A Sustainable Waste Stream System
Imagine the possibility of a Sustainable. Compostable and Capturable Waste stream. Technology is moving quickly towards giving us the ability to utilize any biomass for either fuel or packaging feedstock. Agricultural Waste is generated all over the United States in the various forms determined by what is grown. In Eastern Washington state wheat straw is the first ag waste feedstock that comes to mind. This is what is left over after harvesting the wheat kernels. Currently it is burned or plowed under. This waste material can be transformed into foodservice packaging. Harvest, clean and make into a slurry. The machine is like a giant waffle maker that turns it into plates or bowls. The most logical market is Seattle and Portland. Carbon foot print reduction occurs in all phases of production and distribution compared to fossil non-degradable plastic pollution.
Look around where you live. What is the agricultural economy based upon. I have no doubt that there is waste that could be utilized for fuel or packaging. We currently do not value these resources. However, much like a weed is a plant growing where you do not want it, Ag Waste is a disposal problem with a value added solution.
It might seem impossible to make this kind of a change. The entrenched interests will force styrofoam down our throats no matter what the consumer prefers.
And yet the change will happen. The plastic in the ocean will force us to change our waste stream.
So Look Around and please let me know what your agricultural waste is made of. We are the consumer. We get to decide. As with any new innovation, there is the price component. Cost is higher for these products while infrastructure is ramped up to supply the innovaters. Efficiencies of scale come into play as systems become refined and the specific successful applications emerge. Creating a compostable waste stream essentially answers in a positive way the problem of culture expansion.
Islands of Plastic
I have just returned from a couple of weeks in the Bahamas on a very good vacation.
As we walked along the beach we observed bits of clear plastic and styrofoam pieces that were mixed in with the seaweed and shells along the water lapping edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
Seeing the impact of plastic in the ocean is a wake up call. It was only about 60 years ago that we started using plastic for packaging. We now are finding vast areas of the ocean full of plastic. We need to start to change away from non-degradable fossil based plastic to biobased compostable feedstocks.
To me this is a much more important problem then the theory of global warming. Here is an article about plastic in the ocean.
http://www.plasticsnews.com/blog/2009/12/committed_to_cleaning_the_garb.html
The challenge is to become aware of the true cost of non-degradable plastic.
As the consumer becomes educated, she will make a good choice for the future.
Plastic is changing our lives right now.
Here is an example
BPA could make girls more aggressive: Study
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