For years now, our garbage disposal problem never leaves us. It even escalates as more and more people are competing for his/her niche in our planet. New sickness and diseases evolved with the growing garbage problem thus scientists felt that there is a need to create a counter solution. From biodegradable waste materials such as discarded sugarcane and wheat, bioplastics are conceived as something that could be the answer of the growing waste problem. Well, because it is a new and revolutionary idea, bioplastics are still being questioned as to its counter effect to food production and sustainability. Plus, with bioplastics introduced in the market, there will be a paradigm shift of industries specially food packing industries. Remember, most foods nowadays are packed in plastics.  

Imagine a rice field or a corn field be converted in to a sugarcane plantation solely for bioplastics? Surely an irrational move, as the production of food will be imperiled. And we are talking about billions of people who will be affected here! But bioplastics scientists insist that with the invention of a chemical that will brake down non-biodegradable substances, we don’t need that much area for sugarcanes and wheat plantations and what we need is the DNA of these plants to synthetically create in laboratories the exact structure of substances for bioplastics.

Still, industries are not pacified with these reasons as it would also mean billions in their part to buy the new machinery to manufacture bioplastics. And, with the new machinery comes new instructions and new crew to operate them. Because the making of bioplastics still entails the use of heat, it will still emit gases in the atmosphere, particularly the methane gas. For your information, methane is a green house gas that is even more lethal than carbon dioxide. Though our factories are equipped with turbines and equipment that would convert these gases into water, still we can’t assure of a 100% safety. The gas would surely leak.

These are some of the reasons why bioplastics are still being questioned. We might not even notice the passage of time, and even if we turn 60 or 70 with the pressing environmental concerns, still the argument in the viability of bioplastics will still be there. Let’s not wait for the time when we can no longer do anything to save our atmosphere. Let’s not put our fates to our unsure scientists. Our garbage is our own responsibility. We must begin segregating it at home to lessen poisonous gases from burning of non-biodegradable garbage.