For years, the corncob pipe was a fashion accessory best left to hillbillies, Frosty the Snowman and Gen. Douglas MacArthur. While the look is no less bumpkinish today than it ever was, corn is showing up in the production of more everyday items -- and without resembling a prop from "Hee Haw." What looks like normal oil-based plastic at first glance is actually polylactic acid (PLA) plastic made from specially processed crops.
That's right: corn plastic. You can drink coffee out of it, put groceries in it, wear it and even hang ten on it on a corn plastic surfboard. Most important, you can turn corn into plastic and avoid dependency on petroleum. Much like corn ethanol, corn plastic allows us to make a comparable product out of a renewable resource, as opposed to oil reserves that will one day run dry. In addition, since corn can be cultivated throughout the world, market value doesn't hinge on relationships with oil-rich nations or on peace in the Middle East. After all, have you ever seen "No blood for corn" printed on a T-shirt?
The United States uses 20.8 million barrels of oil per day, 10 percent of which goes solely to the production of conventional plastic such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [sources: CIA World Factbook, Jewell]. Bioplastics like corn plastic, however, don't require oil and, as a bonus, their manufacture releases fewer toxins and greenhouse gases.
Plus, while normal plastic has a nasty habit of sticking around for centuries after disposal, corn plastic boasts the ability to biodegrade in mere months. Moreover, should you choose to burn it, you don't have to worry about creating toxic fumes.
In this article, we'll look at how a corn stalk turns into a plastic garbage can and why some critics aren't convinced that bioplastics are necessarily a godsend.
Kwa miaka mingi, pipa la mahindi lilikuwa nyongeza ya mtindo bora kushoto kwa hillbillies, Frosty the Snowman na Jenerali Douglas MacArthur. "Hata kama leo hii ni wakati wa ""mwisho wa siku,"" lakini kwa sasa, mahindi yanaonekana katika bidhaa za kila siku, na bila kufanana na vifaa vya ""Hee Haw.""" Plastiki ya kawaida ya mafuta ni plastiki ya asidi ya polylactic (PLA) iliyotengenezwa kutoka kwa mazao yaliyoshughulikiwa maalum. Hiyo ni haki: mahindi plastiki. Unaweza kunywa kahawa ndani yake, kuweka vyakula ndani yake, kuvaa na hata kunyongwa kumi juu yake kwenye ubao wa kuteleza wa plastiki ya mahindi. Jambo la maana zaidi ni kwamba unaweza kugeuza mahindi kuwa plastiki na kuepuka kutegemea mafuta. Kama ethanol ya mahindi, plastiki ya mahindi inaruhusu sisi kutengeneza bidhaa inayofanana kutoka kwa rasilimali inayobadilika, kinyume na akiba ya mafuta ambayo siku moja itakoma. Kwa kuongezea, kwa kuwa mahindi yanaweza kulimwa ulimwenguni kote, thamani ya soko haitegemei mahusiano na mataifa yenye mafuta mengi au amani katika Mashariki ya Kati. Baada ya yote, je, umewahi kuona "Hakuna damu kwa ajili ya mahindi" iliyochapishwa kwenye T-shirt? Marekani hutumia mapipa milioni 20.8 ya mafuta kwa siku, asilimia 10 ya ambayo huenda tu kwa ajili ya uzalishaji wa plastiki ya kawaida kama vile polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [vyanzo: CIA World Factbook, Jewell]. Bioplastics kama vile plastiki ya mahindi, hata hivyo, haihitaji mafuta na, kama ziada, utengenezaji wao hutolewa sumu chache na gesi za chafu. "Kwa kuongezea, wakati plastiki ya kawaida ina tabia mbaya ya kushikamana kwa karne nyingi baada ya kutupwa, plastiki ya mahindi inajivunia uwezo wa ""kuvunjika"" kwa miezi michache tu." Isitoshe, ikiwa utachagua kuichoma, hutahitaji kuwa na wasiwasi kuhusu kutokeza moshi wenye sumu. Katika makala hii, tutaangalia jinsi shina la mahindi linavyoweza kugeuka kuwa chombo cha plastiki cha taka na kwa nini baadhi ya wakosoaji hawaamini kwamba bioplastics ni zawadi kutoka kwa Mungu.