The final edition of our Plastic Free July comes with 4 new questions and answers about (micro)plastics that were sent to us by our community via social media and email.
Until 10th July we have been asking our community to send us questions about microplastics and plastic in general. And until end of July we will publish answers to 20 of the most interesting questions to raise awareness about plastic pollution, educate on ways to fight it and even provide some insight into how plastic transformed the world as we know it, covering the good and the bad aspects of plastic.
We are seeing a slow move towards more sustainable (degradable) food packaging, but let’s face it: this is a complex transition with many challenges. There are several reasons why all this is taking so much time:
1. Price: Price determines choices and this is very obvious when it comes to food packaging. Biodegradable materials are more expensive than traditional plastics which can make it difficult for companies to make the switch without eating into their profits (yes, it’s always about profit). Alognside that, biodegradable materials are not as easy to acquire compared to traditional plastic.
2. Protection and durability: Traditional plastic packaging (let’s face it) offers great protection for food products, and it is very durable. Biodegradable packaging needs to match these properties, but sometimes it simply fails the task. But it’s getting better all the time!
3. Composting and recycling: What’s the use of using biodegradable packaging if there is no infrastructure to handle the composting? Without proper infrastructure to handle the composting of biodegradable packaging, these materials end up in landfills where they can’t break down as effectively.
4. The consumer factor: Besides using biodegradable packaging, consumers need to be educated on how to properly dispose of it. Because incorrect disposal can somewhat negate the benefits of biodegradable options.
5. Regulations: Regulation is slow when it comes to adapting to new materials, especially when it comes to a whole new paradigm in waste management. Companies that use and produce biodegradable packaging solutions may be waiting for clear guidelines on biodegradable packaging before committing 100%.
Now we have only mentioned the challenges, but there is some good in there as well! We can clearly see a growing trend of innovation and adoption in the field of sustainable packaging like bioplastics derived from corn starch, compostable paper, cardboard, edible coatings and many more.
Plastic was developed to improve our lives. And it still is a crucial material that makes our lives better. Moderate and common sense use of materials makes our lives better, while excessive and careless use can create problems.
Plastic is one of the most obvious cases that proves this point. It started out as a revolutionary material that solved so many problems, but is now becoming one of the biggest environmental problems that humanity needs to solve.
But let’s focus on the good today. One of the most benefitial cases for plastics is medicine and healthcare. Why?
1. Sterility: plastics used in medicine have an antimicrobial surface that repels bacteria and reduces the spread of diseases.
2. Effectiveness: Plastic is tough, and it is cheaper and lasts longer than metal, which is prone to wear&tear, damage and corrosion. It can also be sterilised frequently without being damaged.
3. Sterile equipment and packaging: it is guaranteed to be safe and thus eliminates any concerns about the sterilisation process (and we know how important a sterile environment is in medicine).
4. Ease of use: plastic packaging makes it easier for patients to receive treatment at home. For instance, a patient can be given a set of pre-filled single use syringes with the exact medication, which means less work for medical staff.
5. Assistive products and prosthetics: Contact lenses, hearing aids and other assistive products that improve our lives are lighter, smaller and more comfortable thanks to plastics. And let us not forget about imrpovements like heart valves and prosthetics that make lives of patients better.
Bottom line: plastic has improved our lives, being responsible for less infections, better healthcare and in the end, a revolution in healthcare in medicine. It is one of the use-cases where the benefits outweigh the plastic waste produced..
No. It’s actually super easy to install and it only takes 10 minutes to start filtering microfibers from your laundry. Over 10.000 people have already installed the filter themselves, without help from a professional. Yes, it’s that easy to start filtering microfibers from laundry!
This was probably one of the most asked questions in all the years of people using the PlanetCare microfiber filter. The answer is simple: No.
You should not open or attempt to renew the cartridge in any way as this will result in the release of captured microfibers. The whole idea of the PlanetCare closed loop system is to keep microfibers out of the environment. That is why we collect all used filter cartridges. Our team opens the cartridges in a controlled environment, making sure that no microfibers are released into nature.
We store the collected filtering media with the caught microfibers to be upcycled and/or recycled. The used cartridges are then refurbished and sent back to users.
At the moment we have several upcycle pilot projects open but we still need more users to send back the used cartridges. When enough microfibers will be collected, we will run a full scale upcycling operation. We already have confirmed uses for upcycling the fibers (reinforcement of concrete weights in washing machines and chemical recycling by breaking down the fibers into monomers) and we also have several pilots, like using the collected material for insulation material. The most exciting option is surely a range of furniture, made from microfibers (we connected with a local manufacturer for that).
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