From pill bottles and life-saving medical equipment to business-essential tools and household appliances, there are uncountable numbers of products that manufacturers make out of plastic. Polymers are truly exceptional materials.
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While plastic will likely always have a place in our lives, it’s clear that our over-reliance on it has severely impacted our planet. Thankfully, biodegradable resins (also known as biopolymers and bioplastics) may provide a sustainable solution to this issue.
However, in contrast with synthetic resins, biodegradable resins present some unique challenges. If you’re interested in how biodegradable resins could work for your products, this piece is for you. In it, Anova Innovations will explore:
- Global plastic production
- The biodegradable resin market
- Challenges of using biodegradable resins
- The significance of conformal cooling
Global Plastic Production
People produce about 400 million tons of plastic waste every year. Half of all of this plastic is designed for single-use purposes, meaning it’s discarded after one use.
For the past five decades, the rate of plastic production has grown faster than any other material production. At our current rate, the global production of plastic is forecasted to reach 1.1 billion tons by 2050. That’s like producing eight Empire State Building’s worth of plastic a day. Despite recycling efforts, roughly 98 percent of single-use plastic products are still made from “virgin” fossil fuel feedstock.
The Biodegradable Resin Market
In search of a more sustainable option, many manufacturers are trying to identify how they can incorporate biodegradable plastic into their production processes. As their ideas transition from theoretical to practical, the biodegradable polymer market is poised to experience significant growth.
The global Biodegradable Polymer market reached $7.25 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to reach $23.65 billion by 2029. This equates to a staggering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.4 percent between 2022 and 2029.
This growth will be primarily due to biodegradable polymer use in water bottles, food containers, packaging, and medical supplies. Additionally, some governments are combating single-use plastics by creating initiatives and bans that encourage biodegradable plastics.
For instance, the United Kingdom has a wide variety of bans on plastic stirrers, drinking straws, plates, and cutlery. Likewise, St. Kitts and Nevis have a “Plastics Be Gone” campaign that aims to reduce single-use plastics by 30 percent over the next five years. There are also eight states that have outlawed single-use plastic bags.
There is an expense for manufacturers to transition from synthetic plastics to biodegradable resin. But surveys suggest that the majority of Americans are willing to pay more for sustainable products.
Currently, the biopolymers gaining the most prominence are those made from cellulose, chitosan, starch, and proteins. Environmentalists and manufacturers alike are now looking at how to source these materials from the food, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries, which produce all of them as a byproduct of their manufacturing processes.
As biodegradable polymers become more widely adopted, people will realize a myriad of benefits. For instance, bioplastics:
- Produce fewer carbon emissions
- Use less energy in production
- Use less harmful chemicals
- Decompose quickly
Challenges of Using Biodegradable Resins
Unfortunately, bioplastics don’t come without a few disadvantages. Most notably, they have low-to-poor mechanical properties, meaning they don’t perform as well as their synthetic counterparts when in a load-bearing application. Due to most bioplastics’ limited mechanical properties, there is also a smaller range of uses.
Interestingly, the same thing that makes bioplastics environmentally friendly is the thing that makes them challenging to work with. With rapid degradation rates, the use cases for bioplastics become slightly more limited to single-use and limited-use applications. The high hydrophilic capacity of biopolymers also restricts the strength of products.
Due to these properties, many manufacturers have found it challenging to integrate bioplastics into their current processes. Additionally, with the price of bioplastics being significantly more expensive, they’re hesitant to experiment.
However, with the right molds, you can seamlessly replace synthetic plastics with biodegradable resins. In order to ensure improved product surface quality, better filling of the mold cavity, and improved cycle time, you need to use a mold with conformal cooling channels. These channels optimize the heating and cooling process to ultimately produce better products, even when using biodegradable resins.
Additive Manufacturing Makes Conformal Cooling Possible
Additive manufacturing (AM) is a process that can create complex molds by adding layers of material, such as steel, metal, or plastic. Nearly every step of this process is computer-aided and automated in order to produce highly intricate parts.
When using traditional subtractive manufacturing practices, manufacturers must mill and drill straight-line water cooling channels to cool the part. Now, by building molds layer by layer, AM provides the opportunity to create curved channels that follow the part’s geometry. With improved cooling abilities, AM opens up new opportunities to leverage the power of bioplastics.
Innovate with Anova
Bioplastics can help manufacturers reduce their carbon footprint and make customers happy. To minimize the challenges that come along with biodegradable resin, you should consult with an additive manufacturer that specializes in creating conformal cooling molds.
Not only will you see massive increases in productivity, but your ability to work with bioplastics will improve significantly. If you’re interested in how 3D steel-printed molds can enhance your business, reach out to Anova Innovations.
The fashion industry uses a lot of traditional plastic. Microplastics have been found in Arctic snow. Plastic bags have been found in the Mariana Trench. It’s a big problem.
To tackle this issue, it’s good to know the benefits that the alternatives can provide.
Below you can explore seven important benefits that biodegradable plastics have to offer:
1. Biodegradable Plastics Produce Less Emissions
We consume over 100 million tonnes of plastic each year. In 2015, the greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production was equivalent to nearly 1.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). That’s a lot of garment trims and fashion debris.
Biodegradable plastics offer a reduced rate of these emissions as they’re not made through the harmful extraction and refinement of petroleum.
For every ton of petroleum-based plastics produced, there’s up to three tons of CO2 that follows suit. With bio-polymers, this figure is reduced to 0.5 tons.
Finally, biodegradable plastics can actually help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As bio-polymers are derived from plants, this means it takes a lot of CO2 from the atmosphere for plant growth. This is known as a ‘carbon sink’.
2. Less Energy is Used in Their Production
With biodegradable plastics, we no longer need to go through the lengthy process of finding hydrocarbons (in the traditional case, crude oil). We no longer have to use expensive and devastating processes when it comes to extracting, transporting and refining.
This means we are consuming less energy in the production stage. More importantly, we are burning less fossil fuels.
If we add in the energy to clean and recycle plastics, biodegradable alternatives offer a less energy-intense route.
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3. Biodegradable Plastics = Less Waste
It’s estimated there are over five trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans. Plastics also make up 13% of our current waste, which translates as roughly 32 million tons each year.
If current trends remain stable, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050 - especially as we use plastic in everything. Even our clothes. Think of the packaging and trims your garments comes with. All those small bits of plastic add up.
Depending on the method of breakdown, a piece of biodegradable plastic can either fully biodegrade or be reduced by a significant portion of size in 18 to 36 months. Traditional plastic can take up to 1,000 years to fully biodegrade, so this represents a huge improvement.
Brands are now beginning to look into eco-friendly business practices. There are many brands out there that practise them and create beautiful garments and accessories, such as Citizen Wolf, STORY mfg and GRAMMAR, amongst hundreds of others.
Tags, trims and labels are an important part of any brand. Finding ones that are made from recycled and eco-friendly material is a small change in your production, but makes a significant difference to your environmental impact.
Here at Weavabel, we’re branding specialists who continue to invest time and money in sustainable practices. We’ve developed a range of eco-friendly tickets, labels, tags and packaging that you can explore to get a feel for what less waste truly looks like.
4. Petroleum Will Eventually Run Out
In 2018, 93 million barrels of oil were used everyday globally. That’s an incredible statistic. Petroleum is a finite source. There’s only a certain amount hidden under our feet and it won’t last forever.
Growing crops to create biodegradable plastics can theoretically last forever, if there is good farmland available.
Combine this with renewable energy use and you have a winning combination for environmentally friendly production.
5. Biodegradable Plastics Can Decompose Quickly
Under the right circumstances, bio-polymers can decompose fast. For things to break down properly, you need warmth and moisture so that natural processes can get to work.
If these conditions are met, some biodegradable plastics can breakdown within just a few weeks. You can even add some to your garden compost bin.
This means biodegradables won’t sit forever in landfills or clog up waterways. It’s a win-win situation.
6. Say Goodbye To Harmful Chemicals
Over the cycle of their decomposition, traditional plastics can release pollutants such as methane or bisphenol A (BPA), which can harm both the environment and human health.
This isn’t the only chemical present in types of plastic. We’re also talking phthalates such as BBP, DBP and DIBP. These have been classified as harmful to human health.
Bio-polymers don’t contain these chemicals and so when they biodegrade, our environment and our health aren’t affected.
7. Sustainable Business Practices are Popular
Biodegradable products are usually seen as a key part of sustainable business practices. Sustainability is the keyword on everyone’s lips. Organisations that have adopted sustainability practices, such as using biodegradable plastics, in their products are favoured by customers over organisations that don’t.
Including eco-friendly materials and biodegradable plastics in your products and packaging means you stand to gain the benefits from customers who resonate with your sustainability practices.
That being said, sustainability is more than a trend. It’s an idea backed by science and can help to change the world. The change towards sustainability is a change you need to action.
Say Yes to Sustainable Business Practices and Involve Them in Your Processes
If you’re looking to make your fashion brand more sustainable, issues like biodegradable versus traditional plastics can be important to consider.
To answer your questions, we’ve created a handy guide for brands that are wanting to make the transition to sustainable production methods. It has everything from how the world-leading fashion brands are reacting, and what the current customer trends are when it comes to looking for sustainable products.
Download your free useful guide today! Fill in the form to receive a FREE copy of the eBook and kick start your journey to becoming a sustainable brand.
MAKE FASHION SUSTAINABLE
Join brands such as MANGO, Zara, Stella McCartney and many more when it comes to sustainable fashion. The fashion industry has had a disastrous impact on the environment, and for many brands the time to change is now!
To help you start your journey to becoming an eco-friendly brand we've created a guide all about:
How to Make the Transition to an Eco-Friendly Manufacturing and Production Process
In the eBook you will learn:
What impact the fashion industry has had on the environment
How consumer trends in sustainability have evolved
What the world-leading fashion brands are doing right now
How production processes can be more eco-friendly
How to make the transition to becoming a more sustainable brand
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