot be recycled in the same process as with PET plastic, due to the recycling process of PET plastic would actually destroy the enzymes in PLA plastic, so it would not be able to be formed into products. ( REF)

The way to get more PLA plastic recycled is by setting up an easier sorting system, and ensuring that the different plastic materials are sent to the correct recycling facilities.

What are the new innovations?

Innovations within the plastic cup industry are primarily within the environmental impact of them.

Which makes sense since the demands for the size, quality, and minimum order quantity of the plastic cups are not changing amongst the consumers.

rPET plastic cups

rPET plastic as a material for food packaging is not widely spread which is primarily due to the material have been difficult to get to match the requirements of food contact materials.

But because of better cleaning processes and removing former chemicals, some plastic cups manufacturers are slowly getting approved to use rPET plastic in their production.

We know of one manufacturer in the EU, who have been approved to use rPET in their production of plastic cups, why their plastic cups are made of 50% recycled plastic.

They do offer the possibility of getting 100% recycled plastic as the material, but due to the quality of the plastic, they have a high minimum order quantity for it.

The other major innovation within plastic cups is actually not about sustainability, but about the printing methods for them.

Many manufacturers are trying to make their production be able to print with offset print instead of Flexo- or Tampon, due to the higher quality of the print on the plastic cups and lower handling cost.

The last innovation that we know some plastic manufacturers are working on, and will be working on for the next many years, is how to plastic decompose in nature.

We are not aware of any manufacturers of plastic that are close to cracking the code, but we do know that they are working on it. But you shouldn't get your hopes up to high for the time being.

Our suggestions for innovations

As we discovered in just the earlier section, the main new innovations within plastic cups and plastic food packaging are using 100% recycled plastic.

We think this is a great initiative, and we going to push our manufacturers to work harder for making this possible.

We do though think that one of the most important things to focus on, is actually on a governmental level.

Since the plastic cups can not decompose in nature or at landfills, the best thing to do for the environment in regards to plastic cups would be a better collecting and sorting system.

If the governments had this it could focus its efforts on sending plastic packaging that can be recycled to recycling facilities and plastic packaging that cannot be recycled, should be sent to plants where it can burn as bio-fuel.

We also believe an additional initiative to enhance the sorting process would be beneficial.

We would suggest making a label that all plastic cups should have marked on them, the label should not wary for each country, so companies are able to streamline the process no matter where the plastic cups are used.

The label should specify what type of plastic the cups are made from.

There should be a label l for PLA plastic cups, and another one for PET plastic cups and a third for rPET plastic cups.

This would especially help with getting more plastic cups recycled since they would be sent to correct recycling centers.

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Everything to know about plastic cups | Limepack

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Do you want to know almost everything about plastic cups? Here is the possibility. Plastic types, recyclability, and degradability. You will get the answers

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How Did We Get Here? The History of Plastic Packaging

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How Did We Get Here? The History of Plastic Packaging

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By SouthPack

Plastic packaging has been making our lives easier since its invention in the 1800s. But how did this immensely convenient packaging come about? Here's a history lesson in plastic packaging.

1862: Plastic made its first appearance at the Great International Exhibition in London, presented by Alexander Parkes. This material, called "Parkesine," was bio-based and had been derived from cellulose.

Early 1900s: Cellophane was created by Dr. Jacques Brandenberger, a Swiss textile engineer. The invention came about as Dr. Brandenberger was attempting to make clothing stain-resistant through the application of a flexible, clear film.

1930: Scotch Cellulose Tape, renamed Cellophane Tape at a later date, was invented by Richard Drew, an engineer working for 3M. This greatly benefited bakers and grocers, as they were able to keep their packages sealed in a more attractive and easy way.

1933: Saran™ was an accidental discovery by lab worker Ralph Wiley of Dow Chemical. This plastic material found its first use to be providing protection for military equipment, and was later used for the packaging of food.

1946: Earl Silas Tupper worked to create the well-known, highly-convenient plastic packaging we all know as Tupperware. Mr. Tupper chose to promote his polyethylene food containers through housewives who used Tupperware sales as a source of income. The invention of airtight plastic containers is considered among the most notable advances in the history of plastic packaging.

1946: "Stopette," a deodorant created by Dr. Jules Montenier, brought the spray bottle into the commercial world of plastics. Dr. Montenier created the spray bottle to dispense the deodorant when squeezed by consumers. Stopette was one of the sponsors of the popular program "What's My Line", and subsequently brought on a tremendous increase in the use of spray bottles.

1950: Canadians Larry Hansen and Harry Wasylyk are to thank for the modern garbage bag. Originally used commercially in places such as hospitals, this plastic product is found in abundance in virtually any public place you can imagine.

1954: Zipper-seal bags, created by Robert W. Vergobbi, were initially intended for use as pencil bags, but their versatility soon turned them toward food storage. Ziploc bags came about in 1968, and sandwich bags on a roll were later introduced.

1959: The first licensed character lunch box was created by Geuder, Frey, and Paeschke of Wisconsin. The tin box featured Mickey Mouse and a plastic handle. Plastic was used for the whole box in the 1960s.

1960: Sealed Air Corporation engineers Marc Chavannes and Alfred Fielding brought the world bubble wrap.

1986: Swanson TV Dinners came in microwaveable plastic trays, rather than the aluminum material used since the mid-1950s. These TV dinners were incredibly popular due to post-war fascination with time-saving devices, and the novelty of watching television.

1996: Bagged salad packaging reduced food waste and made buying fresh produce easier.

2000: Yogurt came in flexible plastic tubes for convenient snacking on the go.

2010: Heinz Dip & Squeeze was the first innovation for ketchup packaging in 42 years, allowing customers to choose whether to dispense or dip into the sauce.

Plastic has come a long way! We hope that you feel a little bit more knowledgeable about plastic packaging and its interesting timeline.

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How Did We Get Here? The History of Plastic Packaging - SouthPack

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By SouthPack Plastic packaging has been making our lives easier since its invention in the 1800s. But how did this immensely convenient packaging come about? Here's a history lesson in plastic packaging. 1862: Plastic made its first appearance at the Great International Exhibition in London, presented by Alexander Parkes.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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instant access to thousands of great kids books.

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instant access to thousands of great kids books.

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Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

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The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

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Disclaimer: This material is being kept online for historical purposes. Though accurate at the time of publication, it is no longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information, and parts may not function in current web browsers.

Make seed paper

When is a recycled product better than the original? When it's paper that turns into flowers.

Here is a good way to recycle used paper and make a beautiful greeting card for someone special.

Make your own artsy paper that has wildflower seeds in it! Use colored markers to paint a design or message on it. Give it to someone special to plant in a pot or in the ground. Keep it wet and warm, and it will "recycle" into something far better than old, used paper.

What you need:

Used printer paper, cross-cut into tiny pieces by a paper shredder. Use 1-1/2 cups for each card.

Large bowl of warm water

Window screen material

Small embroidery hoop

Food coloring (optional)

Blender

9 x 13-inch baking pan

Packet of wildflower or other seeds

Bath towels or several layers of felt squares

Waxed paper

Colored markers

What to do:

1. Soak the paper pieces in the bowl of water overnight.

2. Put the soaked paper into the blender, then fill the blender halfway with fresh water.

3. Blend until the mixture is soupy.

4. Add food coloring, if desired, and blend some more.

5. Fill the baking pan one-quarter full of water, then pour in the blended paper mixture-or pulp.

6. Slip the embroidery hoop with screen in from the side so that it slides beneath the pulp and seeds. If necessary, spoon some of the pulp over the screen.

7. Lift the screen gently, catching the pulp mixture evenly on top and letting the water drain off.

8. Lay the screen on a bath towel or felt layers to drain.

9. Sprinkle some seeds on top of the wet pulp, and gently pat them into the surface of the pulp.

10. When the bath towel or felt has soaked up as much water as it can, pick up the hoop and turn it over onto a sheet of waxed paper to dry. (Seeds will be on the bottom.)

You may have to gently hit the hoop on the table or counter surface to loosen the pulp from the screen. If the pulp does not stick together, try putting more pulp on the screen next time.

11. Let the paper dry for at least 24 hours.

12. If the paper does not lie flat, place a heavy object (like a book) on it for a few hours to flatten it.

13. Decorate it with markers on the un-seeded side.

To plant the paper:

When you plant the paper, lay it on the surface of the soil and sprinkle about one-quarter-inch thick layer of soil on top. Water the soil lightly and keep the seeds wet until they sprout and have a few days to grow roots.

Good luck and happy recycling!

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Disclaimer: This material is being kept online for historical purposes. Though accurate at the time of publication, it is no longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information, and parts may not function in current web browsers. Make seed paper When is a recycled product better than the original?

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Instant noodles are sold in a precooked and dried noodle block, with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The flavoring is usually in a separate packet, although in the case of cup noodles the flavoring is often loose in the cup. Some instant noodle products are seal packed; these can be reheated or eaten straight from the packet/container. Dried noodle blocks are cooked or soaked in boiling water before eating.

The main ingredients used in dried noodles are usually wheat flour, palm oil, and salt. Common ingredients in the flavoring powder are salt, monosodium glutamate, seasoning, and sugar. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash frying cooked noodles, and this is still the main method used in Asian countries, but air-dried noodle blocks are favored in Western countries.

Instant noodles were invented by Momofuku Ando (born Go Pek-Hok) of Nissin Foods in Japan. They were launched in 1958 under the brand name Chikin Ramen. In 1971, Nissin introduced Cup Noodles, the first cup noodle product. Instant noodles are marketed worldwide under many brand names.

Ramen, a Japanese noodle soup, is sometimes used as a descriptor for instant noodle flavors by some Japanese instant noodle manufacturers. It has become synonymous in America for all instant noodle products.

Instant noodles were invented by Taiwanese-Japanese inventor Momofuku Ando in Japan. It was first marketed on 25 August 1958 by Ando's company, Nissin, under the brand name Chikin Ramen. Ando developed the production method of flash frying noodles after they had been made, creating the "instant" noodle. This dried the noodles and gave them a longer shelf life, even exceeding that of frozen noodles.

Each noodle block was pre-seasoned and sold for 35 yen. Initially, due to its price and novelty, Chikin Ramen was considered a luxury item, as Japanese grocery stores typically sold fresh noodles for one-sixth their price. Despite this, instant noodles eventually gained immense popularity, especially after being promoted by Mitsubishi Corporation.

In 1971, Nissin introduced Nissin Cup Noodles, a cup noodle to which boiling water is added to cook the noodles. A further innovation added dried vegetables to the cup, creating a complete instant soup dish.

According to a Japanese poll in the year 2000, "The Japanese believe that their best invention of the twentieth century was instant noodles." As of 2010, approximately 96 billion servings of instant noodles are eaten worldwide every year. China consumes 42 billion packages of instant noodles per year - 44% of world consumption - Indonesia, 14 billion; Japan, 5.3 billion, Vietnam 4.8 billion, USA 4 billion. Per capita, South Koreans consume the greatest amount of instant noodles, 69 per capita per year.

Composition

There are three key ingredients in wheat based noodles: Wheat flour, water, and salt. Other than the three main ingredients, USDA regulations allow instant noodles to contain palm oil, seasoning, sodium phosphates, potato starches, gums, and other ingredients.

Instant noodles is a dish used in cooking. These noodles were cooked at the factory and packaged as dried noodles, often with a special powder that adds flavor to the noodles. The dish is prepared very quickly (usually 5 minutes or less), simply by putting the noodles together in hot water and then adding the powder. A kind of noodle soup is then ready to eat.

Instant noodles are very popular in Asia, and among many students and poorer people, because they are very cheap to produce and to buy. In the United States, a package of instant noodles sometimes costs only ten cents.

There are many companies who manufacture Instant Noodles, some of them being:

Nutritional value

Instant noodles are often criticized as unhealthy or junk food. A single serving of instant noodles is high in carbohydrates and fat, but low in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Images for kids

In Spanish: Fideos instantáneos para niños

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You've probably had this problem: you order a smoothie to sip with your lunch, a morning iced coffee or your Friday night cocktail, and it arrives with a brightly-coloured tube of paper sticking out the top. After a few slugs, however, the tube quickly flops in on itself, forcing you to take it out and leave it on the table in a wet, pulpy mess.

Paper straws have become almost ubiquitous in bars and fast-food outlets as the hospitality industry has rushed to ditch plastic in response to a consumer backlash. But while they may not linger in the environment for 300 years or so like those made of plastic, paper straws leave a lot to be desired.

A recent study has also highlighted another potential concern. Paper straws assessed by researchers at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, were found to contain more "forever chemicals" - per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS - than plastic. These long-lasting PFAS can stay in the environment for decades, can contaminate water supplies, and are associated with a range of health problems. ( Read more about where forever chemicals come from, how long they last for and how we could clean them up.)

The researchers behind the study say their results suggest that paper straws - along with their bamboo counterparts, which were also found to contain PFAS - are not necessarily a more sustainable alternative to plastic. The higher levels of forever chemicals they contain, they say, could be seen as a question mark over how "biodegradable" these alternatives are.

As someone who began embracing alternatives to plastic straws nearly a decade ago, it left me wanting to find out more. I also wanted to know about other factors that need to be taken into account, such as the climate emissions produced from these different straw types.

It is estimated that around 500 million disposable drinking straws are used every day in the US alone. And although the estimates for exactly how many end up in the environment are tricky to confirm, what's clear is that plastic straws get everywhere. They are found in huge numbers in beach clean-ups around the world. They have been found perforating the stomachs of penguins, and even jammed inside the nostril of an Olive Ridley sea turtle.

An infamous, horrifying video of this last case particularly stuck in my mind. I'm a huge animal lover, so was quick to urge my friends to opt for plastic alternatives instead. Most plastic waste experts I've spoken with consider this video a major catalyst for the anti-plastic straw movement.

Milo Cress also deserves some credit - he uncovered that 500 million straws a day statistic ad started the Be Straw Free movement in 2011 when he was only nine. The campaign eventually inspired major companies such as Starbucks and McDonalds to stop using plastic straws and entire states like California to ban them outright.

While that may sound like a huge boon for sustainability, as I took a closer look at the environmental impact of plastic straws, I was surprised to learn that it's a drop in the bucket compared to other plastic pollution.
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When you walk on a beach, plastic straws are one of the most common types of litter you'll see - one recent survey along a beach on India's Gujarat coast on the Arabian Sea found they made up 9% of the litter there. But they actually make up only a tiny fraction of the plastic waste that finds its way into the environment.

Are plastic straws really bad for the planet?

Although the figures tend to vary according to the method used, it is worth looking at the figures gathered by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in its Global Plastics Outlook. It estimates that around 380 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced globally each year, with around 23 million tonnes of that finding its way into the environment. It estimates about 1.7 million tonnes of that ends up in the ocean annually, although other studies have put the figure at somewhere between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes.

Of 380 million tonnes of plastic waste produced, about 43 million tonnes comes from consumer products that include single use plastics from the food and beverage industry. Roughly 14 million tonnes of this, or 3.7% of total plastic waste, is made of polyproplyene, the main material used in plastic straws.

In the oceans, fishing nets, are among the most prevalent form of plastic pollution. One study published in 2018 found that 46% of the 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic estimated to be in the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch came from fishing nets.

So why did plastic straws become such an emblem of the plastic pollution problem if their impact is minimal?

"The straw became the symbol of a choice an individual could make that also has an impact," says Erin Simon, vice president for plastic waste and business at the World Wildlife Fund. "And while we know it's not that simple, and the problem goes far beyond the use of plastic straws, a global crisis like plastic pollution can only be solved when everyone does their part."

Of course, giving up plastic straws won't solve plastic pollution, but it has thrust the problem into the public eye.

"Currently, more than 460 million metric tons of new plastic are produced globally each year, and that number is increasing year after year," says Jackie Nuñez, founder of The Last Plastic Straw and Plastic Pollution Coalition's advocacy and engagement manager. "The conversation about single-use plastic and the pollution it causes is now mainstream and global."

The anti-plastic straw movement helped rally public support that eventually turned into large-scale, high-level action. In 2022, the UN Environment Assembly began negotiating a Global Plastics Treaty with 170 countries to address plastic pollution globally and aims to have it in place by the end of 2024.

Straws are among the most common items of plastic picked up during beach clean-ups (Credit: Getty Images)

Sustainability on a Shoestring

We currently live in an unsustainable world. While the biggest gains in the fight to curb climate change will come from the decisions made by governments and industries, we can all play our part. In Sustainability on a Shoestring, BBC Future explores how each of us can contribute as individuals to reducing carbon emissions by living more sustainably, without breaking the bank.

Despite their relatively small environmental impact when compared to other forms of plastic, plastic straws have become a case study for the impact a piece of single-use plastic can have throughout its life cycle.

Surprisingly, despite being made of fossil fuels, one study from researchers in Thailand suggests that traditional plastic straws made from polypropylene have a smaller carbon footprint than bioplastic (polylactic acid) straws, which are supposed to be biodegradable. After assessing the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to the raw materials, manufacturing and disposal of the straws, the researchers found polylactic acid straws produced more emissions due to amount of land needed to grow and harvest the natural materials used to make them. Polylactic acid straws have also recently been found to not be as biodegradable as was first believed.

The amount of greenhouse gases released during the lifecycle of paper straws has been estimated to be anywhere from the same as plastic straws to a quarter of the emissions. One set of life cycle assessments performed by researchers in Brazil in 2020 produced similar results, finding paper straws had a higher relative environmental impact than plastic ones. Again the land use needed for the raw materials - trees - was the main reason. The study didn't, however, account for their impact on marine life, where researchers admitted plastic straws would likely have the higher impact there since paper straws degrade quickly in water.

It's worth noting that much like plastic straws, paper straws typically can't be recycled (they break down too much when they hit liquid) and an assessment by the UK government also concluded that paper straws emit more greenhouse gases when they rot in landfill compared with plastic.

I initially embraced the anti-plastic straw movement because it felt like a concrete action that protects marine life. While that's true in part, according to Shelie Miller, professor of sustainable systems at the University of Michigan, most straws end up being incinerated or tossed in a landfill. Once in landfills, plastics degrade slowly, breaking down to become microplastics that can leach out into the wider environment or even produce potentially harmful chemical contamination. But the amount of greenhouse gases produced by plastic straws is relatively low.

Paper straws impact the environment at different stages of their life cycle compared to those made from plastic (Credit: Getty Images)

"[Avoiding] one car trip totalling 72.4 km (36 km each way) is the [emissions] equivalent of giving up plastic water bottles for four years," says Miller, who did these calculations using the US EPA Waste Reduction Model. "Most of us would be very concerned if we were throwing away six pounds of plastic every day, but burning one gallon of gas is something we do without thinking about it."

If you want to keep using straws - or need to due to a disability - Nuñez suggests opting for reusable, non-plastic straws. Metal and glass straws are much safer and hold up to wear and tear longer than plastic, but even these have their problems. According to one assessment, a glass straw is responsible for 44 times as many greenhouse gas emissions compared to a plastic one, while stainless steel straws emit 148 times as much. Bamboo straws are better, but still produce 27 times as much carbon dioxide than plastic. Another study in South Africa found you would need to use a glass straw 23-39 times and a stainless steel straw 37-63 times to neutralise the environmental impact they create when they're made and sold. Fortunately, a well-made reusable straw will work perfectly well for hundreds of reuses.

Another major plus the researchers noted, however, was that reusable straws don't often end up in the ocean.

So, it's far from a simple choice. The scientific evidence is mixed, depending where you look for the harm on the environment. Every expert I spoke with said it's instead better to refuse straws altogether if you are able to. Then you can sit back and enjoy your drink.

--
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Plastic or paper? The truth about drinking straws

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The backlash against single-use plastics has seen a growing market for paper, metal, glass and plant-based straws. But is the choice between them really a simple one?

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Learn Food loss and waste facts for kids

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Words by: Theodora Sutcliffe
Sustainability is a massive trend in the drinks industry right now - and rightly so, given the volume of waste bars generate, and the greenhouse gas impact of your typical distillery.
One small but significant many bars are helping make a difference by eliminating plastic straws - which are made, like all traditional plastics, from fossil fuels. No global calculations exist, but the US alone uses more than 180 billion straws every year. And, as anyone who's ever sworn their way through a beach clean-up learns, straws are disproportionately likely to end up in the oceans due to their small size, contributing to the 8 million tonnes of plastic garbage that pollutes our seas each year.

In honour of Earth Day, here are ten alternatives to those evil plastic straws.

Papaya leaf stems

Perfect for fresh coconuts, juices and tropical cocktails, the stem of the papaya leaf makes a beautiful natural straw - if you're lucky enough to live where they grow. Pluck a leaf from the tree, cut the leaf away from the stem, then rinse the areas where the stem was cut to avoid the taste of sap.

Bamboo

Fast-growing and, in countries where forests are not being cut down to farm it, highly sustainable, bamboo is Asia's wonder grass. It makes great-looking straws that are perfect for juices and textbook for Tiki if, perhaps, a little organic-seeming for a G&T: Bambaw has dishwasher-safe variants grown sustainably in Bali that also come with a brush. Once they wear out, they compost in a few months.

Glass

Compared to metal or bamboo, glass has the advantage that nervous bar-keeps can see whether a straw is clean or not after it comes out of the dishwasher. Available in a range of lengths, diameters, and colours, with bends and without bends, reinforced (and dishwash-friendly) glass straws can cost well under £1 each on Amazon: look for ones made of borosilicate glass, the equivalent of Pyrex.

Stainless steel

For a dose of Studio 54 and the glorious 70s, invest in stainless steel straws - although, as wastrels may snaffle the shorter versions, they're best kept for longer drinks. Amazon has a pack of eight bent stainless-steel straws for just a couple of quid - perfect for highballs. Titanium and sterling silver straws are also available to folk who want to ultra-premiumise a luxury drink.

Paper

Compostable, biodegradable and made from renewable resources, Aardvark Straws are paper straws - but not as you know it. They're durable enough to last up to three hours in cold drinks; they bend; they come in 200-odd colourways from neutral black through to Tiki crazy; and the company offers tasty bulk discounts to businesses.

No straw

Whatever you're spending on straws - and let's hope that's not a lot - you're likely to spend more if you move to sustainable straws. So it makes economic, not to mention sensory, sense to serve drinks without straws. If guests in your market actually want a straw (or straws), offer them on request - you might be surprised how few actually care.

Straw straw

The drinking straw got its name from the tubular stem of the wheat plant, also known, when dried, as straw. Several companies around the world are trying to bring this deceptively simple, 100% compostable solution back, although natural variations in diameter means it's not one for the control freak. Straw By Straw's straws are organically grown, and the perfect accompaniment to retro drinks of all shapes and sizes.

Biodegradable plastic

A range of straws are marketed as made from "biodegradable plastics" and, whether that's PLA (polylactic acid), chitosan, or another non-fossil plastic alternative, they sound amazing. Unfortunately, most bioplastics will only biodegrade quickly under certain conditions - such as the very hot temperatures generated in an industrial composter - and most can't be recycled either, meaning they'll be swishing around in the ocean interfering with sea creatures for years, just like standard plastic.

Edible straws

Recently funded on Kickstarter are a new range of straws that promise to be flavoured, edible and, apparently, as biodegradable as banana peel. The Loliware straws will ultimately come in two styles: clear and flavourless, like classic plastic straws, and in a range of flavourings to pair with drinks. If they manage to actually make them, and they last, this could be a fantastic gimmick.

Silicone straws

If your kids love colourful plastic straws, and tend to chew on them, then silicone straws, available in a range of gaudy colours on Amazon, could be the way forward in the home, if not the workplace. While hard to recycle, silicone produces around nine times less greenhouse gases than its plastic equivalent, so makes a more sustainable choice.

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straws - 10 alternatives to plastic straws

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Straws - 10 alternatives to plastic straws

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Words by: Theodora Sutcliffe Sustainability is a massive trend in the drinks industry right now - and rightly so, given the volume of waste bars generate, and the greenhouse gas impact of your typical distillery. One small but significant many bars are helping make a difference by eliminating plastic straws - which are made, like all traditional plastics, from fossil fuels.

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More than 100 million single-use straws-most of them plastic-are used in the United States each day. They end up in waterways, harm sea animals, and break down into microplastics that are becoming ubiquitous on Earth. Numerous places have passed plastic-straw bans as a way to start addressing the global plastic waste problem. Disability advocates, however, have pushed back on bans: They say straws are a necessary, everyday tool for many people, and nonplastic versions may not be suitable substitutes.

Straw materials: Assets and disadvantages

1. Metal
Made of stainless steel, aluminum, or even titanium, metal straws have become a popular alternative. They draw some criticism-for having a metallic taste, conducting heat from a hot drink, and clanking against the teeth-but they're durable to transport and reuse.

2. Paper
Paper drinking straws, which date from the late 1800s, often absorb liquid over time, become mushy, and can leave a taste or fibers in drinks. They're the most popular throwaway option in places with plastic-straw bans.

3. Silicone
This material provides a popular soft alternative to metal reusable straws. One company has developed a silicone straw with an extra environmental twist: When burned, it turns into biologically inert ash.

4. Glass
Though glass straws may be more breakable and thus less portable than reusable straws of other materials, they hold up well to washing and reuse. Some makers add an artistic flair to the straws with colors and blown-glass designs and ornaments.

5. Hard plastic
Reusable straws made from rigid plastic are portable, easy to clean, and reasonably durable. Think of your typical reusable plastic water bottle shrunken to straw size.

6. Bamboo
This natural material can be sustainably produced and is a plant-based alternative to fabricated straws. Bamboo straws are reusable but can be hard to clean completely and may absorb flavors. When it's time to dispose of them, they're easily compostable.

7. Bendable straws
When bendable straws were first made in the 1940s, they were a boon in health-care settings to help patients drink without sitting up. Plastic bendable straws have become the safe, low-cost default in such settings-but the hunt is on for greener alternatives.

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Here are 7 alternatives to plastic straws

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Americans employ more than 100 million single-use plastic straws a day. To cut back, try a reusable one made of bamboo, titanium, or glass.

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Have you ever gone to the grocery store to buy bananas and been confronted with a bunch wrapped in plastic and thought, "Why?" After all, bananas come with their own protective covering that is easy to remove and creates no plastic waste.

UK waste reduction nonprofit the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) understands your confusion, and, after an 18-month study, it found that plastic packaging and use-by dates on whole, fresh fruits and vegetables increases food waste, The Guardian reported. The study also found that wrapping the produce in plastic does not increase its shelf life and the packaging often forces shoppers to buy more than is needed, thus leading to more wasted food.

WRAP recommended that retailers sell these products loose and without best-before labels, reported the Ulster Grocer.

"While packaging is important and often carries out a critical role to protect food, we have proven that plastic packaging doesn't necessarily prolong the life of uncut fresh produce," said WRAP CEO Marcus Gover, as The Independent reported. "It can in fact increase food waste in this case. We have shown the massive potential to save good food from being thrown away by removing date labels."

WRAP is also seeking the removal of other "unnecessary" single-use plastics under The UK Plastics Pact, such as those used on multiple packages of canned food and sauce packets used in restaurants, reported the Ulster Grocer.

During the WRAP study, broccoli, potatoes, apples, bananas and cucumbers were stored at different temperatures, both in the packaging and without, The Guardian reported. By the researchers' calculations, every year more than 10,300 tons of plastic are wasted, along with about 100,000 tons of food, due to plastic packaging and use-by dates. That is equal to 14 million shopping baskets worth of food.

About a third of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK are linked to food and drink.

Removing the packaging and labels would stop the circulation of 1,100 garbage trucks worth of plastic, reported the Ulster Grocer.

When it came to the amount of food being wasted, packaging wasn't found to be as important as people being able to buy the correct amount of food for them and the storage of the food they purchased.

"We found that storing food in the fridge at below five degrees gave days, weeks, and, in the case of apples, months more quality product life," Gover said, as The Guardian reported. "We found that for most items, the plastic packaging they were sold in made little or no difference to their shelf life."

WRAP plans to talk with government agencies and the food industry about making loose fruits and vegetables available in stores.

"We are all living with the reality of the climate emergency and the rising cost of living. This new clarity could not be more timely. We need retailers to step up and follow our recommendations so we can achieve real progress in tackling food waste and plastic pollution. This helps save the planet and us money at the same time - a real win-win," Gover said, as reported by the Ulster Grocer.

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Plastic Packaging on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Increases Food Waste, Study Finds - EcoWatch

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Have you ever gone to the grocery store to buy bananas and been confronted with a bunch wrapped in plastic and thought, "Why?" UK waste reduction nonprofit the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) understands your confusion, and, after an 18-month study, found that plastic packaging and use-by dates on whole, fresh fruits and vegetables increases food waste.

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Reusable produce bags | Alternatives to plastic produce bags

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Choosing reusable produce bags or cardboard boxes are simple alternatives to help reduce environmental impact.

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www.recyclenow.com needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding.

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Plastic and trash are so not fly, and recently many airlines have been agreeing too.

As flying has become more accessible to people around the world, the amount of waste produced from airlines has been growing over the past 100 years as well.

From earbuds to food and beverages, and even blankets and toiletries, everything is covered in plastic and creates waste. Passengers have been pushing airlines to change their ways, and a few have responded. Australia's Qantas has launched a low to zero waste flight locally from Sydney to Adelaide in May. United Airlines launched an "all-recyclable service ware" flight from Los Angeles to Chicago in June.

Let's look at some numbers and why this is becoming a huge issue.
The Sad Truth
The number of passenger flights has grown to more than 40,000 per day -- and that is not even taking into account other types of flights, like cargo planes.

On average, one passenger alone leaves behind around 3.15 pounds (1.43 kg) of trash on the flight. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has estimated that this builds up to over 6.7 million tons of trash per year. That's a lot of trash!

The truth is that most of this cabin waste ends up in incinerators or landfills. About 33% of airline waste is food waste, 28% is cardboard and paper waste, and 12% is plastic waste. Even though some waste is recyclable, different countries have different policies over waste management due to sanitation and health concerns. For example, Australia and America have rules that say untouched food and drink from the flight must be thrown away, which accounts for 20% of total airline waste.
Time for Change
Qantas airlines, in their zero waste flight, replaced trays with trays made of sugar canes and their utensils with utensils made of cereal starch. The United Airlines flight in June that was dubbed "Flight for the Planet", put to use completely recyclable plates, utensils, and cups. Instead of producing the regular 65 pounds (29.4 kg) of waste, the cabin produced only 14 pounds or 6.4 kg of waste!

In order to reimagine the airline meal and the use of plastics onboard, a collaboration between all airlines and airports is necessary. A proposed solution is to create trays made of coffee grounds and husks, dishes made of wheat bran, and spoons and forks made from coconut palm wood. They would also use pressed banana leaves for the cover, and edible waffle cones to hold desserts. Also, airlines like Air France have declared to phase out 210 million single-use plastic items, like cups and wrappers, by the end of this year.

With pollution and garbage becoming a critical issue, it will be interesting to see what kinds of products and solutions airlines come up with.

Sources: NY Times, VOX, FAA.gov, Insider.com

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Plastic and trash are so not fly, and recently many airlines have been agreeing too. As flying has become more accessible to people around the world, the amount of waste produced from airlines has been growing over the past 100 years as well.

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Reducing Food Waste is Imperative: Solutions for Food Loss

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Reducing food waste in the US and globally helps fight climate change, deforestation, and the depletion of global water sources.

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If you watched this video, you're probably interested in how plastics are made, and what impact they have on the environment. For starters, you might want to watch this video that shows you how plastic bottles are produced. The American Chemistry Council also has some helpful guidelines on how the material is manufactured, what different types there are, and what role monomers and polymers play in the manufacturing process. (What are monomers and polymers anyway? You can read more about how they're used in plastics, here.)

Moving on from the molecular stuff, plastic also has more visible impacts on the earth. First, learn about landfills, and what role plastic plays in the waste stream. Once plastics are in landfills, they could be contributing to leachate: you can learn more about this hazardous substance here.

Talking of hazards, plastic in the ocean is one of the greatest hazards of all. National Geographic explains how plastic pollution contributes to the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch', and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tells us what it really looks like (hint: it's not exactly a giant trash heap in the sea). They also delve into the science of how big these patches really are. You can learn more about the five major gyres in the world where pollution accumulates, and here's everything you need to know about microplastics: where they come from, why marine animals mistake them for food, and why they're capable of harming birds and other sea life.

But there's hope: plastics can be recycled, after all. Here, you can view the steps involved in recycling a plastic bottle, which turns it into material that can be reused to make a number of things-sometimes, even art! Look at the Natural Resources Defense Council for some useful solutions to the problem of plastic waste, and some tips for what you can do to slow the flow.

Finally, this TED speaker shares some ' tough truths about plastic pollution', and in this talk, you can meet the man who first discovered those ' garbage patches' in the sea. To end on a positive note, in this Ted Talk, the speaker tells us how we can recycle all kinds of plastics with the help of a special recycling plant.

Watch these other TED Ed lessons on Plastics and Pollution! Find out what can you do that can make a difference!

The seas of plastic and The nurdles' quest for ocean domination!

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What really happens to the plastic you throw away - Emma Bryce

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We've all been told that we should recycle plastic bottles and containers. But what actually happens to the plastic if we just throw it away? Emma Bryce traces the life cycles of three different plastic bottles, shedding light on the dangers these disposables present to our world.

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Plastic-wrapped blankets, plastic-wrapped earbuds, plastic-bagged snacks, plastic drink cups-the amount of plastic used in air travel is huge and the industry generates millions of tons of plastic waste each year.

But with increasing awareness about worldwide plastic pollution, the airline industry is exploring ways to reduce its plastic waste, according to a July 9, 2019 article in Vox. Options include using compostable silverware, swapping plastic cups for paper ones, and instituting on-board recycling facilities.

Experts quoted in the article said that tackling the in-flight plastic problem is complicated. For example, to properly dispose of compostable items, systems must be put in place. "Any solid-waste-management tool only works if there's a system to manage it," said Megan Epler Wood, director of the International Sustainable Tourism Initiative at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Although climate change-causing engine emissions are typically considered the biggest environmental impact posed by airplanes, Epler Wood thinks the issue of cabin waste should also be a top priority. "Tourism and climate change are a very significant global issue and it does relate to both carbon emissions from flights and the supply chains that service those flights. And that includes solid waste," she said.

Read the Vox article: Basically everything you're given on an airplane is wrapped in plastic. That's a huge environmental problem.

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What to do about all the plastic on airplanes

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Plastic-wrapped blankets, plastic-wrapped earbuds, plastic-bagged snacks, plastic drink cups-the amount of plastic used in air travel is huge and the industry generates millions of tons of plastic ...

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TAKE OFF: The World’s First Single-Use Plastic-Free Airline Is Up And Away

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TAKE OFF: The World’s First Single-Use Plastic-Free Airline Is Up And Away

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TAKE OFF: The World’s First Single-Use Plastic-Free Airline Is Up And Away

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Portuguese airline Hi Fly has become the world’s first single-use plastic-free airline, after test flying the world’s first plastic-free flight in 2019.

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This story is part of a group of stories called

On a recent 15-hour journey from Newark to Hong Kong, I was faced with a parade of single-use disposables. There was the plastic-wrapped blanket and plastic-bagged earbuds, for starters. Then came the plastic-packed "Asian" snack mix, the plastic-lined hot beverage cups, and the plastic cold beverage cups ringed with embossed circles.

The long-haul meals - a five-spice chicken with rice and green beans, scrambled eggs with bits of turkey and a side of seasoned potatoes - stewed in still more plastic, including individual bags for the rolls, miscellaneous containers for the attendant spreads and condiments, and disposable plastic sheaths that swaddled an assemblage of equally disposable plastic flatware. For a mid-flight snack, we were handed a plastic-wrapped cheese sandwich, inexplicably stuffed along with a packet of M&Ms and a paper napkin into a larger plastic bag. A flight attendant insisted on pushing half-size bottles of Dasani - also made of plastic, albeit "partially sourced from plants" - despite my fervent protestations.

By the time I stumbled onto terra firma, sore and bleary-eyed, I was in a green guilt spiral. While the aviation industry is often pilloried for pumping Arctic-melting carbon emissions into the atmosphere, single-use plastics are a growing scourge on the planet. Only 9 percent of plastic waste is recycled, scientists say. The bulk of it, whether poured into landfills or drifting as litter above ground, frequently ends up in the oceans, a.k.a. the "final sink," where it remains forever. Dead whales, washed ashore, regularly carry inside them the instruments of our convenience. Microplastics - the result of mismanaged plastic waste tumbled into smaller pieces by the action of waves, sediment, or the sun - have infiltrated the loneliest reaches of the planet, the stomachs of deep-sea creatures, and even the human gut.

But I'm hardly alone in my complicity.

Airline passengers alone generated 5.7 million tons of waste globally in 2016, most of which went to landfills or the incinerator, according to the International Air Transport Association, an industry trade group of some 290 airlines. By 2030, this number is expected to nearly double to an annual 10 million tons.

In a single year, airlines toss 9,000 tons of plastic and enough aluminum cans to build 58 new Boeing 747s

But nearly 75 percent of inflight waste is recyclable, says the nonprofit Green America, citing statistics from the Natural Resources Defense Council in a 2010 report. In a single year, airlines toss 9,000 tons of plastic, enough aluminum cans to build 58 new Boeing 747s, and enough newspapers and magazines to engulf a football field 230 meters deep. Certainly it doesn't help that waste management, which involves multiple entities, from catering and ground-handling services to local municipalities, can vary wildly from country to country or even airport to airport.

Airlines aren't oblivious to the scope of the problem, which is coming into focus with the groundswell of public awareness over plastic pollution. (Hello, viral and not uncontroversial straw ban!) Take, for instance, United Airlines, which flew on June 5 what it billed as the most eco-friendly commercial flight in the "history of aviation."

Departing from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for LAX on a tankful of aviation biofuel, Flight 310, a.k.a. the "Flight for the Planet," swapped its standard bagged pretzels for complimentary plated options, including a kale superfood wrap, a Thai summer salad with mango and rice noodles, and an artisanal cheese plate. Passengers chowed down using recyclable or compostable serviceware and imbibed hot drinks from first-of-their-kind recyclable paper cups.

The efforts paid off: Instead of the average 65 pounds of waste generated by a typical United 737 flight, according to a company spokesperson, United managed to pare things down to 14 pounds - all of it garbage brought aboard by passengers, who may or may not have been aware of the scramble behind the scenes.

A month before, the "world's first zero-waste-to-landfill flight," courtesy of Australia's Qantas, sailed from Sydney to Adelaide. Qantas replaced the 1,000-plus single-use plastic items with biodegradable alternatives made from sugarcane and crop starch or, in the case of certain products - like individually packaged milk or Vegemite - removed them altogether. By collecting all leftover items for reuse, recycling, or composting, Qantas crew members reduced the 75 pounds of trash from a typical flight on the route to the contents of a small plastic bag.

These are not, as anyone who has flown anywhere can attest, your typical flights. But they may be a glimpse into the future.

Why airlines are swimming in plastic

Cheap and ubiquitous, plastic serves a practical function. Individual wrapping keeps food fresh and hygienic and makes it easier for security personnel to inspect items like blankets and headsets for signs of tampering. Lightweight, single-use food service items lower onboard weight while keeping the logistical choreography of collecting, washing, and sanitizing dishware to a minimum. Not to mention fine china and silverware serve to delineate the haves (first and business class) from the have-nots (economy).

The sheer scale of air travel today - roughly 4.3 billion passengers flew on scheduled flights in 2018, according to IATA - also makes the idea of swapping disposables for reusables easier said than done. Not only does every ounce on board an aircraft equal more fuel use, says Richard Foss, author of Food In The Air and Space: The Surprising History of Food and Drink in the Skies, but maintaining the correct rotation of supplies on 45 million individual flights every year would also be onerous work.

"If you look at the era in which they were using china on every aircraft, you're talking about the propeller age, where even the largest craft was still holding fewer than 100 people," he says. "Now imagine a fully loaded 747 that can hold hundreds of people. With the amount of air travel we have, you would have to have a gigantic dishwashing facility located either on site at the airport or you would have to have semis full of dirty dishes going back and forth."

Tackling in-flight garbage is complicated, to say the least

While waste management is by and large the responsibility of the airline, much of its success relies on the types of facilities airports provide - or don't, as the case may be. To wit: For every San Francisco International Airport that has developed pathways for composting and recycling in a bid to become the world's first zero-waste airport by 2021, there's a Washington Dulles that takes a more cavalier approach.

Airlines that land at SFO take their onboard waste to one of its 17 material recovery areas, where it mixes with other waste from passengers and businesses in the terminal.

Beyond that, the airport's influence is limited. "Within the terminals, we've been able to move the dial on restaurants using compostable packaging, but we don't have that ability to require such items on board aircraft," says Doug Yakel, a public information officer at SFO.

Despite the best intentions, diverting waste from the landfill is easier said than done. Changes have to be systematic; the use of compostable cutlery, for one thing, doesn't guarantee the cutlery will be composted. "Any solid-waste-management tool only works if there's a system to manage it," says Megan Epler Wood, director of the International Sustainable Tourism Initiative at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Not all plastics are created equal, either. Their likelihood of being recycled often boils down to their resin identification code - the tiny triangles with the numbers inside - that indicates what type of plastic an item is made from, and even then, processing facilities can have divergent policies. Not all US municipalities accept polypropylene, or No. 5 plastic, for instance. Because of additives such as dyes, fillers, and flame retardants, even No. 1, PET, the world's most widely recycled plastic, is only melted and remade into new products at a rate of between 20 and 30 percent, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

"The recycling component, especially for plastics, is highly variable, even from one neighboring community to another"

"The recycling component, especially for plastics, is highly variable, even from one neighboring community to another," says Darby Hoover, senior resource specialist at NRDC. "I live in Oakland and work in San Francisco, and you can't put the same things in the recycling bins in those two adjacent cities."

The challenges of recycling are often further compounded by animal health regulations. Countries with economies largely driven by agriculture, such as Australia, Canada, European member states, and New Zealand, impose strict restrictions on catering waste from overseas flights that "preclude reuse and recycling," says Jon Godson, assistant director of environment best practices at IATA.

As such, though energy generation is an emerging alternative, a "significant" proportion of cabin waste is incinerated, sterilized, or buried in a landfill. "This also means that cabin waste including food, single-use plastic, and alternative products such as biodegradable crockery and cutlery cannot be donated, reused, or subject to bio-waste treatment such as composting," Godson adds.

Also muddying the issue? Sweeping rule changes from China that have left many recyclables, including mixed paper and post-consumer plastic, without a major market.

But airlines haven't given up altogether

Hurdles aside, some airlines are beginning to think outside the single trash bag. Emirates, SAS, and Qantas have instituted onboard recycling facilities to sort aluminum, plastic, glass, and paper products before landing. And in May, Spain's Iberia, as part of the European Union's Life Zero Cabin Waste initiative, introduced 500 new trolleys with two-compartment bins to separate packaging and paper-cardboard from other forms of waste.

Government oversight can have its upsides, too. The looming EU-wide ban on single-use plastic, coupled with public pressure over plastic pollution, has spurred airlines to make more ambitious commitments than they might have otherwise. Air France has pledged to replace 210 million single-use plastic items with sustainable versions on all flights by the end of 2019, as has the Portuguese carrier Hi Fly, which in January boasted the world's first plastic-free flight. In 2018, Ireland's Ryanair vowed to outlaw plastic as part of a five-year plan to become "the greenest airline." British Airways is "actively seeking to source non-plastic alternatives where possible." By 2020, it aims to recycle 50 percent of its waste at its main bases in Heathrow and Gatwick in England.

Air France has pledged to replace 210 million single-use plastic items with sustainable versions on all flights by the end of 2019

American airlines have made inroads as well. Last May, Alaska Air announced it was scrapping straws and swapping plastic stirrers and picks for versions made with white birch and bamboo. United took a similar step in September, as did American Airlines, which noted in July that it would offer "plastic alternatives" to flatware and stir sticks in its airport lounges. Delta banned straws, turned to compostable stir sticks, and stopped swaddling its utensils and amenity kits in plastic.

Indeed, any opportunity for reuse or reduction should "take priority" over material substitution, according to Hoover. And opportunities to design out waste abound. Virgin Atlantic sidestepped 13 tons of plastic a year, for example, when it rejiggered its Forest Stewardship Council-certified Change for Children paper donation envelopes to double as headset coverings.

There are other tweaks airlines might consider, such as the pay-as-you-go approach favored by low-cost carriers, so passengers only purchase what they will consume. They could preorder meals to save airlines from gambling on what people may or may not want to eat. Travelers might take matters into their own hands, say, by supplying their own reusable cutlery and stainless steel bottles, or by hanging on to a single cup for the duration of the flight. This may require extra motivation from even the most conscientious of passengers, however.

"A high percentage of us may be recycling at home, but when we go on vacation, if the stewardess doesn't do it, we're just like, 'Oh, well,'" says Epler Wood, who studies traveler behavior as part of her research. "Part of it is we just don't feel in control. Even I feel like, 'How am I going to convince the stewardess to fill my water bottle? This is not in her job.'"

Another dilemma for airlines is there "isn't always a better alternative," says Christine Boucher, the managing director of global environment, sustainability, and compliance at Delta.

"When you're looking for a more sustainable alternative, you have to look at the full environmental impact of that alternative," she says. "Some of these alternatives use more energy to produce them, for example. Is replacing single-use plastic the right choice, or is the right choice recycling that single-use plastic into something else? We're really looking at a full life-cycle analysis."

What about climate change?

Some may argue that the issue of cabin waste pales in comparison to aviation's outsize role in accelerating climate change - rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, perhaps - but Epler Wood is not one of them. "Everything that is happening in my field right now is ballooning in its impacts, be it carbon emissions from aircraft or solid waste from aircraft," she says. "Tourism and climate change are a very significant global issue and it does relate to both carbon emissions from flights and the supply chains that service those flights. And that includes solid waste."

Hoover, for one, agrees with her. "It's easy to say, 'Well, look, there's one plastic fork here on an airplane. How does that add up to the staggering amounts of fossil fuels that the airline consume as they're going from place to place?'" she says.

On the other hand, it's not just one plastic fork. Or just one plastic cup. What if everyone just hung on to their cup for refills instead of getting a new one every time they felt parched?

"Think of how many flights there are and how many people there are on those flights," Hoover says. "It all starts to add up."
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Air travel has a plastic packaging problem

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This story is part of a group of stories called On a recent 15-hour journey from Newark to Hong Kong, I was faced with a parade of single-use disposables. There was the plastic-wrapped blanket and plastic-bagged earbuds, for starters. Then came the plastic-packed "Asian" snack mix, the plastic-lined hot beverage cups, and the plastic cold beverage cups ringed with embossed circles.

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Before modern liquid shampoo became widespread, hair care routines didn't involve so much plastic waste. Now, we are conditioned (!) to believe we need liquid shampoo in plastic bottles that usually get disposed of rather than refilled, and solid soap is considered a niche. However, thanks to environmental awareness about plastic waste and renewed attention on some of the harmful effects of toxic synthetic ingredients in many liquid soap brands, shampoo bars are making a comeback. But where did the humble shampoo bar come from? And how did it fall out of use? Below we nerd out on the history of the cult zero waste beauty product, explore the role of British cruelty-free beauty pioneer LUSH in "reinventing" shampoo bar in the past two decades, and how we might be looking at bottle-free becoming mainstream again soon.

Where Did Shampoo Come From?

The word "shampoo" entered the English language around three centuries ago, and it originates from India in the colonial era. It is derived from the Hindi word champ o and the Sanskrit root chapati (yes like the popular Indian flatbread), which is to press or knead. The practice of "shampooing" therefore meant to massage the scalp with fragrant oils, rather than hair washing as the word is understood today. The hair treatment was introduced to European societies when colonial traders returned with the local Indian custom of cleansing the hair and body with massage and oils.

Shampooing - cleansing the excess oil and dirt from our hair - was also done using other natural methods, such as using vegetable starch and wood ash to absorb excess oil and wash hair. In the 19th century, people also started to use soap bars containing palm fruit oil and coconut oil to wash their body and hair. So the concept of using a packaging-free solid bars to clean our hair isn't exactly "new" - it has been around for centuries, long before "zero-waste" even became a term.

With the dawn of liquid surfactants that scientists created to efficiently remove dirt, a few opportunistic cosmetics companies jumped on the idea of developing products that marked the start of what would become a billion-dollar industry. We started seeing different types of commercial soap displayed on retail shelves in the 1930s and 40s: liquid shampoo, body wash and gels, liquid conditioners - all of which by necessity had to be packaged in containers. At around the same time, plastic as a mterial became favoured as a replacement for less convenient and more expensive forms of packaging such as paper and glass. The single-use/disposable personal care industry was thus born.

The Rise Of Modern Bottled Liquid Shampoo

Slowly, these liquid shampoos in plastic containers and bottles became widespread in almost every family bathroom. Though unarguably convenient to use, these products generate massive amounts of waste and neither consumers nor businesses considered the effect off their choices when it came to the lifespan of the container bottles.

It is estimated that over a lifetime, the average person goes through 800 plastic shampoo bottles - the majority of which ends up in landfills or in our oceans, which are then further broken down into microplastics, choking marine life and contaminating our own water and food. Needless to say, recycling has never been and continues not to be the answer, with waste regulations and recycling infrastructure mostly unavailable in large swaths of the globe.

Source: Claudia Handcrafted Soap

As reports of the scale of our plastic pollution began to surface and headlines about the massive Pacific trash vortex became more widespread, environmentalists and concerned consumers became concerned about everyday consumption habits and the throwaway culture that was becoming pervasive. This heightened eco awareness saw the advent of the now worldwide "zero-waste" lifestyle, which initially began as niche grassroots concern that later morphed into today's global movement.

How LUSH's Co-Founder Upended An Industry

Over in the United Kingdom, a couple of alternative upstarts were looking to disrupt the personal care industry. In the 1980s, Mo Constantine, co-founder of cult beauty brand LUSH (known as Constantine & Weir, and later Cosmetics-To-Go at the time before they rebranded to LUSH in 1995) was struck by inspiration thanks to an unlikely source: Alka-Seltzer. The fizzing tablets led her to create the brand's ubiquitous bath bombs, which were also the first product they sold 'naked,' aka without packaging.

Shortly thereafter, Constantine and Stan Kryszta, the brand's cosmetic chemist, sought to reinvent the traditional soap bar specifically for hair. Unlike other soap bars on the market at the time, which were based on oils and fats (the traditional recipe for soap), Mo and Stan came up with an innovative formula for a solid version of liquid shampoo. When they first launched their shampoo bar product in 1988 under the Constantine & Weir name, it became so popular that they successfully applied for and won a composition patent for their groundbreaking recipe.

Years after the now famous shampoo bar was born in the kitchens that later became LUSH, the brand remains the keepsake of the invention, even though the original patent expired in 2011.

Source: Green Queen

Thanks to LUSH, eco-friendly beauty products have been on consumers' radars like never before, as the brand has captured a (mostly) young and eco-conscious generation with their low waste range and naked store concept, with the brand reportedly saving around 30 million plastic bottles from landfills over the past year alone. Amid a recent public outcry on plastic waste, the company has even launched a carbon positive cork container for the shampoo bars, manufactured using regeneratively grown cork (which absorbs carbon from our atmosphere) and transported via sailboats.
READ: Lush Director Annabelle Baker On Striving For Zero-Waste Ideal

Source: Ethique

The Shampoo Bar Goes Mass

LUSH shampoo bars are infused with blends of natural ingredients with cleansing yet soothing properties, such as cinnamon leaf oil, contain no preservatives, and most importantly, do not require any packaging or container. Compared to the average bottle of liquid shampoo, solid shampoo bars last around three times as long and only need be stored on a dish.

In recent years, a plastic-free and zero-waste beauty movement has taken hold and become more mainstream. As well as LUSH's pioneering range, other independent beauty brands with a sustainability focus have also developed their shampoo bars, many of them featuring natural, plant-based and organic ingredients- brands like Lamazuna (France), Meow Meow Tweet (US) and Ethique (New Zealand) filled Insta feeds the world over with their low-waste, plastic-free modern bars to suit every eco warrior hair type.

Even mainstream cosmetics corporations have caught onto the trend and launched eco-friendly and plastic-free beauty products, hoping to catch a share of this budding market. The shampoo bar crazy has also spawned a whole range of plastic-free bars from face moisturisers to pet soaps to hair conditioner, all formulated for various care concerns and all made available sans packaging.
READ: Where To Get Refillable & Packaging-Free Beauty & Household Cleaning Products In Hong Kong
In the midst of the many environmental issues the planet is facing, from global warming to biodiversity loss, plastic pollution is one that we can easily tackle individually by making easy switches in our everyday habits. So go on, ditch the bottle and choose the (shampoo) bar- it's an easy choice you can feel seriously good about.
Editor's Note: This article was updated with more accurate and complete information about the shampoo bar's 1988 patent filing and origin story. Lead image courtesy of Pinterest.

Sally Ho is Green Queen's former resident writer and lead reporter. Passionate about the environment, social issues and health, she is always looking into the latest climate stories in Hong Kong and beyond. A long-time vegan, she also hopes to promote healthy and plant-based lifestyle choices in Asia. Sally has a background in Politics and International Relations from her studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Zero Waste History: The Humble Origins Of The Shampoo Bar

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Shampoo bars are becoming a thing again, after they were phased out in the 1930s when the age of liquid soap stumbled in. Here's the history.

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Head & Shoulders - Recyclable Shampoo Bottle

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Head & Shoulders - Recyclable Shampoo Bottle

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Recyclable Shampoo Bottles with Sustainable Packaging | Head & Shoulders

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Head & Shoulders created the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made from beach plastic. In doing so, we cleaned up over 200 beaches around Europe.

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What happens to those little shampoo bottles?

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What happens to those little shampoo bottles?

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Ever wonder what it would be like to own a second home in Hawaii? Well, if you are not quite ready to pull the trigger, but would like to experience Hawaii without being confined to a hotel room, it is possible to have a homeowner-like experience by staying in a luxury condo or home managed by Destination Residences Hawaii.

Destination Residences Hawaii, which was founded in 1986 and is based in Lahaina, Maui, is a part of Destination Hotels, which are is owned by Hyatt Hotels Corp.

Destination Residences Hawaii partners with homeowners associations and individual owners of luxury residences. "We generally take a second seat, which is great because it allows us to be very agile and be great partners," says Mike Cuthbertson, area managing director of Destination Residences Hawaii, who adds that nothing the company does is cookie-cutter. "We take a brand-new business opening approach to every property that we get involved with," he says. "This allows us to tuck under the strength of the existing brand and use that to leverage an excellent hospitality product."

Currently, Destination Hotels manages 40 upscale and luxury independent hotels, resorts and residences across North America. Each property under management is intentionally diverse and true to its location, transcending status quo in fresh, authentic and unforgettable ways. Destination is able to do this by capturing the unique essence of each location through authentic experiences, immersive programming and genuine service.

Destination Residences' Portfolio of Luxury Properties In Hawaii

Destination Residences Hawaii has an impressive portfolio of more than 650 vacation rental properties including a collection of luxury residences, condominiums and penthouses on Maui, the Island of Hawai'i, and the South Shore of Kauai. "We represent as many rooms as the large hotels on Maui," says Mike Cuthbertson, Area Managing Director, Destination Residences Hawaii.

Destination Residences combines spacious ocean-front residential-style living with hotel-inspired amenities and attentive guest services and in turn provides the best of both worlds. Its portfolio includes spectacular oceanfront villas with panoramic views of the Pacific as well as luxury homes in an exclusive private club setting. Some of its residences are located at world class golf communities, such as the private club Kukui'ula on Kauai, while others are steps from a beach, such as the Pu'unoa Beach Estates or Lahaina Shores Beach Resort. Provide a grocery list before you leave home and the Destination Residences Hawaii team will stock your refrigerator before your arrival. There will be no need to take home dirty clothes at the end of your stay because most residences are equipped with an in-unit washer and dryer.

Destination Residences Hawaii guarantees that each of the properties it manages is maintained to meet its high standards. It is constantly working with its owners on an annual basis to make sure there are certain standards met that provide a continuity of experience for its guests, including the audio-visual experience, seating capacity at the dining room table and enough seating in the living room. "Our reservations process is very involved," explains Cuthbertson. "We probably have some of the longer call averages within the industry because of our attention to walking people through the expectations of what they are going to get and find out what they want from their rental." Destination Residences Hawaii assigns an annual rating to each of the properties it rents, which affects the price of the rental.

"The legacy of Destination Residences in Hawaii as a local operator and having these relationships and having very unique properties that we operate in their own individual style as a brand of one is very important," explains Cuthbertson. "The appreciation we have for each property and each destination and island is very important."

Over the past year or so, Destination Residences Hawaii's growth in terms of the number of units it manages, has been nothing short of meteoric. "This has really set us up for defining Destination as a really significant player in Hawaii," says Cuthbertson.

#DestinationBucketList

Most recently, Destination Residences Hawaii has made it even easier for guests to enjoy the best of the islands with the debut of #DestinationBucketList, a collection of once-in-a-lifetime, authentically Hawaiian experiences. Exclusive to guests of its Maui and Island of Hawai'i properties, these offerings are highly customized for those seeking a turnkey way to discover Hawaii's true "bucket list" adventures in a different way while enjoying the best of each island.

Excursions span everything from a luxury whale watching cruise to a doors-off sunrise helicopter photo tour with renowned local photographer, Daniel Sullivan. "Destination Residences Hawaii has a deep passion for these islands, and we want to create a way to authentically share the spirit of our island home via our favorite, hand selected Hawaiian adventures," said Cuthbertson. "Travel is all about enriching experiences. Destination Residences Hawaii provides travelers with a gracious 'home away from home,' and #DestinationBucketList's experiences were designed to truly connect people to the islands in an authentic manner. Our team worked with local experts and guides to create these packages, and in addition to delivering an unprecedented Hawaiian experience, we want to make it easy and seamless for our guests ultimately allowing our guests to spend less time planning and more time making memories."

Wailea Beach Villas On Maui

At Wailea Beach Villas, a gated residential community, which ranks as the third top resort in all of Hawaii according to Conde Nast Traveler Reader's Choice Awards' 2019, Destination Residences Hawaii manages 35 units including two- and three-bedroom penthouses and villas, with each offering full kitchens, private lanais and spectacular views. Located on Wailea Beach and facing the Wailea Coastal Walk, Destination Residences Hawaii's guests stay in fully furnished, turnkey residences with daily housekeeping.

Similar to staying at a five-star hotel, upon the guests' arrival, they are presented with a lei and a welcome cocktail. There is onsite management helping with guest services, including a front desk staff as well as a concierge who can arrange for a wide range of daily activities. "It is exactly like staying in a luxury hotel," says Cuthbertson. "Which is a very different experience compared to renting from a typical management company."

Wailea Beach Villas provides a luxury experience at a fraction of what it would cost to stay in a suite at a five-star hotel on the same beach. Indeed, stay at The Four Seasons (located on the same beach) over spring break and it will cost as much as $15,000 per night for the "Elite" two-bedroom suite which is 1800-square-feet in size ($934 per night (plus tax) for a standard 600-square-foot room per night and $1,350 per night, plus tax, for a standard room with an ocean view). Compare that to staying in a three-bedroom penthouse at Wailea Beach Villas which will cost $1,234 per night (plus tax and resort fees). At Wailea Beach Villas, guests get a lot more value, however, especially considering the units there feature multiple bedrooms (three bedrooms in this case) plus a living room, laundry, private lanai and full kitchen and 24-hour management on property.

Wailea Beach Villas also offers multiple swimming pools (stocked with towels and sunscreen), a large fitness center, a business center, designated chaise lounge chairs on the beach and secure access to the beach. Even better, unlike nearby hotels, its pools and designated beach area is rarely crowded. Adjacent from Wailea Beach Villas is The Shops at Wailea can be reached via a private gate. The shopping center offers a wide variety of high-end boutiques, restaurants, art galleries and a grocery store. It is no wonder Wailea Beach Villas remains one of the most in demand places to stay at in Maul. "Our repeat guest rate is off the charts," says Cuthbertson. Indeed, at approximately 50%, its substantially higher than the average repeat guest rate of 30% at hotels throughout Hawaii.

In addition to Waliea Beach Villas, Destination Residences manages many other luxury properties on the island of Maui, including Grand Champion Villas, Wailea Ekolu, Makena Surf, Wailea Ekahi Village, Waliea Elua, Polo Beach Club, Ka'anapali Ali'i, Lahaina Shores Beach Resort and Pu'unoa Beach Estates. Regardless of the location, all Destination Residences Hawaii guests have access to daily housekeeping, a front desk staff and concierge (which for some properties may be located off-site).

The Lodge at Kukui'ula on Kauai

On the island of Kauai, Destination Residences Hawaii manages The Lodge at Kukui'ula, which is located in the Kukui'ula community. A private club, Kukui-ula is so exclusive that only members (who are required to own property), guests of members and guests who stay at The Lodge at Kukui'ula have access to its impressive array of world-class amenities. ( See Forbes' recent article "Nirvana in Hawaii: Kukui'ula on Hawaii" at this link.)

Here, Destination Residences manages 40 Club Villas, Cottages and Bungalows, which are plantation-style cottages featuring island furniture, laundry facilities, open kitchens and porches. Rates for a one-bedroom one bathroom bungalow with 1,257-square-feet of space start at $756 (sleeping two), $941 a night for a two-bedroom two-bathroom unit with 1,787-square-foot unit (accommodating four guests) and $1,319 a night for a spacious 2,475-square-foot bungalow with three bedrooms three bathrooms that will sleep six. Rates may vary depending on the season and views. Compare these nightly rates to what it would cost to purchase a home at Kukui'ula. Custom homes start at $4.9 million while a villa starts at approximately $2.25 million--plus there's the cost to maintain a property including property taxes, homeowner association dues, membership dues, etc.

Guests who stay in a bungalow, villa or cottage managed by Destination Residences Hawaii at The Lodge at Kukui'ula have access to all of the club's facilities including a full-service spa, 18,000-square-foot fitness facility, multiple dining options, multiple swimming pools, an onsite outfitter for outdoor activities and a 10-acre upcountry organic farm that offers fresh, complimentary produce.

Lodging guests also have access to Kukui'ula's private 18-hole golf course was designed by British Open winner Tom Weiskopf. The 216-acre par-72 course is 7,052 yards long and features panoramic views of the ocean and surrounding mountains, coffee fields and fruit orchards.

Booking A Rental Through Destination Residences Hawaii

So if you are planning a trip to Hawaii, consider booking a residence managed by Destination Residences Hawaii. Its properties, newly integrated into World of Hyatt, can be booked through Hyatt or through t he Destination Hotels website at www.destinationhotels.com/destination-residences-hawaii.

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Vacation In Hawaii Like A Homeowner With Destination Residences Hawaii

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If you want to experience Hawaii without being confined to a hotel room, it is possible to have a homeowner-like experience by staying in a luxury condo or home managed by Destination Residences Hawaii.

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New, large amenity bottles reduce plastic waste while offering guests a convenient "pump" design

BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) today announced that it's expanding an initiative to replace tiny, single-use toiletry bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel in guestroom showers with larger, pump-topped bottles. To date, the company has already rolled out larger bottles at about 1,000 properties in North America, and now expects most of its other hotels to make the switch by December 2020. When fully implemented across the globe, Marriott International's expanded toiletry program is expected to prevent about 500 million tiny bottles annually from going to landfills; that's about 1.7 million pounds of plastic, a 30 percent annual reduction from current amenity plastic usage.

"This is our second global initiative aimed at reducing single-use plastics in just over a year, which underscores how important we believe it is to continuously find ways to reduce our hotels' environmental impact. It's a huge priority for us," said Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International. "Our guests are looking to us to make changes that will create a meaningful difference for the environment while not sacrificing the quality service and experience they expect from our hotels."

Already, more than 20 percent of Marriott International's more than 7,000 properties now offer larger-pump-topped bottles in guestroom showers, doing away with single-use bottles that often end up in landfills.

Today's announcement expands Marriott International's early 2018 initiative to switch single-use shower toiletry bottles to larger bottles with pump dispensers in five brands: Courtyard by Marriott, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, Fairfield by Marriott and TownePlace Suites. In addition, four of Marriott International's brands - Aloft Hotels, Element by Westin, Four Points and Moxy Hotels - previously implemented the pump-dispenser toiletry concept, while a fifth - AC by Marriott - is well on its way to making the change.

A typical large, pump-topped bottle contains the same amount of product as about 10 to 12 tiny, single-use bottles. Because tiny bottles are not usually recycled, they end up in the hotels' trash bins - generating refuse that will never truly decompose in landfills. In addition to allowing guests to use as much of a product as they need, the larger bottles are also recyclable along with other basic containers, such as plastic soda bottles.
Company first introduced larger-size toiletries in early 2018
Marriott International, which welcomes more than 1 million guests each night, first began replacing single-use toiletry bottles in the guest bathrooms of about 450 select-service hotels with larger toiletry bottles that contain more product in January 2018. Today, the about 1,000 hotels that have made the switch overwhelmingly report positive feedback from guests. Each brand will implement the larger amenity bottles in a way that is consistent with the brand experience and quality standards that Marriott International's guests have come to expect. The company is already working on ways to reduce single-use items elsewhere in the guestroom.

This initiative furthers Marriott International's commitment to reducing its environmental impact as part of its Serve 360: Doing Good in Every Direction platform that addresses social and environmental issues. As part of Serve 360, Marriott International is working toward several sustainability goals such as reducing landfill waste by 45 percent and responsibly sourcing its top 10 product purchase categories - including guestroom amenities - by 2025. These goals, along with other sustainability programs, help reduce Marriott's global environmental footprint.

The global shower amenities initiative comes 13 months after the company's first global plastics-reduction initiative, which addressed disposable plastic straws. In July 2018, the company's hotels across the portfolio began phasing out disposable plastic straws and stirrers and switching to an on-demand approach with alternative products wherever possible. As of last month, the company had met its goal, resulting in an estimated annual diversion of 1 billion plastic straws from landfills - a first step on its journey to further reduce the portfolio's reliance on single-use plastics and other disposables.

About Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,000 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 132 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world.The company now offers one travel program, Marriott Bonvoy™, replacing Marriott Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®(SPG). For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

IRPR#1

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SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.

Barbara DeLollis, Marriott International, barbara.delollis@marriott.com

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Marriott International To Eliminate Single-Use Shower Toiletry Bottles From Properties Worldwide, Expanding Successful 2018 Initiative | Marriott International

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The Investor Relations website contains information about Marriott International's business for stockholders, potential investors, and financial analysts.

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Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Shampoo Bottles

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Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Shampoo Bottles

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Top 10 Plastic Free Shampoo Brands for Eco-Friendly Haircare - Sustainable Review

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In the three decades since it was first introduced, the plastic, coin-sized sticker you see on fruit and vegetables has become a staple of modern agriculture, imparting essential information about the grower, brand, country of origin, and even price of fresh produce as it crisscrosses the globe. The Product Look Up ( PLU) label is designed to be briefly scanned then discarded, destined for landfill. There, it might last for hundreds of years, joining an endless accumulation of plastic packaging also intended to be removed after purchase and immediately jettisoned.

Like most single-use packaging, the stickers are not easily recycled. Those that don't end up in landfill collect in the environment, and then often end up clogging up our rivers and oceans. According to the United Nations Environment Program, nearly a garbage truck and a half's worth of plastic ends up in rivers, lakes, and oceans every minute. Eventually those plastics break down into micro and nano plastic particles that poison our air, the water we drink, and our bloodstream. Approximately 40% of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes, and little of it is easily recycled. Like the PLU sticker, it is used just once and then thrown away. Yet the long-term consequences are enormous: The production of plastic, 98% of which is sourced from fossil fuels, is the cause of some 10% of all global greenhouse-gas emissions.

One proposed solution is to replace these plastics with alternatives: biodegradable utensils, compostable wrappers, plant-based bottles, and compressed-fiber plates and bowls. Theoretically, these products could seamlessly slot into existing supply chains, requiring no sacrifice on the part of consumers, who are clamoring for more sustainable options. But production is limited in scale, more expensive than conventional plastic, and it's not yet clear that the alternatives are actually better for human and planetary health: most plant-based plastics are, on a molecular level, identical to their fossil-fuel-sourced siblings and last just as long in the environment. Other substitutes require many of the same toxic chemical additives as conventional plastics to keep them waterproof, flexible, durable, and colorfast.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that the infrastructure to ensure these bioplastics actually biodegrade or compost is very limited. That means that despite the best intentions of manufacturers and consumers, supposedly compostable plastic bags and supposedly biodegradable single-use cutlery may be causing just as much climate damage as conventional plastics.

More From TIME

The future of such plastics, as well as the role of bioplastics in the global economy, is under negotiation. In November, representatives from 162 nations converged in Nairobi, Kenya, for INC-3, the third of five planned sessions for the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee to develop a global treaty to end plastic pollution, a kind of Paris Climate Accords for plastic. So far, the delegates have put forth a wide range of options, ranging from greater recycling capacity to a tax on manufacturers, which would go to global cleanup projects. Among the more ambitious proposals is for global production of virgin plastic to be slashed, largely through a reduction in single use products. Treaty negotiations are scheduled to conclude at the end of 2024.
Read more: Countries May Be Getting One Step Closer To Actually Tackling Plastic Pollution
A complete ban would not be enough to end the plastic scourge, but it's a start. A new tool developed by the University of California Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, and the Benioff Ocean Initiative shows that a 90% reduction of single-use plastics would remove some 286 million metric tons of ocean pollution by 2050-the equivalent in water bottles stacked end-to-end would cover the distance to the sun and back nearly six times. (Marc and Lynn Benioff, who support the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at UC Santa Barbara, also own TIME Magazine).

The composting complication

Practically speaking, there isn't enough global supply of alternative materials to replace the amount of single-use plastic being produced today, and that may be a good thing, says Paula Luu, project director for the Center for the Circular Economy at impact investing firm Closed Loop Partners. That's because, while plastic alternatives show a lot of promise, it won't be realized unless their implementation is accompanied by an upgrade of current waste-collection systems, ongoing scientific research, and policy change. "Before we do a full switchover, we really need to focus on addressing a number of different challenges, including customer education, waste-recovery infrastructure, and the economic incentives to a full transition," says Luu. "If it's not done thoughtfully, with a whole-system view, it could result in unintended consequences."

France's effort to reduce single-use plastics is a case in point. In 2022, the country banned all non-compostable PLU tags. A win for French environmentalists, however, soon became a sticky problem for produce importers: in a globalized market where produce comes from all corners of the world, one country's ban on plastic PLU tags only really works when every other country opts to do the same.

The technology exists-multinational fruit-labeling company Sinclair, among others, has been producing them for years-but the cost is higher given how cheap plastic is. A global ban on plastic stickers would certainly encourage competition and economic incentives, leading to lower prices for compostable versions. But without widespread access to composting facilities, most of those compostable stickers would end up in landfill anyway, where they could cause even more climate damage than conventional plastic. In a well-regulated composting facility, bacteria use oxygen to break organic materials down into carbon. In a landfill's low-oxygen environment, that material creates methane as it decomposes, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Read more: Compostable Dog Poop Bags Aren't Really That Compostable
The terms "biodegradable" and "compostable" are often misinterpreted to mean that the products will melt away in the natural environment, which is rarely the case. To meet a baseline standard of compostability, 90% of a PLU sticker, or a fork, for that matter, must break down into carbon matter within six to 24 months under carefully regulated heat and moisture conditions. But if you just tossed a supposedly biodegradable fork into your backyard, it could last almost as long as your typical plastic cutlery. In one 2019 study, researchers left compostable plastic bags buried in soil or submerged in seawater for three years as a trial. At the end, some of the bags were intact enough to carry a full load of groceries. Which means that without a dramatically ramped-up global system of collecting and processing biodegradable packaging, compostable is little better than plastic for the environment.

In the U.S., only 27% of the population has access to food waste composting programs, and only 142 out of the 201 industrial composting facilities nationwide that process food waste will accept compostable packaging as well, according to a new survey conducted by the composting website BioCycle and the Composting Consortium, a business group that promotes effective composting. That means that the country is producing far more compostable cups, plates, and take-out containers than it can actually process, says BioCycle's editor and publisher, Nora Goldstein.

Facilities that are reluctant to take compostable packaging argue that they can't always tell the difference between conventional plastics and compostable, and they don't want to risk contamination. A compostable sachet of pre-washed salad greens looks just like a polyethylene produce bag, says Goldstein. "If I can't tell the difference, and I am a composting professional, your average consumer is just as likely to throw a plastic bag in the compost as a compostable bag in the recycling." Both are bad: When plastic ends up in compost, the facility can't sell it, which threatens the financial viability of the project. And when compostable packaging ends up in a recycling facility, it can gum up the machinery or, depending on how it is made, taint the next batch of recycled plastic.

Plant-based doesn't necessarily mean plant-friendly

Add plant-based plastics into the mix, and you have even more problems. Polyethylene terephthalate, the PET plastic used for most soda bottles (and also in many other single-use packaging products), is usually extracted from fossil fuels, but, in a process similar to turning corn into ethanol, it can also be manufactured from plants. The plant- and fossil-fuel-based versions are chemically indistinguishable-the only way to tell the difference is through radiocarbon dating (carbon molecules extracted from fossil fuels are older than ones that come from plants)-and like conventional PET, plant-based PET can be recycled.

But when consumers see a label saying a plastic is plant-based, "One in two Americans will say, 'Oh, this belongs in a composting bin'," says Luu of Closed Loop Partners, which recently conducted a survey of American attitudes to plastic alternatives. In other words, consumers might think they are doing the right thing, even if half of them are putting their plant-based PET products in the wrong place. Luu believes better labeling is the answer: "Just like we universally understand the stop sign, we should immediately understand that this package is compostable because it's tinted green or is prominently labeled. If we don't get labeling and design right, we could be creating problems for both the recycling and the composting industries."

Another option, says Daphna Nissenbaum, CEO and co-founder of TIPA Corp, a multinational company producing a wide range of compostable plastic films and food packaging, is to go the fully compostable PLU route, and mandate, through global standards, that all flexible plastic packaging-sandwich wrappers, zipper bags, cling film, and shopping bags, for example-goes to the compost bin. TIPA's technology, which is licensed to manufacturers around the world, can create compostable packaging for everything from dry cleaning to granola bars. The goal is for no one to ever worry about special labels, she says. "It will be intuitive. If it's flexible, it will go in the compost with the banana peels." On the other hand, if it's rigid, like a soda bottle or a yogurt pot, it should go to recycling.

The only problem is that while TIPA's films are compostable, they, like many other compostable products, are still made partially from fossil fuels. The technology exists to make a fully compostable, fully plant-based plastic product, but it is far more expensive than conventional plastics, and does not always work as well, especially if it is used to package food items that are acidic, or liquid, or require long-term storage. Blending plant-based and fossil-fuel sourced plastics to create a compostable product lowers the cost and improves performance.

The truth: 'carbon is carbon'

That is the dirty secret of so-called bioplastics, says Ramani Narayan, a chemical engineering professor at Michigan State University and an expert on alternative plastics. "Carbon is carbon, it doesn't matter where it comes from when it comes to biodegradability."

What matters is how the long polymer chains that make the plastic, no matter the source of carbon, are configured: insert oxygen molecules in the right place with the help of a chemical additive, and it opens the way for microbes that can accelerate decomposition. Compostability may help solve plastic pollution, but if compostable plastics are still made with fossil fuels, it does nothing to address the problem of carbon emissions.

Like conventional plastics, both plant-based and biodegradable versions-no matter their source-still need chemical additives to help with durability, fire resistance, waterproofing and colorfastness. Compressed fiber and paper plates, bowls, and cups are often lined with a plastic film to keep them from leaking. Those additives can be toxic for human health and dangerous for the environment, yet few have been studied.

Pennie Lindeque, head of science for marine ecology and biodiversity at the U.K.'s Plymouth Marine Laboratory, is currently trying to do just that, investigating how the breakdown process of biodegradable plastics impacts the ocean ecosystem. Marine creatures still mistake fragments for prey, and chemicals released in the process of breaking down might have unforeseen consequences for other kinds of ocean life, including coral. "Biodegradable materials could help reduce the impacts of plastic waste in the ocean. However, we must be sure that such materials, and the chemicals they contain, do in fact demonstrate little or no impact on organisms and ecosystems," she says. We don't want to, as she puts it, "jump from the frying pan into the fire."
Read more: There's Almost No Research on the Health Impact of Plastic Chemicals in the Global South
One of the most promising plastic replacements is polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PHA, which is made by fermenting plant sugars that come from beets, corn, and other vegetable waste, or even biogas from landfill, in a process similar to brewing beer. As with other naturally-occurring polymers like silk or cellulose, PHA products degrade into nontoxic components within months. They can also be shredded, melted, and reformed into new products. Different kinds of bacteria, some naturally occurring, others specifically engineered, are used instead of chemical additives to create properties such as flexibility and transparency.

Graphic by Aryn Baker and Lon Tweeten for TIME

According to chemists that specialize in plastic alternatives, most conventional plastics could theoretically be replaced by PHA, but its biodegradable qualities are better suited for single-use and disposable items. That said, PHA is currently expensive and time-consuming to produce-current global capacity is 100,000 metric tons a year, compared to the 430 million metric tons of conventional plastic produced annually. And even Anindya Mukherjee, co-founder of GO!PHA, a global PHA-focused business coalition, admits that it could have other drawbacks that have yet to be discovered. Indeed, there is a glaring absence of scientific oversight for pretty much all the current alternative plastic options, he says. "Right now, anybody can say anything they want about how good their product is for the environment. There needs to be a scientific advisory board as part of the INC process, one that will regulate the development and the proliferation of alternatives. Otherwise, we will always have this problem."

Better science plays an important role, but it is not enough, says Christina Dixon, ocean lead for the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency. To solve plastic's underlying problem, we have to look beyond substitutes and rethink our reliance on disposable goods. "These new materials may seem like some sort of Holy Grail-walking and talking like a plastic without plastic's impact-but all they are doing is shifting the burden somewhere else." Instead, Dixon argues, we need to create circular systems that rely on reusable, refillable goods that last, instead of a linear trajectory from production through consumption to disposal. "Our goods should not be designed to end up in landfill, no matter what they are made of," she says.

The alternative plastic world is a minefield, cloaked in sustainability marketing that at best is aspirational, and at worst causes as many problems as the products it is trying to replace. A ban on single-use plastics could level the playing field, allowing products that are better for the climate, for the environment, and for human health to rise to prominence. That also means questioning the very idea of disposability. That is, after all, what started all the problems in the first place. If plastic products were valuable, they probably wouldn't end up polluting our oceans.

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Alternative Plastics Are Still Mostly Garbage

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A proposed ban on single-use plastics is a boon for the alternative plastic industry, but are they really good for the environment?

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When it comes to alternatives to plastic, there is often an emphasis on carbon emissions, but less so on other important factors like end-of-life impacts, the extraction of raw materials, water and land use, and the release of hazardous chemicals. Simply replacing disposable plastic with another material will not reduce the burden on the environment.

By far the least problematic solution is reusable and refillable packaging and buying unpackaged. Often these solutions are available from local markets, farm shops, independent zero waste shops and some supermarkets. It requires nothing more than a shift in our habits and behaviour. For a more detailed explanation of the pros and cons of different materials see the excellent Solving Packaging website.

Bioplastics

Plant-based plastics, known as bioplastics, have been hailed as a green alternative to fossil fuel-based plastic, especially when it comes to food packaging. But bioplastics have their own environmental footprint, requiring the growing of crops and therefore land and water use. Bioplastics have been shown to be just as harmful, and in some cases more harmful, than conventional plastic. Plastic is plastic, whatever it is made of. It is safer to assume that bioplastics cause similar problems as plastics made from fossil fuels, especially if they make it into in the oceans.

Biodegradable plastics is a term that just means that the plastic can be broken down by naturally occurring organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae. What is left afterwards may still be toxic to the environment.

Compostable plastics are biodegradable under specific conditions. Only 'home compostable' plastics will break down on your home compost heap (very slowly). Otherwise, compostable plastics need the conditions of industrial anaerobic composting facilities to break down, and they are not currently collected by any councils across the UK. A compostable packaging alternative like a Vegware pint cup, for example, is only better than the plastic alternative if there are arrangements in place for the discarded packaging to be collected and properly disposed of.

Recyclable bioplastics: some bioplastics like bio-PET are recyclable, but most are not, and since public collection facilities do not generally exist for bioplastics, they are very rarely recycled.

Paper and cardboard

Paper and cardboard, whilst recyclable, require more energy to produce than plastic and are heavier to transport. A thin plastic bag has a smaller carbon footprint than a paper bag such as we might use for buying fruit and veg. According to the Environment Agency, we would need to use a paper bag 4 times before its carbon foot print equates to one made of plastic.

Glass, tin and foil

These may seem like better alternatives, and they can be. But we have to be mindful of resource extraction for tin and foil, and the high carbon emissions from transporting glass. According to a comprehensive UN study, half the world's emissions are caused by the extraction of raw materials. Resource extraction causes 80% of biodiversity loss. Whilst these types of packaging materials can be recycled in principle, the reality is that much of it is not. In addition, nearly all food tins and drinks cans are lined with plastic.

Natural textiles

When it comes to replacing polyester and nylon clothing which shed millions of tiny plastic fibres with every single wash, the traditional alternatives are cotton, wool, linen and hemp. But the production of cotton has been causing serious threats to the environment and also comes at a human cost. There is a host of fairly new materials such as bamboo which also poses a dilemma due to the chemicals used in the production of the fabric and other concerns. Linen and hemp are considered more sustainable alternatives.

'Eco' materials

Beware of eco cups and containers made of bamboo. In addition to bamboo fibres, these products are made with melamine and formaldehyde resin and degrade in the microwave, dishwasher or when filled with hot liquids.

Refill, reuse and buy unpackaged

By far the least damaging type of packaging is one that can be used again and again, or none at all. Consider these alternatives:

reusable fabric bags for fruit & veg etc.

reusable containers and boxes for meat, fish, cheese etc.

refillable bottles and jars for oil & vinegar, cleaning liquids etc.

beeswax wraps instead of foil and clingfilm

Further reading:

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When it comes to alternatives to plastic, there is often an emphasis on carbon emissions, but less so on other important factors like end-of-life impacts, the extraction of raw materials, water and land use, and the release of hazardous chemicals. Simply replacing disposable plastic with another material will not reduce the burden on the environment.

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The Indonesian Zero Waste Market: a promising niche market with the potential to accelerate - Zero Waste Living Lab

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How the Indonesian Zero Waste Market is a promising niche market that is ready for growth and becoming a sustainable gamechanger towards plastic pollution on the long-term In between mountains of natural beauty and trashIndonesia is home to some of the richest and most unique terrestrial and marine biodiversity areas. Mangroves, wetlands, rainforest, endemic plants … The Indonesian Zero Waste Market: a promising niche market with the potential to accelerate Read More »

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The Cassava Plant

The cassava plant is now considered one of the most promising resources in the plastic-free world due to its sustainability. This nutty-flavoured, starchy root vegetable - similar to a potato - is predominately used for food, animal feed, and industrial purposes.

303 million tonnes of cassava are grown annually. It is a resilient crop that can tolerate drought, poor soil, and high temperatures. Consequently, it is a valuable resource for small-scale farmers in regions where other crops may fail.

To maintain the sustainability of this resource, sustainable farming practices such as agroforestry and intercropping are employed to improve soil health and promote biodiversity. The use of cassava in bio-resin and other value chains helps to support economic development while ensuring the long-term sustainability of cassava production. At Cassava Bags Australia, we use only non-food grade cassava.

PROVEN TO KEEP PLASTIC OUT OF OUR OCEAN

The Science at Cassava Bags Australia

Cassava Bags Australia is dedicated to engineering sustainable solutions for replacing single-use plastic products. Our purpose-built laboratories and facilities are equipped with the latest instrumentation to develop innovative alternatives to traditional plastic products.

Our team employs a diverse range of techniques and technologies to interpret cassava starch research data and translate scientific findings into manufacturable solutions. We use state-of-the-art technology specialised in finding sustainable alternatives to traditional single-use plastic products.

Throughout our product development processes, we conduct rigorous testing to ensure the quality of the formulas developed for our bio-resin meets the requirements required to comply with Australian state and federal environmental regulations.

We are committed to continued research and development to expand our range of products further.

polymers based on petroleum hydrocarbons were not detected

Cassava Bags are 100% No Plastic

Our cassava-based bags are designed to be as eco-friendly as possible. As they break down, they do not release toxins, chemicals or microplastics (as our bags are not made from plastic but from Cassava Starch, as seen in these lab test reports) into the environment. Instead, they decompose into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass, which are all naturally occurring substances. Our bags are also safe for aquatic life, which means they won't cause harm if they end up in water bodies. We're committed to transparency and sustainability in all our operations and ensure our products align with these values.

Our cassava-based bags are not only biodegradable but are also fully compostable and compliant with AS 5810 Home Compostable and AS 4736 Industrial Compostable standards. As well as EN 13432 standards which means they meet stringent international standards for compostability.

The Future of Cassava Bio Resin Properties

As a forward-thinking company, Cassava Bags Australia is continually researching and developing new sustainable solutions for reducing plastic waste. Our company focuses heavily on innovation and progresses towards a more sustainable future. With over 50 global technical resources, our unified research and development team offers businesses more than 100 years of combined expertise in specialised starch compounding and creativity to deliver solutions that replace problematic plastics.

We are committed to continued research and development to expand our range of products further. Our commitment to innovation and sustainability positions CBA to make a significant impact in the industry.

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(Reuters) - Airlines should get ahead of regulators by voluntarily eliminating single-use plastic within five years, the chief executive of Portuguese charter Hi Fly said, ahead of a Thursday forum on replacements for plastics on commercial flights.

Airlines, facing public pressure, are removing single-use plastic straws, stir sticks, utensils and wrappers from their cabins, with some carriers holding zero waste and plastic-free flights.

Hi Fly, which specializes in leasing and charter services to airlines, is taking the unusual step of holding a private sector-led meeting in Portugal, bringing together representatives from carriers including Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Delta Air Lines and Air Canada, as well as airline catering companies and the European Commission, to find ways to reduce plastics and cabin waste.

Hi Fly CEO Paulo Mirpuri said the event's target was to convince global carriers to voluntarily eliminate single-use plastics within five years.

Hi Fly has pledged to eliminate single-use plastic by year's end.

"Our target is to come up with a solution for airlines - or at least most airlines - to remove single use plastic in the next few years," he said on Wednesday in an interview with Reuters.

Plastic waste has reached epidemic proportions in the world's oceans, with an estimated 100 million tonnes dumped to date, according to the United Nations. An explorer said recently he found trash on the ocean floor during the deepest dive ever made by a human inside a submarine.

Legislators from U.S. cities have banned plastic straws, while single-use plastic items such as straws, forks and knives, as well as cotton buds, will be banned in the European Union by 2021.

Airlines have the challenge of sourcing sustainable alternatives to plastics that are also light, since adding weight would require higher fuel consumption.

"We do have a significant plastic output in our industry," Mirpuri said. "The airlines recognize there is a problem."

Most major airlines are participating in a global aviation deal called Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) that requires them to limit their emissions or offset them by buying carbon credits from designated environmental projects around the world, starting in 2021.

Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

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Airlines should eliminate single-use plastics in five years: Hi Fly CEO

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Airlines should get ahead of regulators by voluntarily eliminating single-use plastic within five years, the chief executive of Portuguese charter Hi Fly said, ahead of a Thursday forum on replacements for plastics on commercial flights.

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Basic Concept

To fulfill our responsibility to pass on our precious Earth to the next generation, the JAL Group aims to become a recycling-based society that uses limited resources effectively.

To promote the effective use of limited resources, we will practice the 4Rs (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to reduce food waste and eliminate petroleum-derived single-use plastics products in all aspects of our business, which will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

To achieve this, we will work with our customers to reduce food waste and eliminate the use of plastic products at every touchpoint including our cabins, and reduce food waste in supply chains.

Reduction of Plastic Usage

Most of single-use plastics are compounds made from resources derived from petrochemical processes, and since they are not biodegradable and remain in the natural environment unless incinerated, they have caused serious damage to the marine ecosystem by marine plastic pollution*1. It is also said that the amount of CO ₂ generated when petrochemical resources are used and produced is approximately 1.89 times the amount of plastic produced*2. However, CO ₂ is also emitted when waste is incinerated, and petrochemical plastics are one of the reasons which cause global climate change*3. Japan has been reported as the second highest country per capita emission of disposable plastic in the world*4, and there is also concern about the potential adverse effects of chemicals associated with plastics*5.

It is essential to review the conventional social system of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal, and to transform it into the "Circular Economy" in order to pass on our precious Earth to the next generation.

The JAL Group is addressing this issue by establishing its own "Priorities for Resource Circulation" based on the JAL Group Environmental Policy, and with expert advice from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Japan and JALUX, has developed alternative material solutions that take into account sustainability, biodiversity, recyclability, resource efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions during recycling.

Through the promotion of the 3R (Reduce/Reuse/Recycle) +1 (Redesign), we have set a goal of eliminating all new petroleum-derived single-use plastics in our cabins and lounges and changing 100% of our single-use plastics used in airports and cargo to environmentally friendly materials by FY2025.

*1 ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION "The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics"
*2 CIEL(Center for International Environmental Law）"Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet(2019)"
*3 World Economy Forum　"The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics (2016)"
*4 UNEP(United Nations Environment Programme）"Single-use Plastics: A roadmap for Sustainability(2018)"
*5 UNEP(United Nations Environment Programme）「Chemicals in Plastics - A Technical Report(2023)

Efforts in the cabin and lounges

JAL Group has been reduced its single-use plastic service items for cabins and lounges by a total of 45% by the end of FY2022 (vs. FY2019 result: 1,813 tons), and we will eliminate all new petroleum-derived single-use plastics by FY2025.

As for single-use plastics, it is important to first review the necessity of its service items and eliminate unnecessary plastic products in line with actual service conditions. For example, we stopped providing razor set that was already on board.

Although it is not possible to abolish the use of plastic, it is possible to reduce it by changing the form of service by changing the way of thinking. For example, in the lounge, the use of plastic wrapping material itself has been eliminated by introducing hand towel dispensers. The individual packaging of snacks has also been eliminated, and customers are encouraged to take them with a spoon, thereby reducing the amount of plastic. Both of these initiatives are being gradually rolled out to self-owned lounges in Japan starting in 2022.

Effective utilization of resources and their repeated use over a long period of time represent a move away from disposable. It is extremely important from the viewpoint of resource management to review plastic products that cannot be reduced for reuse and designing products so that they can be reused. The welcome drink cup of business class has been changed from the conventional disposable to a reuse type that can be washed and used many times. In addition, seat covers used to be made of single-use plastic (non-woven fabric), but headrest covers for all classes of international and domestic flights have been replaced to reusable synthetic leather.

If disposable is to continue with various constraints such as hygiene, it is necessary not only to change the materials, but also to consider the sustainability of alternative materials. The JAL Group aims to switch to products that do not use any raw materials derived from petrochemical processes, and to materials that make effective use of resources. The JAL Group calls this "Redesign". Based on our " alternative material solutions", we are "Redesigning" various items based on the "Alternative Materials Solution" and converting to materials that do not use new petroleum-derived materials.

Horizontal recycling, which recycles a resource into a product for the same use as it was before recycling, is said to be very efficient in terms of resource efficiency because the characteristics of the resource can be reused as is, but to achieve this, it is essential to work with companies that possess superior recycling technology.

When the aircraft arrives, the used plastic bottles are usually incinerated (energy recovery), but as JAL's own initiative, the cabin attendants sort them on board, and inflight meal companies have the technology to recycle them. Recycling is carried out in cooperation with the company, and " horizontal recycling" into recycled plastic bottles for beverage manufacturers has been realized.

Other efforts

Even when we purchase and provide commercial products as service items, we actively purchase products from suppliers that meet JAL's priorities for resource circulation. With the cooperation of Clear Water Tsunan Co.,Ltd, the JAL Group uses 100% recycled plastic bottles for the mineral water and the salad cups served in economy class to those made from recycled plastic.

Efforts in airports and cargo

After September 1st, 2021 for international flights (both to and from Japan) and October 1st ,2021 for domestic flights, we are no longer offering plastic bags for check-in baggage to reduce disposable plastic products, which cause global warming and marine pollution.
We ask for your cooperation to take care that your baggage is properly and securely packed for transport.

The JAL Group has implemented initiatives to minimize the utilization of petroleum-derived products, which contribute to global warming and marine pollution. As part of these efforts, the JAL Group ceased the provision of non-woven carry-on baggage storage bags on domestic flights and at airports in January 2024.

To support this eco-friendly endeavor, we kindly request customers who wish to protect their baggage to prepare their own baggage covers. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us reduce our environmental impact and create a more sustainable future.

When transporting daily essentials such as pharmaceuticals and food products, the JAL Group uses polyethylene sheets to protect the products from water damage. We are switching these plastic materials from new 100% petroleum-derived products to products containing environmentally friendly materials.

Also, to ensure these plastics are not disposed of as waste, we have supplied them to RIPRO Corporation, a company that manufactures and sells recycled land markers used in land registry investigations and other products.
Equipped with RFID tags, they have been installed in tourist spots to provide information related to the spot to visitors via their smartphones, which is contributing to regional revitalization.

In addition, we have begun recycling into plastic bags for airport deployment (NARITA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CORPORATION).

Collaboration with Stakeholders

Reducing Food Loss & Waste

It is estimated that approximately 40% of the world's food is lost or wasted*1, while greenhouse gas emissions from the entire food system, including production, transportation, processing, distribution, and disposal, account for 21-37% of global emissions*2 and are responsible for up to 80% of biodiversity loss*3. Food waste is now a serious global issue, and in order to fulfill our responsibility to pass on the precious Earth to the next generation, it is an essential social responsibility to reduce loss & waste in the entire food system.

The JAL Group has been implementing initiatives (the "JAL Food Loss & Waste 4R Program") from the perspective of resource recycling. While monitoring and analyzing the amount of food waste for each food category on monthly basis*4, we are also working on the effective use of food resources by recycling and reusing waste food in the cooking process and supply chain.

JAL's initiatives are pioneering and challenging among airlines worldwide, and we will continue to work toward further reductions.

*1 WWF-UK (World Wildlife Fund-UK)"DRIVEN TO WASTE:THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF FOOD LOSS AND WASTE ON FARMS"　(2021) p.6
*2 IPCC Special report "Global warming of 1.5℃"
*3 United Nations "Statement of Action on the UN Food Systems Summit"　(2021)
*4 Our food loss & waste data are compiled based on the "Food Loss & Waste Protocol" proposed by the WRI(World Resources Institute.

Reduction is being implemented throughout the entire food life-stage cycle (purchasing - preparation - serving - disposal). JAL Royal Catering (hereinafter referred to as "JRC"), an inflight meal preparation company, analyzes the amount of food waste generated each month by food category, and is working to further reduce food loss by devising cooking methods, more appropriate stock/buying control, and analyzing reservation numbers.

Due to quarantine rules, it is a global regulation that all leftover food must be incinerated, and we cannot recycle into compost or animal feed. Therefore, as JAL's own initiative, JAL has been asking customers to cooperate in reducing leftover food by stating on menu cards for all inflight routes and in videos introducing inflight meals in the inflight entertainment system that "Reducing food loss and waste also reduces CO ₂ emissions and keeps the Earth clean".

Since July 2022, JRC composts all recyclable food loss/residues from the cooking process of in-flight meals utilizing a scheme, collaboration with NTT Business Solutions, other food companies, markets, etc. All food loss and the cooking residues generated at JRC are composted through primary fermentation using a dedicated fermentation machine in the JRC plant.
In addition, we are recycling all food loss of our supply chain. When JRC purchases processed food ingredients, it sources only from suppliers who compost the residues generated in the cutting process, and it offers in-flight meal menus that feature "Recycling-oriented vegetables" produced with the compost as ingredients. Our suppliers recycle meat scraps from the meat cutting process into ground meat, which is then served as hamburgers at restaurants in Okinawa and other locations.

*5 Some residues, such as shellfish shells and thick bones of seafood and meat, cannot be composted or turned into animal feed, but all of these residues are subject to thermal incineration and heat recovery (thermal recycling). In addition, the waste oil is recycled to gross quantity soap in recycling companies.

JAL is working to reduce food waste by reusing and utilizing crops and foods that are discarded at the production stage, which is the upstream of the entire food system. JAL is working to reduce this harvest loss by reusing and utilizing crops and foods that would otherwise be discarded at the production stage, which is at the very upstream of the entire food system. For example, broccoli stems, despite their high nutritional value and taste comparable to broccoli itself, are discarded during harvest. The lounge offered the "Farmer's Soup" made entirely from broccoli stems from July 2022 to March 2023. The second "Farmer's Soup" is made from onion peels that would otherwise be discarded.

In addition, we use all parts of vegetables that are normally discarded during the production and processing process, such as the skin, core, pods, and seeds ("ZENB" meaning "whole" in Japanese), to provide the original flavor of the vegetable, which we developed jointly with ZENB JAPAN Co. ("ZENB SWEETS"), a Mizkan Group company, so that customers can enjoy the original flavor of vegetables.

Even though farmers passionately grow their products, if the crops are deformed or have irregularities in shape, they must be discarded because they are deemed "non-standard crops" (out of the shipping standard). As part of this effort to reduce such post-harvest loss, we have been using out-of-spec sweet potatoes that would normally be discarded to make "shochu". This year, since we were unable to make "shochu" (Japanese distilled liquor) due to procurement of raw materials (rice malt), we are offering soup that reuses the sweet potatoes at our lounge from Summer 2023.

JAL is working to establish a permanent scheme for surplus inflight meal donations through local government welfare councils and other organizations.

In our analysis of food waste data, we confirmed that certain customers who prefer to forego their meal or prefer smaller portions, especially on late-night flights. For this reason, we introduced an inflight meal advanced cancellation service ("JAL Meal Skip Option").This service allows customers who prefer to opt-out of the meal service to apply for the service, which in-turn lessens food waste. Japan Airlines is the first airline in the world to introduce this service onto all international routes.
To ensure we give back in connection with the meal-skip service option, Japan Airlines has partnered with "TABLE FOR TWO (TFT) Program," Japan's first social contribution program by the non-profit organization TABLE FOR TWO International. For each inflight meal voluntarily canceled by customers, the airline will donate a certain amount of money to TFT, which will be used for school lunch programs for children in developing countries suffering from hunger.

Recycling of Inflight Waste

Based on the JAL Group's environmental policy, as JAL's unique initiative from the perspective of resource recycling, cabin attendants collect and sort inflight, and cooperate with recycling companies to recycle inflight waste.

In cooperation with in-flight catering companies and recycling companies, we recycle in-flight waste such as aluminum cans, PET bottles, newspapers, and inflight magazines. PET bottles, which would normally be incinerated (Energy recovery), are circulated to recycled PET bottles from beverage manufacturers. In addition, cabin attendants separate aluminum cans and bottles on board, and after arrival, hand them over to an industrial waste company for recycling.

Since December 2022, in collaboration with Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., the JAL Group has started recycling paper cups used in domestic inflight services on some of the flights departing from and arriving at Haneda Airport. Recycling used beverage paper products was said to be difficult because of the plastic coating and food residues remaining on the surface. The JAL Group has made it possible to recycle used paper cups by creating a unique recycle chain whereby paper cups used for inflight services are properly sorted and collected by the JAL Group, and then transported, accumulated, baled, and recycled by the Nippon Paper Group using advanced technology. Currently, paper cups are collected on some of the routes, however subject routes will be expanded in the future. The JAL Group works on recycling into cardboard, etc., and aims to achieve horizontal recycling, whereby paper cups are recycled into paper cups.

Saving Water Resources

The JAL Group strives to work on reducing water use and water conservation to handle water resource issues.
Approximately 240 m³ of purified water used in ship maintenance and repaired components is recycled and recirculated per day in sewage facility.
Industrial liquid waste strictly follows laws and regulations, and water quality is ketp thoroughly according to standards in effluent treatment facilities established together with maintenace facilities. We do not use factory water. Some ground facilities are working on using recycled water and saving water.

This table can be scrolled horizontally.

Water supply reduction measures

Reduced use of cold and hot water by shortening heating and cooling operation time

Changing the flow rate from hand washing stations and lavatory washing tanks

Reuse of treated water when cleaning water tanks at washing machine wastewater treatment facilities

Implementation of water-saving posters and appeals

Other Initiatives

Promoting Paperless

JAL Group promotes paperless by eliminating paper-based manuals for pilots and cabin attendants, as well as promoting remote meetings through work style innovation, and reduces paper waste in business, as well as improving operational efficiency.

In the cargo business, we are contributing to paperless operations and improvement of operational efficiency through digitizing the master air waybill and accompanying documents, which is our transportation contract with customers.

Reduce, reuse and recycle office fixtures

The JAL Group implements various resource recycling activities such as Non territorial office. In conjunction with this, the JAL Group promotes the reuse and recycling of furniture and other items that are no longer needed.

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Effective Use of Limited Resources | Sustainability | JAPAN AIRLINES Corporate Information

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This is JAL's (Japan Airlines) Corporate Website, where You Can View Corporate Information, Safety/Flight Information, and Sustainability Information, etc.

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Cassava Bags Australia has launched a biodegradable single-use bag and liner range, which the company says is non-toxic, 100 per cent plastic-free, and won't break down into microplastics.

Cassava promises that its products will take just three minutes to dissolve in hot water, or six months to biodegrade in soil, while taking only a few days to dissolve in the ocean, and remaining safe for marine life to consume.

The bag, manufactured in Indonesia, can be dissolved in warm water, and the speed of the process depends on how hot the water is (as shown in the video below), according to the company, which asserts it also contains waterproof properties that can prevent it from dissolving when out and about and it rains.

Bruce Delarossi, co-founder and CEO of Cassava says plastic bags are a scourge on the planet, and not only are they one of the biggest causes of environmental catastrophes, but they also take many years to decompose, release toxic substances into the soil, air and oceans, and kill billions of creatures across the planet.

"Our determination to create a truly biodegradable single-use bag has been driven by our desire to save the planet," said Delarossi.

"A lot of people said they are going to do it, but we really have, and we are incredibly proud and very excited to be rolling out this extraordinary invention to the rest of the world - single-use bags and liners that are made from the cassava plant and dissolve in hot water."

The cassava plant referred to is a drought-tolerant root vegetable that is native to South America, and which is now grown in many countries around the world.

"What we have done is extract and combine it with organic components to create a biodegradable film, which I believe is the first time anyone in the world has done this, and we have achieved this without the use of any petroleum or toxins," explained Delarossi.

"Our products have been tested by internationally recognised companies as a plastic-free and biodegradable product.

"By contrast, it takes 500 years for a normal plastic bag to break down, and Australians use a whopping 10 million new plastic bags per day."

Delarossi believes that Cassava Bags will become a household brand across Australia and the rest of the world.

"Consumers are making their wishes known; they want to consume sustainable products," Delarossi continued.

"Short-term, we want to ensure our products are distributed nationally and will be available across retailers, hospitality and medical sectors, to name a few. Beyond this, we want to expand into the global market.

"We also want to work towards restoring natural habitats like the Great Barrier Reef, and we want to negate the effects of climate change. It's a tall order, but if we all do our part to swap out plastic bags for our cassava bags, it'll be a great start to working together to achieve our dream of a cleaner planet."

Cassava also has a range of similar functioning products in production, including bin liners, pet waste bags, mail-out bags, aprons, sanitation covers, and a range of carry retail bags.

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Cassava's single-use bags dissolve in hot water - PKN Packaging News

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Cassava Bags Australia has launched a biodegradable single-use bag and liner range, which the company says is non-toxic, plastic-free, and won't break down into microplastics.

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As sustainability efforts increase across industries, plastic bag alternatives for businesses are becoming more relevant - and even required. In some states, such as New York and Washington, plastic bags are banned due to their numerous environmental implications. If plastic bags aren't banned in your state, you may still want to make the transition to reduce your company's impact on the planet and boost your customers' opinion of your brand.

As more companies adopt sustainable consumer practices, you can join them by offering eco-friendly bag options. Learn about how you can find alternative bags for plastic bags below.

The Environmental Impact of Single-Use Plastic Bags

What's the problem with using disposable plastic bags? The primary controversy surrounding them is how long they take to break down - a whopping 20 years. But even after plastic bags turn into microscopic bits, they continue to have a detrimental effect on the surrounding environment, leading to a host of issues for wildlife.

From production to degradation, plastic bags have far-reaching impacts on our environment:

Plastic is made from fossil fuels: The materials used to produce plastic are derived from fossil fuels. These chemicals are called petrochemicals, and the finished products are entirely absent in nature. Since plastic is created from nonrenewable resources, it has a limited production supply. If single-use plastics remain the norm, we'll eventually run out of enough fossil fuels to create more bags.

Plastic overcrowds landfills: According to a study conducted in 2017, more than half of all non-fiber plastics - excluding synthetic fabrics such as nylon or polyester - came from single-use plastic packaging items that consumers threw away. This massive amount of plastic piles up in landfills, some of it making its way into the surrounding ecosystem - you may have heard of the infamous garbage patches in the ocean.

Plastic harms wildlife: Every day, plastic harms human, animal and plant health. In particular, plastic is hazardous to wildlife, affecting more than 800 different species. Whether as plastic shopping bags or tiny bits of microplastic, plastic degrades ecosystems, kills animals and ends up in our food and water.

These are just a few examples of how devastating plastic can be for the environment. Be sure to consider how plastic bags can negatively impact your local community and the world as a whole when thinking about alternatives. In many cases, you'll find that plastic bag alternatives almost always provide more benefits than plastic bags at a lower cost to the Earth.

The Benefits of Switching to Sustainable Shopping Bags

Some companies are reluctant to change their shopping bags unless legally required. However, plastic bags were also a replacement for an earlier type of bag. Before the invention of synthetic polymers in the mid-19th century, paper and glass were used for the same purposes as plastic is used today.

Since the 1950s, plastic production has increased by 8.3 billion metric tons due to demand, and half of the total production of plastic has occurred in the past 15 years. These production levels mean that the detrimental effects of plastic aren't going anywhere - unless companies make a change. While alternative bags may be used less frequently now, they can eventually become the new standard, and your company should be at the forefront of this change.

Choosing sustainable bags is an investment in your company's future. Here are the specific ways switching to sustainable shopping bags can benefit your business and the environment:

1. Less Company Waste in Landfills

Single-use plastic materials take up a lot of space in landfills, which is why so many companies are currently trying to avoid adding to the problem. Some of these inorganic material wastes will decompose, but instead of dissolving, plastic bags break into small parts over time. The plastic then gets into the soil, and eventually, the water supply.

Although some plastic bags can be recycled, only about 10% of all single-use plastic bags end up going through the recycling process. Encouraging your consumers to reuse your plastic bags or shop with an eco-friendly alternative can help reduce the overall amount of waste. Using shopping bag alternatives can also lower your company's carbon footprint.

2. Promoting Trust With Your Customers

Many customers are concerned with ethical business practices. Those who appreciate commercial sustainability efforts view the bags as a step in the right direction. If they feel that your company is making serious efforts to benefit others, they know they can place trust in your brand.

When shoppers care about how plastic threatens wildlife and the environment at large, they gravitate toward companies that support their ideals. They may choose to start shopping more at your specific location, where they can rely on your eco-friendly practices and avoid bag litter. This helps improves customer relationships.

3. Brand Advertising Opportunities

Showing your support for environmentally-friendly shopping methods adds social awareness to your commercial advertising. This gives your brand a marketing boost, especially with customers who are motivated to make eco-friendly choices. The new brand opportunities help you build a sustainable image and drive up sales.

Reusable bags with your company's name and logo printed on the front are also good promotional tools on their own. Customers can reuse the bags outside of your business, increasing brand awareness and exposure for your company.

4. Modernized Practices

Sustainability in commercial industries and environmentally-friendly business practices have become more important in recent years. These efforts are here to stay. As more businesses get on board with practical solutions to the plastic problem, you can expect to see an even greater prioritization of replacing single-use plastic bags in the coming years.

When you purchase bag alternatives for your business, you're making a long-term investment that will matter in the future. If you continue operating with single-use plastics, there's a real possibility your company will be forced into switching to alternatives one day. Due to increasing concerns about sustainability, many businesses are having discussions on the topic and choosing to modernize before the process becomes more expensive.

5. Increasing Sales

More people are deciding to "vote" with their dollars, meaning that they're exclusively only choosing companies that care about the world around them. Sustainability efforts such as offering reusable bags can draw in new customers and drive up your sales. If your business becomes known for providing these items, more customers will want to shop there.

With a sustainable brand image, you can attract more customers from demographics willing to pay more if it means helping the environment, making healthy choices or giving back to the local community. Shopping with reusable bags is a way to achieve all three of these goals.

8 Plastic Shopping Bag Alternatives for Businesses

The plastic bag alternative you choose will likely depend on price. The materials and styles you want to convey to your customers will influence how much each bag costs. All of the following alternatives are affordable possibilities, but you should also consider how the new bags will work for your brand image and the quality and quantity you desire.

Below are eight eco-friendly plastic bag alternatives for businesses:

1. Recycled Paper Bags

It's widely known that paper is easy to recycle, and many paper products used today are made from recyclable materials. This makes paper bags a highly eco-friendly alternative to plastic, especially because they come in sacks, twist handle shopping bags and other varieties.

The pros:

The cons:

Customers are often upcharged for using them.

They require more resources to produce than their plastic counterparts.

They tear easily and can break open.

They can weaken structurally when wet.

They're heavier than plastic bags.

2. Compostable Bags

These bags are made from raw materials that can compost into the Earth when properly disposed of, contributing to healthy soil. People can compost them at a personal residence or a designated facility. Some bags must be composted commercially because they're unable to break down unless a specific method is applied - check for the bag's certifications to know where it can be composted. For example, bags that say ASTM D6400 are different from bags that say BPI.

Depending on the brand, compostable bags tend to look similar to single-use plastics, making them a similar-looking alternative to plastic bags.

The pros:

Using compostable materials lowers a company's carbon footprint.

You can print on the bags using soy-based ink, and they'll remain fully compostable.

The cons:

Their shelf-life is limited.

They need to be stored in specific conditions to maintain their structural integrity.

3. Cotton Tote Bags

These bags are made from renewable crops and offer a lot of versatility. They can be made from recycled or organic material or both. Most cotton sources are chemically treated, but organic cotton reaches maturity without the use of pesticides. At the end of its life cycle, pure cotton can be easily incinerated without releasing toxic chemicals or causing harmful effects.

Order recycled cotton tote bags to offer them to customers interested in making a difference.

The pros:

The cons:

They require more energy to produce than single-use plastic bags.

They need to be washed regularly to prevent microbial growth and odors.

4. Non-Woven Tote Bags

Some types of plastics are unable to be recycled, but non-woven bags offer a recycling solution to the issue of environmental plastic waste. These bags are made from recycled plastics.

The pros:

They're highly durable.

They don't break as easily as single-use plastic bags.

They're reusable.

They can be recycled.

The cons:

They need to be washed for sanitary purposes.

They require the production of plastic materials.

5. Canvas Bags

Canvas bags are made from a woven fabric, typically thick cotton or hemp fibers that may contain a blend of polyester materials. You can order eco-friendly canvas tote bags wholesale as an alternative to plastic. These bags make use of materials that are easier to dispose of and better for the planet than plastic.

The pros:

The cons:

They can tear when used to carry heavy or protruding items.

They need to be washed for sanitary purposes.

6. Reusable Plastic Bags

Reusable plastic is made from post-consumer or post-industrial materials. These are the same plastic bags that consumers are used to, but they can be reused and recycled when consumers care for them properly. This is another solution to the problem of too much plastic waste ending up in landfills.

The pros:

The cons:

Customers might fail to reuse the bags, which leads to an increase in litter and plastic materials in landfills.

Regular recyclers are generally unable to accept reusable bags - they have to be given to recycling agencies through special drop-off locations.

7. Woven Polypropylene Bags

Woven bags are made of polypropylene, but unlike the unwoven variety, part of their production involves creating a synthetic fabric. These bags are produced from recycled plastic materials, which are stretched into threads.

The pros:

The cons:

They need to be washed for sanitary purposes.

They must be taken to a recycling facility or drop-off point that accepts polypropylene bags.

8. Jute Bags

This type of bag is made of spun vegetable fibers. Since jute bags require a renewable crop as the primary material in their composition, they're an eco-friendly choice.

The pros:

The cons:

Customize Your Eco-Friendly Shopping Bags With ePromos

ePromos is a promotional product provider with many different bags. We can help you create sustainable shopping bags with your custom logo and graphics. We have a solution whether you're looking for recycled tote bags in bulk or another alternative to single-use plastic bags.

Browse our products to find specific bags or styles that will work for your company, or contact us at 877-377-6667 to learn more about our services.

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Sustainable Plastic Bag Alternatives for Your Business - ePromos Education Center

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What kinds of sustainable bags can you get for your customers? Learn about plastic bag alternatives for businesses here to find a durable bag replacement.

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Airlines explore alternatives to single-use plastics

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Airlines explore alternatives to single-use plastics

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that more than 6.2 million tons of cabin waste was generated in 2017. Within that waste, cups, cutlery, coffee stirrers, packaging, and more are single-use plastics. IATA estimates that if no action is taken, cabin waste could double within fifteen years. ¹ Fortunately, action is being taken! Among the innovations, airlines are replacing single-use plastics with compostable materials.

Hi Fly, a wet lease carrier based in Lisbon, recently chartered the world's first plastic-free flights. The four Airbus A340 flights between Lisbon and Brazil replaced over 771 pounds of single-use plastics with compostable alternatives bamboo or recycled materials. The items ranged from cutlery, salt and pepper shakers, dishes, and drink bottles to toothbrushes and packaging materials ¹.

INNOVATIONS PLANNED AND IN-PROGRESS

Several airlines are finding alternatives that are compostable or more easily recycled than plastic. ¹

Cups

easyJet will discount hot drink purchases for customers supplying their own reusable cup. The airline is also introducing a compostable cup having a plant-based lining.

Cutlery

easyJet is replacing plastic spoons with wooden alternatives.

Drink stirrers

Air Canada will save 35 million plastic stir sticks annually, replacing them on all flights with wood stir sticks. If laid end-to-end, those sticks could extend from Halifax to Vancouver. ³

Air Canada's stir stick replacement will be made of bamboo and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which assures products come from responsible sources so that forests remain thriving environments for generations to come.

Air New Zealand has already removed more than 7 million coffee stirrers.

Wood stir sticks are replacing plastic ones on easyJet.

Straws

Alaska Airlines no longer uses plastic straws.

Delta Air Lines is phasing out plastic straws.

To date, Air New Zealand has removed more than 3,000 straws.

Other single-use items

Half a million eye mask bags and toothbrushes have been removed from Air New Zealand lounges and aircraft.

LOOKING AHEAD¹

Among the goals that Air Canada has set for 2020, 50 percent of approved items onboard will be recycled rather than single-use. ³

Over the next year, Air New Zealand will ban plastic cups, lids, bags, and a dozen other single-use items.

British Airways has committed to source non-plastic alternatives where possible.

Within a year of its four historic wet-lease flights, Hi Fly will implement a plastic-free policy on all its flights.

Within its five-year plan to become "the greenest airline", Ryanair has pledged to eliminate non-recyclable plastics from its aircraft and head offices. On board, items like wooden cutlery and bio-degradable coffee cups will replace plastic products.

This year, Thomas Cook will remove more than 70 million single-use plastics from aircraft and in its branded hotels. That equates to 3,500 filled suitcases.

[1] The Telegraph
[2] HiFly.aero
[3] Aviation24.be

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Airlines explore alternatives to single-use plastics - ecoPreserve

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that more than 6.2 million tons of cabin waste was generated in 2017. Within that waste, cups, cutlery, coffee stirrers, packaging, and more are single-use plastics. IATA estimates that if no action is taken, cabin waste could double within fifteen years.

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Ottawa recently announced it will phase out some single-use plastics by 2025, but finding sustainable alternatives is trickier than you might think.

The ban, which targets six categories of plastics, is part of an effort by the Liberal government to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030. A study commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada showed that, in 2016, Canadians threw away three million tonnes of plastic waste, only nine per cent of which was ultimately recycled. The rest ended up in landfills, waste-to-energy facilities or the environment, where it can harm wildlife while taking hundreds of years to break down.

One of the single-use items on the banned list is the plastic checkout bag that many Canadians use for groceries and other kinds of shopping. Up to 15 billion plastic checkout bags are used every year in the country, according to government data.

They're also one of the major sources of plastic litter found on shorelines. In 2021, almost 17,000 plastic bags were collected during community cleanups.

Even before the federal government's move, some jurisdictions including , Nova Scotia and a number of B.C. communities had already banned single-use plastic bags. Some major retailers such as and have also stopped offering them.

The majority of Canadians are shifting away from single-use plastic bags, too. In a 2019 survey, 96 per cent of respondents said they used their own bags or containers when grocery shopping, though only 47 per cent of those said they always did so.

Examining the full life cycle

The challenge for eco-conscious shoppers is that alternatives to single-use plastic bags also leave an environmental footprint.

A 2020 study by the UN Environment Program analyzed the findings of seven life cycle assessments (LCAs) on shopping bags published since 2010. An LCA assesses the environmental impacts of a product or services from, essentially, cradle to grave. This includes:

Raw material extraction.

Production.

Logistics and distribution.

Use.

End-of-life.

The study found the environmental ranking of bags varies depending on which criteria you consider. For example, one type of bag may score well in cutting down on litter but be a poor option when it comes to water and land use to make it.

The number of times a reusable bag is used is also crucial, the study found. On the lower end, a paper bag needs to be used four to eight times to have less impact on the climate than a single-use plastic bag. Meanwhile, a cotton bag needs to be used 50 to 150 times to be environmentally superior, according to the study.

Given the impacts from all life cycle stages, one of the best options for shoppers would to skip the bag altogether whenever possible, said Tony Walker, an associate professor of environmental studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

"Reducing consumption of anything and everything is key because everything requires resources and energy to produce," said Walker, who advised the federal government on its Zero Plastic Waste Agenda and Oceans Plastics Charter.

If you do need a plastic bag alternative, here's a closer look at the pros and cons of some common options.

Cotton bag

The cotton bag has greater environmental impacts than other types of bags during production due to the high amount of energy required to grow, irrigate and fertilize the cotton.

However, its durability lends itself to hundreds, even thousands, of uses, which makes it an environmentally friendly alternative, says Walker.

As well, cotton bags are made from a renewable resource and are degradable at end of life, though the 2020 UN study notes it matters how it is disposed. Waste incineration for cotton bags is climate neutral and therefore a better option than landfilling, where the study says degradation of the cotton releases methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

Paper bag

Paper bags have a few things going for them: they can decompose easily, they can be put in compost bins depending on your jurisdiction and they can be recycled as paper, says Walker.

However, like cotton, they demand quite a bit of energy to produce. They also require forestry products as raw materials and take more fuel to transport than other, lighter materials.

Another major drawback of paper is its low durability.

"It kind of keeps us stuck in this single-use model," said Sarah King, head of Greenpeace Canada's oceans and plastics campaign. "I definitely encourage folks to think of what they already have and how they can incorporate that into their routine."

Reusable plastic bag or bin

Some retailers offer reusable bags made of plastic materials, including low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyester. Others offer reusable plastic bins that shoppers can carry their items in.

Loblaws, which introduced a plastic-bag fee in 2007, has made both options available to customers. In response to a query from CBC News, the company said their black reusable President's Choice bag is 99 per cent PET fibre made from post-consumer recycled plastic, while their green plastic bins are made from high-density polyethylene.

Walker said a reusable bag having recycled content "is a fantastic thing, better than it going to waste."

But, "it is still made from a fossil fuel product, and so it would have to be disposed of very carefully at the end of life," he said.

Biodegradable bag

These bags are often marketed as eco-friendly owing to an ability to break down into harmless material faster than conventional plastics.

But Walker says very few are actually 100 per cent "bio-based" - that is, derived from biological sources such as plants or algae - and instead may contain up to 25 per cent petroleum products, requiring specific conditions to break down at end of life in waste management or recycling facilities.

Indeed, a U.K. study published in 2019 tested the deterioration of biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable (containing additives for quicker breakdown), compostable and conventional plastic bags in four environments: the sea, soil, open air and controlled laboratory conditions. After three years, none of the bags showed any substantial deterioration across all of the environments.

Even when biodegradable bags degrade, unless they are 100 per cent bio-based, they risk leaking microplastic pollution into the environment, Walker said.

And there's another big caveat even for bags that are 100 per cent bio-based.

"You might be obtaining plant-based material that otherwise would have been land given over to food production - so that could cause food shortages in parts of the world with food insecurity - or it could have been virgin forest that was cut down to make this material," Walker said.

"So it's not the panacea."

Consumers can drive change

Consumers have a lot of power to influence manufacturers and retailers to improve on some of these "first gen" alternatives, says one business expert.

"It's up to us as consumers to nudge this along with our own behaviour," said Barry Cross, an assistant professor and distinguished faculty fellow of operations strategy at the Smith School of Business at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.

Cross also cited the potential role of some of the larger fast food and retail organizations like Lululemon, who have "the size and the reach to be able to influence some of those packaging developers and some of the innovation associated with coming up with new alternatives."

But is it enough? By the federal government's own estimates, the six categories of banned products only made up about three per cent of the total amount of plastic waste Canada created in 2019.

That will make it difficult for Canada to reach to goal of zero plastic waste by 2030, says Greenpeace Canada's King.

"Unless they add more items to the ban list, unless they actually set overall plastic production reduction targets and also invest in a transition to truly zero-waste systems that are centred on reuse, there's no way they will ever meet their 2030 goal," she said.

However, all three experts CBC News spoke to agreed the ban on plastic bags and the other five categories of single-use plastic is a positive thing, especially when it comes to changing the mindset around waste and pollution.

"This is low-hanging fruit - these items, many of us can easily do without," said Walker. "If we can do without those, then it will help the government and consumers start to think more carefully about the plastics that we use, especially single-use plastics that we can do without.

"So yeah, whilst it might be on paper only a small step forward, a step forward by any means is better than no action at all."

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What's the best alternative to a single-use plastic bag? It depends | CBC News

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Ottawa recently announced it will phase out some single-use plastics by 2025, but finding sustainable alternatives is trickier than you might think. Eco-conscious shoppers looking to replace the single-use plastic bag should consider the full life cycle of whatever they end up using, experts say.

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Airlines On Board Plastic-Free Flight Initiatives

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Airlines On Board Plastic-Free Flight Initiatives

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The fight against plastic has taken flight, as airlines are taking stock of their consumption of single use items. Plastic abounds throughout airplane foodservice, as straws, cutlery, drink stir sticks and other items offered to passengers are typically designed for individual and temporary use.

Portuguese airline Hi Fly recently sent its first plastic-free flights airborne in December. The trial involved four return flights using an Airbus A340 from Lisbon to Natal, Brazil, and according to the airline, the 700 passengers on these flights would have resulted in the use of 350 kg of single use plastic.

Onboard, the flight replaced plastic cups, spoons, salt and pepper shakers, sick bags, packaging for bedding, dishes, individual butter pots, soft drink bottles and toothbrushes with paper and bamboo alternatives. The airline aims to be plastic-free by the end of 2019 - a goal announced earlier in 2018. "Human beings have believed the ocean is an inexhaustible source of food and pleasure as well as a limitless garbage dump," Hi Fly president Paulo Mirpuri told CTV. "We can no longer ignore the impact plastic contamination has on ecosystems, as well as on human health. We know, too, from the feedback we have received from client airlines and passengers, that it's the right thing for the airline to be doing."

Other airlines are also getting onboard with this initiative, although for a variety of reasons. Air New Zealand has been phasing out single-use plastics, including removing straws, stir sticks, eye mask wrappers and plastic toothbrushes from lounges and on board aircraft earlier this year, as well as looking at items such as K-cups and nine types of plastic bags moving forward. The airline estimates that this change will remove 260,000 plastic toothbrushes, 7.1 million stirrers and 260,000 eye mask wrappers over 12 months. "If we were to line up all of the plastic stirrers we are replacing across our network, they would span the length of Cape Reinga to Taupo (around 700km)," said Air New Zealand's Head of Sustainability Lisa Daniell in a release.

Ryanair is pledging to be plastic-free by 2023, although The Guardian reports that this change may be motivated in part by an "ongoing makeover" of the company leadership's not-so-green image.

These moves are perhaps influenced by similar moves of foodservice outlets on the ground to eliminate plastic straws and other single-use items. Consumer awareness of these issues can play a large part in the motivation of airlines to address these needs. Another factor that may come into play is the move of cities that are major flight hubs to ban plastic single use items, such as Vancouver's city-wide plastic straw ban. In October 2018 alone, 2.1 million travelers passengers went through Vancouver International Airport, a major hub between Asia and Canada. It remains to be seen how airports and airlines of the future will continue to adapt waste reduction needs.

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Airlines On Board Plastic-Free Flight Initiatives

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More flights may be avoiding the use of single-use plastics, such as straws and cutlery.

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What Happens if You Throw Your Waste in the Wrong Coloured Bin?

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What Happens if You Throw Your Waste in the Wrong Coloured Bin?

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What Happens if You Throw Your Waste in the Wrong Coloured Bin? - Paul’s Rubbish

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Personal waste management starts with you. With increasing and more conscious efforts to deal with waste, you are already helping the environment from the negative effects of waste. Doing so may take a lot of knowledge and effort, but you can start by segregating with colour-coded bins at home. However, what happens if you do…

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Indonesia currently produces 6.8 million tons of plastic waste per year, with only about 10% of it ending up in recycling centers. Only 2% of this collected plastic waste can be recycled effectively, 14% of the plastic waste is burned, while 4% ends up in landfills. About 625,000 tons of annual plastic waste ends up in the oceans.
What are Plastics?
Plastics come from industrial manufacturing of natural raw materials such as crude oil, cellulose, and coal, with chemical additives. Plastics can be softened and printed at high temperatures using a variety of manufacturing processes. Plastics are waterproof, lightweight, easy to form and flexible. Plastics are classified in seven categories: PET (mostly used as bottle drink), HDPE (used in shampoo bottle), PVC (used in water pipes), LDPE (mostly used as bags), PP (mostly used in food containers), PS (mostly used in plastic tools, and plastic cups and Other Types of Plastics, which is a mixture between two or more types of plastics, this type is multipurpose.
Plastic Waste in Indonesia
The vast majority of plastics in Indonesia are disposed of in non-environmentally friendly ways, resulting in overextended landfills, polluted oceans, and ecological damages. Due to the lack of knowledge about waste management, most Indonesian households don't separate their waste. Recycling takes more effort as the waste is mixed, while sorting is the key to recycling. Plastic recycling is critical to improving the environment and bettering waste management solutions. The 'pemulung' or waste pickers also play a critical role in municipal solid waste management and contribute to a large trade in the recycling of waste products.
What can you do?
Shifting the mindset towards sustainability initiatives is essential in order to change for the better. You can start by separating the waste from your household or company. If you are interested to learn more about waste separation, R.O.L.E. Foundation offers a ZeroWaste Specialist Training. Register yourself or your company, click the link here.

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Indonesia currently produces 6.8 million tons of plastic waste per year, with only about 10% of it ending up in recycling centers. Only 2% of this collected plastic waste can be recycled effectively, 14% of the plastic waste is burned, while 4% ends up in landfills.

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Plastic Waste in Indonesia - University Source

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Plastic Waste in Indonesia - University Source

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The UN has called marine plastic pollution "a slow-motion catastrophe", and a recent study found Indonesia to be the second largest contributor to it after China. Overconsumption of single-use plastic and bad waste management are largely to blame.

Indonesia has some of the most biodiverse and important coral reef systems in the world. But, over the past few decades, those habitats have faced a number of challenges, including plastic pollution.

According to the UN, around 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean every year. Indonesia contributes more than 600,000 tonnes of that, estimates the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

The Covid-19 pandemic has only made things worse. Discarded masks and other protective gear have added around much more waste to the country's leaking waste-management system.

The coasts of Indonesia are home to many densely populated communities. Plastic waste is ubiquitous and transboundary, with ocean currents transporting it in multiple directions including to uninhabited islands.

Regulation without results

In 2017, Indonesia committed to reduce marine plastic debris up to 70% by 2025 in a national action plan. The government issued new legislation on waste management in 2018. Two years later, it banned single-use plastic in mini-markets. But the policy is not as strict in traditional markets where plastic bags are still widely used.

Novrizal Tahar, director of solid-waste management at the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said: "marine plastic waste in Indonesia had already been reduced by over 15% between 2018 and 2020", citing an unpublished report produced by his office.

There is no shortage of regulations on waste management in Indonesia and specifically on marine plastic, said Tahar at a UNDP webinar on ending plastic pollution: "First, we take the regulatory approach. Almost all of our regulations cover the problem from the upstream to downstream... Simultaneously we increase the capacity of local governments' services and waste processing," he said.

Consumers lack support

But the government's efforts appear insufficient to curb the problem.

Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner Muharram Atha Rasyadi said: "Our waste-management system is still not based on segregation. It's the basic collect-transport-dispose method," he said. "Although there are movements to process waste at home, such as through composting, it's mostly the community's independent initiatives," Rasyadi said.

People are still very much dependent on single-use plastics. A lot of consumer goods are packaged in small sachets for single use. Products in sachets, including shampoo, detergent and coffee, target the middle to lower class, who can only afford to buy these small quantities on a daily basis, Rasyadi said.

Many sachets comprise layers of different types of plastic, giving them low sell-on value. "Few recyclers work with them. Most of it ends up in landfill or spills out to the ocean," said Rasyadi.

Jakarta's giant garbage pile

Indonesia's capital has a population of 10.5 million. Estimates suggest the amount of waste sent to landfill from Jakarta rose from 6,645 tonnes per day in 2017 to 7,703 tonnes in 2019.

The city dumps most of its waste in a landfill in Bantargebang, a district around 25 kilometres away. In use since 1986, the 110-hectare site is filling fast with waste piling up to 40 metres high. The city's governor gave the impression that the problem would start being tackled in 2016 when he signed a decree allowing a company to build intermediate treatment facilities. The idea was for waste to be incinerated, recycled or composted at a number of sites around the city. Progress has been slow.

The waste sent to Bantargebang remains mixed and unsorted. Rasyadi said: "Up to 70% is organic waste. For a city as big as Jakarta, the government has not provided the infrastructure to manage all this waste. There are some private initiatives, but they are all left on their own to figure it out."

The Orange Troops in an unwinnable war

Officially, the municipal authority hires 40 to 70 cleaning workers per neighbourhood in Jakarta. That's more than 18,000 for the whole city. Named after the distinctive orange vests they wear, the Orange Troops include street sweepers, canal cleaners and garbage collectors. But they can't manage the quantities of waste they are presented with.

To increase the team's capacity, the city hires freelance workers such as Togar Sinaga.

Sinaga, 47, makes his rounds collecting trash from houses in an East Jakarta neighbourhood. As a subcontracted rubbish collector he isn't paid a monthly wage. His main income comes instead from taking household rubbish to a temporary rubbish site. He earns around US$0.70 for every cartful, plus small tips from homeowners. He supplements this by separating and selling recyclable materials such as cartons, cans and plastic water bottles, for which he earns an extra US$14 a week.

Innovations and solutions

Improved logistics and a larger workforce will not resolve the country's plastic waste problem alone. So Indonesia is now pinning some of its hopes on innovative solutions.

The government, together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Norwegian government, launched a Southeast Asia-wide competition to help.

The first winner of the Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge was Nguyen Vo from Vietnam. She developed a drinking straw made out of grass, with the stated goal of replacing 5 billion plastic straws by 2025. The competition prize money has helped her to increase production, she said.

Other start-ups have begun processing plastic into fuel and other products. Landscape Indonesia, a social enterprise based in Jakarta, is exploring the latter option. "Imagine if we could convert 1.5 million tonnes of plastic waste into diesel-equivalent fuel every year," said CEO Agus Sari. The technology could be used for all types of plastic including low-value sachet packaging, Agus Sari added.

But Rasyadi said producing less waste was more important than reusing and recycling. "We don't support the concept of converting plastic to fuel, or plastic to energy because it doesn't address the root of the problem. People would think it's okay to use plastic if it can be converted into energy. We use a lot of plastic unnecessarily... we can start with changing our behaviour and use less," he said.
This article is published in partnership with the Wilson Center's China Environment Forum.

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The UN has called marine plastic pollution "a slow-motion catastrophe", and a recent study found Indonesia to be the second largest contributor to it after China. Overconsumption of single-use plastic and bad waste management are largely to blame. Indonesia has some of the most biodiverse and important coral reef systems in the world.

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Uncollected waste contributes more to plastic waste discharges than leakages from final disposal sites, and very little plastic is recycled.

Indonesia generates approximately 7.8 million tons of plastic waste annually.

4.9 million tons of plastic waste is mismanaged-e.g. uncollected, disposed of in open dumpsites or leaked from improperly managed landfills.

Rural areas generate the largest amounts (two-thirds) of mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) due to very limited waste collection rates.

Limited collection services and access to disposal infrastructure hinders improvement in waste handling behaviors.

Direct disposal in water is the main pathway of plastic waste reaching rivers, often resulting from populations not having access to waste collection services.

An estimated 346.5 kton/year (estimated range of 201.1 - 552.3 kton/year) of plastic waste is discharged into the marine environment from land-based sources in Indonesia, two thirds of which come from Java and Sumatra.

Rivers carry and discharge 83% of the annual plastic debris that leaks into the marine environment from land-based sources, while only 17% is directly discarded or washed-off from coastal areas.

Policy recommendations to combat plastic waste and marine debris include:

Strengthen solid waste management practices, knowledge and incentives in rural areas, in addition to ongoing improvements in urban areas.

Improve overall waste collection coverage ("closing the tap") and provide better access to solid waste management facilities, particularly in rural areas.

Increase national sanitation campaigns at the household level, particularly in rural areas, to enhance community understanding of healthy waste behaviors and reduce the household practice of disposing waste directly into waterways.

Invest in new, well-managed final disposal sites and upgrade existing sites, including those near waterways.

Optimize the use of existing structures in waterways and drainage to prevent plastic waste from reaching the sea.

Promote a circular economy to reduce plastics consumption and prevent plastic pollution.

Prevention should start at source and even at an earlier life-cycle stage, considering reduction of critical single-use plastic items and design for reuse, recovery and recycling of plastic waste, which can have many other social, economic and environmental benefits.

Cost-effective, impactful policy instruments such as taxes and incentives should be implemented.

Systematically monitor and improve waste data.

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Plastic Waste Discharges from Rivers and Coastlines in Indonesia

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Uncollected waste contributes more to plastic waste discharges than leakages from final disposal sites, and very little plastic is recycled. Indonesia generates approximately 7.8 million tons of plastic waste annually. 4.9 million tons of plastic waste is mismanaged-e.g. uncollected, disposed of in open dumpsites or leaked from improperly managed landfills.

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The Best Way to Replace Polystyrene in Packaging

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The Best Way to Replace Polystyrene in Packaging

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The Best Way to Replace Polystyrene in Packaging

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Polystyrene packaging is coming under increasing fire by authorities due to its negative impact on environments – here are some great alternatives.

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Waste Not, Want Not : “Waste Banks” in Indonesia

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Waste Not, Want Not : “Waste Banks” in Indonesia

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Waste Not, Want Not : "Waste Banks" in Indonesia

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When you've grown so used to tossing all manner of garbage into the trash bin, without giving a second thought to whether it is organic or non-organic waste, it's easy to not care where your garbage ultimately ends up. But the reality is that, in Indonesia, your garbage gets mixed ...

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Indonesia Needs to Sort Out How to Sort Its Waste

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Indonesia Needs to Sort Out How to Sort Its Waste

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Jakarta. Indonesia's effort to manage its plastic waste has been hampered with a basic problem for years now: all of its garbage remains unsorted.

"I think that's our biggest challenge, how can we sort our waste," Rofi Alhanif, the assistant deputy for waste management under the ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment, said on Monday.

He spoke in a webinar hosted by CDM Smith, a global and privately owned engineering and construction firm.

Indonesia generates approximately 6.8 million tons of plastic waste every year, according to the Indonesia National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP), a collaboration between the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment and the Global Plastic Action Partnership. About 80 percent of the waste originates from land, while the remaining 20 percent comes from coasts and oceans.

A 2019 report from World Bank estimated Indonesia generated 175,000 tons of waste, including about 14 percent, or 24,500 tons a day of plastics. That is equal to about 8.9 million tons of plastic waste a year. Such a large amount of unsorted waste would require a lot of resources for sorting and segregation before the trash can be processed or recycled.

"It takes effort to separate, whether the responsibility falls on government or the private sector," Rofi said.

Rofi said the typical stream of waste, from waste collection areas (households, public spaces, etc.), to waste processing sites, integrated waste management sites, and finally to the off-takers that will utilize the treated waste.

The government is beginning to invest towards a "circular economy" within waste management. Off-takers have started to reuse plastic waste by turning it into new products, such as the plastic tar road that processes plastics into mixed asphalt.

According to Alhanif, the circular economy will protect the environment while maintaining economic growth and creating up to 120,000 formal jobs. It will also increase the efficiency of raw materials, the number of recyclable and biodegradable products, the capacity of the recycling industry, amongst many others.

The government has been working on initiatives towards more efficient waste management. It issued government regulations on reducing and handling solid waste in 2017 and marine debris handling in 2018. Still, the biggest challenge and hindrance to efficiency is the upstream sorting stage.

"We have communicated with various plastic recycling associations. No plastic cannot be recycled. All of it can be reused. The problem is if the plastic waste has been mixed [with other waste]. High expenses go towards sorting it out until the plastic is completely separated so that it can be processed once again," Rofi said.

He suggests organizing trash from the source, individual households, though this must be done as a community-based effort.

Rofi mentioned a successful initiative in Klungkung, Bali, where the local government has implemented scheduled garbage collection policies.

For instance, on one particular day, only organic trash will be collected. On the following scheduled collection, non-organic waste will be collected. He said that if the garbage is unsorted, it won't be picked up.

"It's better to sort the trash from households, from the source, at the very least in two streams of segregation: organic and non-organic. It helps. I estimate that 50 percent of our waste problem is solved if we can sort our trash. The largest composition is indeed in the initial sorting," Rofi said.

Bernhard Schenk, an solid waste management expert from KfW, a German state-owned bank, agrees with this sentiment.

According to him, out of five solid waste management development phases, Indonesia is in-between phases two and three, encapsulating sorting and sanitary landfills. To reach the final phase, the country must be able to transform waste into resources.

"Whatever product is used by the population should not turn out as waste, but should be recycled, reutilized to have a process of resource-saving and turning whatever used product to produce new products," Schenk said. Before this can be achieved, however, proper sorting of solid waste at the source must first be tackled.

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Indonesia Needs to Sort Out How to Sort Its Waste

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Indonesia generates approximately 6.8 million tons of plastic waste every year, according to NPAP.

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Reduce Paper Waste in Classrooms and Schools

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Reduce Paper Waste in Classrooms and Schools

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Schools play a vital role in promoting responsible practices within local communities, yet many produce a shocking amount of waste.

Every primary school pupil in the UK produces an estimated 45kg of waste per academic year, while secondary school pupils generate 22kg.

Notably, 70% of the waste in school bins comprises food waste, paper, and card materials.

Despite the potential for recycling, just 20% of the food, paper, and card waste in schools is currently being recycled.

Let's hit the books and explore how your school can reduce paper waste and increase recycling to boost its eco credentials and academic budget long-term.

1. Upgrade your school's website

You might not expect the suggestion to invest in your school's website when reading about paper waste reduction.

However, creating a high-quality website can offer numerous opportunities to minimise paper use inside and outside the classroom.

Embrace the digital age for learning and homework

By implementing a pupil learning platform, you can effortlessly provide resources and homework tasks to each student, eliminating the need for paper.

It may seem like a small step in reducing paper use, but the impact can be significant.

If an entire class can access, complete, and submit their worksheets online, you could save around 26 sheets of paper every week of term. That's 1,014 pages per academic year, substantially contributing to your school's paper waste reduction efforts - and that's just one class.

Your school may have already adopted a learning platform during the COVID-19 pandemic, only to revert to traditional homework routines as national restrictions lifted. However, now is the perfect time to make the switch permanently.

As well as reducing paper (and printer) use, teachers will benefit from marking assignments without the burden of carrying piles of paper around school or transporting them home.

Additionally, with paper-free assignments, students won't be able to use the classic excuse of "the dog ate my homework" anymore.

A digital learning platform benefits the environment, the school budget, and the efficiency of the education process.

Create a parent hub

Establish a dedicated parent hub on your website to facilitate clear and seamless communication with your pupils' parents. Use this platform to share newsletters, photos, videos, and essential updates effectively.

With most families having internet access at home, consider transitioning to emailing parent letters and posting newsletters directly to your website. However, for those families without internet access, create a mailing list to ensure they stay informed and don't miss vital updates.

Creating a parent hub will save you a considerable amount of paper and ensure the information is readily accessible and doesn't end up forgotten at the bottom of a child's school bag.

Market your school

Boost your school's visibility and reputation by leveraging your website as a powerful marketing tool. Take advantage of this platform to showcase your school's strengths:

Share your prospectus to provide detailed information about your school's offerings, values, and achievements. By sharing your prospectus online, you won't need to print as many - saving paper.

Upload an engaging video tour highlighting your school's facilities and showcasing the vibrant learning environment.

Display captivating photos of children actively participating in various educational activities, demonstrating their positive experiences at your school. Ensure you get written permission from parents and guardians before posting pictures of children online.

Enable parents to conveniently apply or make enquiries online, streamlining the enrolment process and encouraging more prospective families to get in touch.

2. Ditch paper processes

Every headteacher knows of the constant exchange of forms between the school and parents.

Whether it's admission or consent forms for school trips, this process generates significant paper waste, leading to inefficiency, expenses, and GDPR concerns.

The good news is that numerous tools are readily available for schools to replace paper forms with digital alternatives. By embracing these tools, parents can conveniently complete forms online, and teachers can receive responses instantly - streamlining the entire process.

These digital tools can be used for various purposes, including leave of absence requests, visit permissions, and medical consent.

Two popular free and easy school data collection options include Google Forms and Survey Monkey.

3. Invest in technology

We understand that budget constraints pose a challenge for many schools. However, the benefits of reducing paper waste in schools by adopting laptops or tablets instead of exercise books and textbooks are significant.

Embracing technology opens up many teaching and learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom, eliminating the necessity for multiple exercise books for each taught subject.

The advantages of this transition extend beyond environmental conservation, as it can lead to enhanced educational experiences for students.

4. Educate staff and pupils

You can initiate environmental action in school by prioritising education on the topic.

Educating your pupils, teachers, and staff about climate change and the significance of waste reduction is crucial.

Without proper education on environmental issues, people aren't likely to take waste reduction seriously, as they may not fully comprehend why it matters.

However, with education, you'll witness a spark of passion in many individuals to protect our planet and make a positive impact.

To drive this passion forward, leverage the help of particularly enthusiastic team members and pupils to lead the implementation of new processes and procedures to reduce paper waste.

They may even think up additional ways to use less paper in school.

5. Use recycled paper

In situations where paper use is necessary, it's crucial to prioritise eco-friendly practices.

Supply all teachers with recycled paper and ensure it's recycled once the paper has fulfilled its purpose. Recycling should become a standard practice within the school.

In addition, explore alternative mediums whenever possible. For instance, for painting activities in art classes, consider using waste plastic bottles or egg boxes as canvases instead of traditional paper.

Creative approaches like this can reduce paper consumption and create a more sustainable and eco-conscious school environment.

6. Set up recycling stations

To encourage a recycling-friendly environment, it's essential to provide readily available recycling facilities for staff and students.

Take proactive steps to encourage paper recycling throughout the school grounds by strategically placing paper recycling bins.

Equip every classroom with designated bins for different waste types, and consider enhancing outdoor and shared areas with recycling stations in addition to general bins.

The key is to ensure that wherever paper is being used, there is a dedicated receptacle for its recycling.

7. Reduce what you can't eradicate

When printing something out is unavoidable, use both sides of each sheet to minimise paper use. Most modern printers have a duplex printing function for this.

Encourage everyone in the school to adopt double-sided printing, and you'll witness an instant and remarkable reduction in paper consumption. In fact, with little effort, the school can cut its paper usage in half.

If you'd like to learn more about school waste management in and around the Yorkshire region, contact Forge Recycling for a free waste audit. Working with us, you can save money on waste management while boosting your recycling rate.

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Seven ways schools can reduce paper waste

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Schools play a vital role in promoting responsible practices within local communities, yet many produce a shocking amount of waste. Every primary school pupil in the UK produces an estimated 45kg of waste per academic year, while secondary school pupils generate 22kg. Notably, 70% of the waste in school bins comprises food waste, paper, and card materials.

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School Spider - Transform the way your school works

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"If we don't take climate action, the collapse of our civilisation and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon"

- Sir David Attenborough

A new study has found that primary schools in the UK produce 45kg of paper waste per pupil per year and according to there are over 10 million pupils in the UK!

So, the question is what is your school doing to reduce your paper usage in schools? Here's our 5 top tips for how you can start your journey to saving paper in school.

Top Tip #1

Stop Printing Your Parent Letters and Newsletters

How many letters that you print do you think get stuck in the bottom of a child bag never to be seen again? Our bet is, there's a lot more than you think!

Weekly newsletters are great for keeping parents up to date with what is happening in your school, but why are you printing them? Majority of people, in fact 96% of people according to Office of National Statistics have access to the internet at home, 79% of them have a smartphone.

Instead of printing, post your newsletters and other parent letters on your website and/or email them to parents. The switch to online is not only going to reduce your paper usage but it's also going to make the information more accessible.

Just make sure that you still cater for those who don't have access, give the option to print a newsletter as requested. For other parent letters, what about creating a mailing list for parents you know cannot access online?

Top Tip #2

Switch Paper Processes to Online - Parents' evenings, consent forms, data collection

Let's talk about paper processes; parents' evenings, school trip booking forms, consent forms, meal selection... the list goes on.

So many schools are still using paper to retrieve information from parents for various different things and there are SO many tools available to do all of this online.

Not only is using paper for these processes bad for the environment, it is costly , it is time consuming and data is difficult to keep secure and GDPR compliant.

Reduce your paper usage by switching online and receive your responses directly from the parents online with no need for any paper.

School Spider (little plug ) have a school app and website login for parents to complete all of their consent forms, trip bookings, parents evening bookings and payments online. You control what goes out and manage all your responses quickly and easily.

There's also free tools available such as Google Forms or Survey Monkey where you can create surveys online.

Top Tip #3

Utilise Your School Website - Communicate, Teach and Market

Your school website is a great place to deliver information for both parents, pupils and prospective parents online without the need for ANY paper.

Having a website where you can manage your own content means that you open yourself up to a huge teaching, communication and marketing tool.

TEACH - Ever thought of creating a whole pupil learning platform? Full of resourceful links, homework sheets, videos and more accessible to your pupils online?

COMMUNICATE - Having a parents area section - Filled with important letters, newsletters, galleries and news about what's happening in school

MARKET - Use your website to market to prospective parents. You can upload your prospectus, upload videos of your school or a welcome from the headteacher and have you admission guide and any forms to complete all accessible online

All of these website features will really help you on your way to reduce your paper usage!

Top Tip #4

Online Pupil Learning Tools and Homework

We have all had to adapt to this being online due to COVID, something not many schools have ever thought to do before.

Having an online learning area for pupils saves a HUGE amount of paper. Having an area where you can securely provide homework to your pupils, resources and have discussion with your pupils online is a great tool to stay connected and also massively reduce paper waste.

Checkout our pupil VLE or free tools like Google Classroom. The switch to online homework is going to be more and more popular come 2021 and if it's something you can take on, it could make a huge difference.

Top Tip #5

Introduce, Implement and Teach to Recycle

Paper usage cannot always be avoided, so when you do have to use it make sure you are recycling.

Make sure that your pupils and staff understand about climate change and the impact that not recycling has on the environment. It is important to make sure that you have recycling bins dotted around the school to make it a no brainer.

" Together We Can Make a Better World "

Jodie Woodward

Brand and Communications Manager

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5 Tips to Reduce Paper Usage in Schools - School Spider

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"If we don't take climate action, the collapse of our civilisation and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon" - Sir David Attenborough A new study has found that primary schools in the UK produce 45kg of paper waste per pupil per year and according to BESA there are over [...]

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What is Canada doing to reduce single-use plastic?

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What is Canada doing to reduce single-use plastic?

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This story idea came from audience members, like you, who got in touch with us. Send us your questions about climate change and the single-use plastic ban. We are listening: ask@cbc.ca.
In June, the Liberal government announced it will ban some single-use plastic items in an effort to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030, but only a limited number of products fall under the ban and some of the prohibitions don't kick in until 2025.

The six categories of single-use plastics being banned make up about three per cent of the plastic waste generated annually in Canada, and while the list is short, not everything on it is being outright banned.

For example, some plastic straws are banned but there are exceptions that only restricts others.

CBC News took a look at the regulations to see what is being banned and when, how the policy announced this week will impact the campaign to cut back on plastics globally and what was left off the banned list.

We also put a list of questions to Environment Canada, including some that were submitted by readers to the Ask CBC News team. Some of Environment Canada's responses to those questions can be found below.

What products are being banned by these new regulations?

There are six categories of single-use plastic products that are being banned, including:

Checkout bags.

Cutlery.

Takeout ware with plastics that are hard to recycle.

Plastic aluminum can ring carriers.

Stir sticks.

Straws.

Why are plastic drink lids for disposable beverages not on the list?

While plastic cup lids are one of the top items found on shoreline cleanups, the federal government said that it settled on the six categories of products for a number of reasons: they are found in the environment during clean ups, they pose a threat to wildlife, they are difficult to recycle and they can be replaced with alternatives.

"With regard to plastic lids used for disposable coffee cups in particular, limited alternatives to this item were identified as being available at this time," the government said in a statement.

The federal government said it is continuing to monitor data and evidence and will decide if other single-use plastic products can and should be banned in future.

Will this make much of a dent in Canada's plastic waste?

Not a large one.

According to environmental groups like Greenpeace Canada, the six categories of products only make up about five per cent of the total amount of plastic waste Canada created in a year, according to data from 2019.

The federal government's estimate is even lower. In the regulation details published in June, it estimated about three per cent of plastic waste created using data from 2019, or about 150,000 tonnes of plastic waste.

When do the bans kick in?

New rules will prohibit the manufacture and import of most items on the list for the purpose of selling them in Canada by Dec. 20, 2022. After that date the goods can still be sold in the country for another year.

Plastic ring carriers, like those used to hold a six-pack of cans together, get an extra six-months grace. They can continue to be imported and manufactured for sale in Canada until June 20, 2023 and their sale is not banned until June 20, 2024.

If the federal government wants to ban plastics, why is it giving such a long timeline for an export ban?

CBC News put this question to the federal government and was told that after consultations with industry it was decided that a 42-month phase-out period would meet Canada's international commitments while minimizing the harm for industry.

"A gradual phase-out allows Canadian businesses to minimize disruption to their operations, while transitioning out of the market for prohibited items in alignment with global market and regulatory trends," the government said in a statement.

Does that mean that after Dec. 20, 2025 no banned products will be shipped through Canada?

Not exactly. New rules will continue to allow for banned plastic products manufactured in another country to be shipped through Canada to a third country without restriction.

CBC News asked the federal government why this was the case if the goal is to remove plastics from the environment and was told that Canada's participation in the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Article 11.8 prohibits Canada from applying technical regulations to goods in transit.

I thought plastic straws were being banned, but they aren't?

While most plastic single-use straws are being banned, flexible or bendable straws are not - although they are being restricted.

Retail stores can sell flexible straws in a package of 20 more, but the package cannot be displayed where a customer can see it without the help of a store employee.

Flexible straws can continue to be sold business-to-business as well and for a limited time they can also be sold when packaged with a beverage container providing that packaging was done by the company that made the drink, as they are when sold with juice boxes.

Juice box straws can only be sold until June 20, 2024, before they also fall under a ban.

The decision not to ban flexible straws was made because they remain useful and required for people with physical disabilities or for people being cared for in a medical or long-term care facility.

Will Canadian companies still be able to make these items for export?

In order to "enable industry to adapt to the changes" the federal government said it would allow industry to manufacture plastics until Dec. 20, 2025. Exporters need to keep detailed records of who is buying their products to comply with the rules.

Checkout bags are often used more than once by consumers who repurpose them. Why are these banned, but garbage bags that are only used only once are not?

CBC News put this question to the federal government and was told that "reusing an item for an additional single use does not make the item reusable by definition."

According to the federal government's definition: "A reusable item is designed and intended to be used multiple times, for the same use, without losing its original functionality. Using single-use plastic checkout bags for a second time as a garbage bag or lunch bag does not mean that it is reusable."

WATCH | Ottawa to ban many single-use plastics by end of 2023:

The federal government said that any benefit gained from consumers repurposing checkout bags is offset by the environmental harm caused by the product itself, noting that "16,971 units were collected from Canadian shorelines in 2021 through the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup."

By contrast, the government said that it is not aware of data showing the same problem with garbage bags. The government said the lack of an alternative to plastic garbage bags is also a factor.

Will single-use dog waste bags be banned too?

The federal government said that it is not banning single-use pet waste bags because the regulations have been crafted to ban "bags that are designed to carry purchased goods from a business."

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Which single-use plastics is the government banning? Your questions answered | CBC News

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In June, the Liberal government announced it will ban some single-use plastic items in an effort to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030, but only a limited number of products fall under the ban and some of the prohibitions don't kick in until 2025.

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Straws are the best tools to drink something (not water) without damaging your teeth. But straws are so not eco-friendly and they're one of the factors that sea is polluted with plastics. But if you drink, let's say cola, without a straw, your teeth are gonna have a bad time. Dilemma, dilemma.

Even so, we should stop using plastic straws altogether. Plastic Pollution Coalition estimates that more than 500 million single-use plastic straws are used each day in the United States alone, imagine the number worldwide. No wonder that sea animals are now suffering, just like a poor turtle that had a straw on its nostrils here.

But you don't have to worry anymore, because you can drink with edible straws very soon. A company called Loliware is planning to mass-produce edible straws. They are seaweed-based and they look and feels like plastic. You don't have to worry about your straw getting soggy.

Loliware cofounder Leigh Ann Tucker said, "It transforms while you're using it to where you can actually bite into it afterward and eat it. But when you first pick it up and put it into your drink, it's going to feel like a plastic straw."

The company plans to make different versions of the straw. One is clear and flavorless, just like regular plastic straw, and the other has various colors, flavors, and added nutrients. Drinking water with lemon-flavored straw? Or chocolate frappe with mint straw? Endless possibilities.

"You can imagine drinking your cold-brewed coffee with a vanilla straw or a caramel straw," another cofounder of Loliware, Chelsea Briganti, said.

She continued, "We're providing them a solution to the plastic straw crisis while also giving them a fun experience on top of that. It's not about the consumer sacrificing anymore, it's about the consumer having fun and being sustainable at the same time."

What's great about this straw is that it's highly compostable. So if you don't wanna eat it, no biggie. You throw it away and it composts like an organic waste (banana peel, for example). If it ends up in ocean (or if you throw it in any kind of water), it will melt away effortlessly.

Briganti said, "There are some bioplastics that just break down into smaller pieces, whereas Lolistraw is designed to literally disappear," says Briganti.

Planning for a mass manufacturing, Loliware is currently raising funds for the production on Kickstarter. The cost won't be as economical as producing plastic straws, but Briganti is certain that they could compete and replace millions of plastic straws by next year.

Another company is offering similar solution to reducing plastic straws. UK-based company Herald Plastic makes straws made of sugar, water, corn starch, bovine jelly, aromas, and other substance. The straws, containing 7g of sugar each, also contains protein and fibre.

The sugar straws can stay up to 40 minutes in fizzy drinks and milkshakes without getting soggy. Just about enough time to sip up all your drinks. When you've finished drinking, you can keep the straw and gobble it up whenever you need some sugary snacks.

"Besides being functional, they are a sweet treat that parents can buy for their children to add to a holiday or day out experience. They can be enjoyed at any age, providing a focal point and enhancing a child or adult's drink," said Herald Plastic managing director, Yogesh Patel.

Just like Lolistraw, Herald Plastic's straws come with different flavors and colors as well. The company offers straws of lemon, lime, strawberry, cinnamon, green apple and ginger flavours. You can spare your worry about the straws melting. They have a shelf-life of two years. Pretty good, huh?

You might be saying, "Great. Now when can I start slurping my drinks with these straws?" Well, you may not be drinking with these straws anytime soon, but that doesn't mean that you can't start improving the environment from now. There are plenty of ways to drink without plastic straws. Here are a few examples.

1. Wafer/Biscuit Rolls

Maybe you've done this when you were kids, but this method definitely works. Just take your favorite wafer/biscuit rolls and put them in your favorite drink. You have to do it fast, though, because the rolls will get soggy in minutes. Best use this in cold drinks like frappes.

2. Twizzlers or Red Vines

These popular long candies are hollow, so you can simply bite off the ends and use them as a straw. Red Vines are round, letting you slurp drinks more comfortably, as opposed to Twizzlers, which are flatter. These straw candies are perfect with cola and other soft drinks.

3. Celery straw

Now if you're a more organic type, these celery straws are perfect for you. Need a straw for your fruit and veggie juice? Just grab one of these and get rockin'. But that's not all, you can absolutely use these for your bloody mary cocktail. Get them at Duda Farm Fresh Foods.

4. Molded straw

Now this is where you have to do a DIY. All you have to do is pour ice or chocolate into an ice straw mold (or other molds). If you want harder consistency and more 'plasticky-like', you can do it with hard gelatin which are usually used to make gummy bears.

5. Candy Straw

Perhaps this straw is the closest to Herald Plastic's straws. Simply go to a candy store and look for hard candy straws. Should be easy to spot because they're usually in rainbow color. Simply put these in your favorite beverages and drink away.

Now, the purpose of using these edible straws isjust one of many ways to reduce plastic use. But at least we get to have fun and unleash our creativity. We definitely want to go an extra mile for our mother earth and our own, don't we? Tell us what you think and hit that like button if you enjoy reading this content!

Source(s):

https://www.fastcompany.com/40502404/after-you-finish-your-drink-you-can-eat-this-new-edible-straw

Disposable packaging company invents range of edible straws

https://www.bustle.com/articles/80023-starbucks-cookie-straws-arent-the-only-edible-straws-around-try-these-7-options-too

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No More Straw Waste with Edible Straw (You can also Make One!)

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Straws are the best tools to drink something (not water) without damaging your teeth. But straws are so not eco-friendly and they're one of the factors that sea is polluted with plastics. But if you drink, let's say cola, without a straw, your teeth are gonna have a bad time.

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How to pack lunch without relying on plastic

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How to pack lunch without relying on plastic

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While working as an architect, Julia Kay had a realization that will, perhaps, end up changing the world. "I was excited by architecture because you've got the opportunity to design a world that you want to see," she says. "But I realized that the construction industry is incredibly wasteful. There's a huge amount of plastic waste, particularly in pallet wrap, and I was basically like, 'Yeah, the world's burning. I think I could be using my skills in a better way.'"

So when Julia put heads together with her now-husband, Jordy, who had similar anxieties about plastic from his career in wine production, they dreamed up an idea for a compostable cling wrap. The couple set up a manufacturing facility in Melbourne, Australia, and partnered with the chemical engineering team at Monash University to develop Great Wrap-a cling wrap made from potato waste.

READ MORE: 15 Game Changers Who Are Impacting the Way We Eat and Drink in 2023

"After doing a lot of research, we found that potato waste has a high amount of starch and that there's huge amounts of it [from feedstock] in every region," says Kay. "There's so much of this waste [in Europe, Australia, and the U.S.] that they're putting it in paddocks to rot."

Left to rot, potato waste emits methane. But when the chemical engineering team at Great Wrap extracts a compostable biopolymer from the potato starch, they're transforming what would be a major pollutant into a useful product that will effectively leave no carbon footprint. When Great Wrap is composted, it only takes a maximum of 180 days to entirely decompose; petroleum-based wrap remains in our environment indefinitely.

The use of potato scraps also makes Great Wrap inexpensive to produce and sell-an essential factor in competing with plastic wrap. "If we make the perfect compostable polymer, but it's 10 times the price [of plastic wrap], it's not going to be scalable, and people aren't going to want to buy it," Kay says. Although Great Wrap is currently more expensive than the average cling wrap, in time, after they open their biorefinery, which will allow them to avoid outsourcing the polymer development and skip paying for the potato waste, the couple are confident that they'll be able to offer their product at a lower price than petroleum-based wrap. "This isn't a luxury good; it needs to be priced accordingly."

Great Wrap products are currently available in Australia and the United States through greatwrap.co, with plans to expand globally. "The plastic problem is so huge, it's kind of a race to get to the finish," Kay says. "I'm really happy to do that to get where we want to be.

Meet the 2023 Food & Wine Game Changers

De La Calle Tepache | Dia Simms | Fry Away | Great Wrap | Heilala Vanilla | Induction Cooking | Joanne Lee Molinaro | Katie Jackson | Lisa Cheng Smith | Maui Nui Venison | Meherwan Irani | Reem Assil | Rockefeller Center | S.A.L.T. | Theaster Gates

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How a Cling Wrap Made With Potatoes Will Solve the World's Plastic Problem

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Australian company Great Wrap has partnered with Monash University and developed a proprietary cling wrap made from potato waste that breaks down in compost in less than 180 days.

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How a Cling Wrap Made With Potatoes Will Solve the World’s Plastic Problem

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How a Cling Wrap Made With Potatoes Will Solve the World’s Plastic Problem

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
While working as an architect, Julia Kay had a realization that will, perhaps, end up changing the world. "I was excited by architecture because you've got the opportunity to design a world that you want to see," she says. "But I realized that the construction industry is incredibly wasteful. There's a huge amount of plastic waste, particularly in pallet wrap, and I was basically like, 'Yeah, the world's burning. I think I could be using my skills in a better way.'"

So when Julia put heads together with her now-husband, Jordy, who had similar anxieties about plastic from his career in wine production, they dreamed up an idea for a compostable cling wrap. The couple set up a manufacturing facility in Melbourne, Australia, and partnered with the chemical engineering team at Monash University to develop Great Wrap-a cling wrap made from potato waste.

READ MORE: 15 Game Changers Who Are Impacting the Way We Eat and Drink in 2023

"After doing a lot of research, we found that potato waste has a high amount of starch and that there's huge amounts of it [from feedstock] in every region," says Kay. "There's so much of this waste [in Europe, Australia, and the U.S.] that they're putting it in paddocks to rot."

Left to rot, potato waste emits methane. But when the chemical engineering team at Great Wrap extracts a compostable biopolymer from the potato starch, they're transforming what would be a major pollutant into a useful product that will effectively leave no carbon footprint. When Great Wrap is composted, it only takes a maximum of 180 days to entirely decompose; petroleum-based wrap remains in our environment indefinitely.

The use of potato scraps also makes Great Wrap inexpensive to produce and sell-an essential factor in competing with plastic wrap. "If we make the perfect compostable polymer, but it's 10 times the price [of plastic wrap], it's not going to be scalable, and people aren't going to want to buy it," Kay says. Although Great Wrap is currently more expensive than the average cling wrap, in time, after they open their biorefinery, which will allow them to avoid outsourcing the polymer development and skip paying for the potato waste, the couple are confident that they'll be able to offer their product at a lower price than petroleum-based wrap. "This isn't a luxury good; it needs to be priced accordingly."

Great Wrap products are currently available in Australia and the United States through greatwrap.co, with plans to expand globally. "The plastic problem is so huge, it's kind of a race to get to the finish," Kay says. "I'm really happy to do that to get where we want to be.

Meet the 2023 Food & Wine Game Changers

De La Calle Tepache | Dia Simms | Fry Away | Great Wrap | Heilala Vanilla | Induction Cooking | Joanne Lee Molinaro | Katie Jackson | Lisa Cheng Smith | Maui Nui Venison | Meherwan Irani | Reem Assil | Rockefeller Center | S.A.L.T. | Theaster Gates

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How a Cling Wrap Made With Potatoes Will Solve the World's Plastic Problem

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Australian company Great Wrap has partnered with Monash University and developed a proprietary cling wrap made from potato waste that breaks down in compost in less than 180 days.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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At one point or another, you've probably experienced wasting a perfectly good cup of coffee because you forgot about it on your kitchen counter and it turned cold.

At this moment, people are often faced with the question of whether or not they should stick their paper cup full of coffee in the microwave to reheat it.

This leads us to the key question:

Can you microwave paper cups? No, it is not recommended that you microwave your paper cups. The microwaving process causes the paper to break down and release potentially harmful chemicals into your food or even catch fire. The paper cup will also become warped and damaged.

That said, be sure to keep reading as we delve deeper into why you shouldn't microwave your paper cups. We will also be presenting some suggestions and alternatives that you can explore when dealing with such a dilemma.

Understanding How Microwaves Work

Before delving deeper into the matter of paper cups and whether or not they are safe to put in the microwave, we must first look at how this heating method works.

Microwave technology has been around for a while now and has become an everyday convenience that all of us enjoy. However, for our purposes, we need to lift the veil so that we can effectively answer the matter at hand.

Microwave ovens work differently compared to your traditional ovens that use direct exposure to heat to warm or cook your food.

These devices work by emitting microwave particles that penetrate the food and agitate the molecules, causing friction, which causes heat, which is distributed by convection.

Take note, however, that a microwave oven has the notorious problem of being unable to heat things evenly.

At the same time, the heating process used by microwaves can have an adverse impact on the material being heated. Be sure to remember this part, as this will play an important role later on.

What Are Paper Cups Made Of?

If you have ever taken your morning cup of coffee to go, then you have probably encountered these paper cups. They're everywhere, and most fast-food restaurants and cafés use this container to serve their coffee.

However, contrary to what you may expect, the paper is not the sole material used to make these cups. Upon closer inspection, you will undoubtedly notice that there is a thin layer of film on the inside of the cup.

Now, this may not come as a surprise, but this coating on the inside of the cup is often made from wax. However, there are cases where it is made of plastic.

The purpose of this film is simple enough: it is there to prevent your drink from seeping out and into the paper itself. We're sure we don't have to tell you that without this film, that cup would be an instant pile of soggy mush.

Even putting organic products in the microwave can sometimes be a risk, such as wooden bowls, which can burn or catch fire.

What Happens When You Microwave Paper Cups?

Put simply, two problems will arise if you decide to microwave any product made of paper, including paper plates. First, there is the risk of your paper warping and becoming irreparably damaged.

Second, the glues, waxes, plastics, and other materials used to maintain the cup's structural integrity will most likely start melting and come off during the heating process. This may also release harmful chemicals into your drink or food.

Needless to say, both of these problems stem from the fact that the lining of your cup is not microwave-safe. It simply will not be able to cope with the high temperatures of the microwave.

In the end, both your drink and your cup will be ruined.

In fact, more than your cup can end up damaged. Most paper cups are made with a polyethylene interior lining. This kind of plastic poses serious health risks in the microwave.

Potential Risks and Dangers

While we have covered what will happen to your cup once it is microwaved, you must also understand that there are additional risks and dangers involved that come with it.
We have listed the risks below:

Massive Mess - This is a major inconvenience that you should be ready to deal with should you decide to go through with microwaving your paper cup. Once it starts to warp and turns unstable, you can only expect your drink to start spilling all over the insides of your microwave.

Ruining Your Drink - In the unlikely scenario that your cup isn't altogether destroyed by its exposure to the microwave oven, you will find that your reheated drink will be unpalatable. Remember when we said that the glue and the lining of your paper cup will likely start melting? Well, chances are, particles of those materials will start seeping into your drink once that happens. Needless to say, that will make for an undeniably unpleasant and unhealthy experience.

Long-Term Health Problems - It must be stated here that you will have a bigger problem if you decide to consume the contents of microwaved paper cups over a long period. This is because the chemicals in the glue, plastic, and wax have been shown to have detrimental effects on your health. Specifically, certain plastics release estrogen-like chemicals into the food, stimulating an over-production of estrogen. This is especially dangerous among women, as it can affect reproductive organ function. In addition to this, it may also increase the chances of obesity and other chronic health concerns.

Fire Hazard - It should come as no surprise that microwaving paper cups is a major fire hazard. After all, the materials used to make these cups are naturally flammable. So, if left exposed to the high levels of heat in the microwave for too long, your paper cup can just as easily start smoking and catch fire. If you are not careful, this situation can quickly get out of hand.

These are just some of the dangers and risks that come with putting your paper cups in the microwave. It includes everything from an especially bad cup of coffee to your home catching fire and yourself developing serious health complications.

So, if we were to offer a word of advice: just don't do it.

The supposed convenience it brings isn't worth all the dangers that come with it. This is made especially true by the fact that there are alternative solutions to your problem that require very little effort.

Alternatives to Paper Cups

It should come as no surprise that there is a myriad of alternative solutions to the problem at hand.

While you shouldn't microwave the paper cup directly, nothing is stopping you from transferring its contents to a microwave-safe container and heating that.

How Do You Tell If Something Is Microwave-Safe?

This is the first question that you should ask. After all, the last thing you would want to do is to transfer your drink to another cup that also isn't compatible with the microwave-safe. That would simply be a waste of effort and you'd end up trading one set of problems for another.

That said, you need to look for the microwave-friendly label at the base of the cup. This will tell you everything you need to know. The importance of this can't be overstated so you should always make sure that you do this before putting anything in your microwave.

Microwave-Safe Options

Before anything else, it is worth reiterating that you need to check the label of the specific cup that you will be heating on your microwave.

After all, not all products are made the same. So, just because they use the same material doesn't necessarily mean that they are all safe to use in the microwave.

Here are two kinds of cups you can use that are likely microwave-safe:

Heat-Proof Glassware - There are specific types of glassware that are made with borosilicate and soda-lime that are known to work well with the microwave. They are specifically designed to withstand the heat and they have no trouble with any rapid changes in temperature.

Ceramics - Most ceramic mugs are perfectly safe to use in the microwave. So, you shouldn't hesitate to heat it in your microwave, should you find your drink cooling down past its optimal conditions.

There you have it: our comprehensive guide to why you shouldn't microwave your paper cups.

The fact is that they are not built for that kind of heating process. So, as you would expect, the cups will start breaking down once you put them in there. Luckily, there are alternative options available to you.

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Can You Microwave Paper Cups? - Is It Safe? - Foods Guy

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At one point or another, you've probably experienced wasting a perfectly good cup of coffee because you forgot about it on your kitchen counter and it turned

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Beginner's Guide to Composting | One Small Step | NowThis

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Why is composting good for the environment?

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Why is composting good for the environment?

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Why is Composting Good for the Environment?