Bioplastics and other Environmental Discussions

Re: what is a biodegradation?

Author: riks
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

Biodegradation
Biodegradation is nature's way of recycling wastes, or breaking down organic matter into nutrients that can be used by other organisms. "Degradation" means decay, and the "bio-" prefix means that the decay is carried out by a huge assortment of bacteria, fungi, insects, worms, and other organisms that eat dead material and recycle it into new forms.

In nature, there is no waste because everything gets recycled. The waste products from one organism become the food for others, providing nutrients and energy while breaking down the waste organic matter. Some organic materials will break down much faster than others, but all will eventually decay.
By harnessing these natural forces of biodegradation, people can reduce wastes and clean up some types of environmental contaminants. Through composting, we accelerate natural biodegradation and convert organic wastes to a valuable resource. Wastewater treatment also accelerates natural forces of biodegradation. In this case the purpose is to break down organic matter so that it will not cause pollution problems when the water is released into the environment. Through bioremediation, microorganisms are used to clean up oil spills and other types of organic pollution. Composting and bioremediation provide many possibililites for student research.

http://ei.cornell.edu/biodeg/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradation
http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Display.cfm?Term=biodegradation

Re: Why is the 100% compostable Sun chips bag so loud?

Author: red dye #2 m/(^o^)m/
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

because saving the planet comes at price: noise pollution

Re: How long does it take for paper to biodegrade/decompose when it's buried in soil?

Author: legomanyacts
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

It really depends on the quality and size of the paper.

Read here about biodegrading time periods:

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/03/lp308-04.shtml

I compost and sometimes add ripped up newspaper to the soil... I would say it takes about 60-90 days to decompose.

If you are doing this for an experiment for class... I would say you would have a good chance of getting it done.

Try this out:

Get a plastic container, one of those Rubbermaid ones, large enough to add 40 pounds of soil. See image below:

http://www.enasco.com/prod/images/products/80/AC039850l.jpg

Buy a 40 pound bag of top soil (not potting soil. potting soil has vermiculite) and put it into the container.

Take a paper towel or newspaper and rip it into different sized pieces. (The smaller the pieces, the faster they will decompose)

Keep the lid off so there is air getting to it.

Spray the soil daily so it is moist. (do not over water, the soil should be moist, not damp or drenched)

Turn the soil daily.

*** you can even add dead plant material, or veggie scraps for fun

**** poke holes in the soil

You could even do multiple containers with different paper types and paper sizes.

You may also be interested in reading up on composting, click the link below:

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/Composters_082205.xml&catref=cat830029&page=2

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Re: what is a biodegradation?

Author: starkid1026
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

I'm not sure but i think it is the ability of a chemical or substance to be broken down naturaly, like metal rusting or fruit rotting

Re: What are biodegradable plastics made of?

Author: tiku
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

Yes you are correct biodegradable plastics are made up of starch and not only corn starches. This is actually made because if at all we throw it here and there its becomes degradable without becoming a pollutant. It is not made commercial because creating starch inserting it in the plastics is not so easy. Give all you can to save the environment!!!!!

Re: How long does it take for petroleum based plastics to biodegrade?

Author: Derail
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

From my own personal experiences, number 1 plastic (pop bottles) and number 2 (milk cartons), exposed to sunlight and on the surface, take about two years to decompose.

Re: Why is the 100% compostable Sun chips bag so loud?

Author: Night visions
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

not really a hard task to eat some chips...but anyways, its better for the environmenteven if it is loud.

Re: How much is their environment and how much is genetics?

Author: Dread Head
Forum: Everything Else Green
Date: 2010-11-28

out of my 5 brothers one is gay.... very flamboyantly gay... and he wasn't treated any different then the rest of them... but he is my favorite one...

Re: Effective "green" bleach alternatives?

Author: BRADY
Forum: Everything Else Green
Date: 2010-11-28

Sorry, there's a reason chlorine-based products rule the bleach world. Quite simply, they work much better than any other alternative.

"Going green" requires sacrifice - no more bright white clothes for you!

Re: How much is their environment and how much is genetics?

Author: Sir, Paul is his name!
Forum: Everything Else Green
Date: 2010-11-28

First of all I don't whine around the house! Second of all you don't know me! I'm just asking why they don't love me. Third I hope you die a slow painful death! If you are man I want to slice and cut up your balls. If you're a women I want to stick a thorn up your vagina!

Re: If Al Gore is an environmentalist, why did it take over 8 years to make his house "Eco-friendly"

Author: MiMi ?
Forum: Everything Else Green
Date: 2010-11-28

so what

at least he was one of the ONLY celebs with money to bring the global warming issue up. props to him...

people are always trying to find a problem.

Re: can you reuse compostable plastic containers?

Author: Mariela B
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

Yes maybe if it is cleaned properly and then later after the use of the container is done to cut it up into pieces and put them into your compost.-hope this helps.

Re: what is a environmentally friendly bomb?

Author: Chun M
Forum: Everything Else Green
Date: 2010-11-28

It won't have any radioactive fallout like a thermonuclear warhead, but will still leave a pretty big hole in the ground.

Re: Why does Clove powder make plastic biodegrade?

Author: leveretth
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

Freakin' awesome question, Dude!!

I suspect it has to do with the main ingredient in cloves: Eugenol.

Beyond that, I can't really tell you much except to recommend you repost this question in chemistry and disclose the type of plastic the container is made of. The triangular recycling code generally found on the bottom of such containers should be enough.

Re: How long does it take a mountain to biodegrade?

Author: RIP
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

A mountain is not bio-degrade. Remember the word Bio means life. So the mountain is not a living matter, but it does degrade through erosion (wind, water, tectonic movements, man-made, etc) and other natural occurrences. How long? Well if undisturbed by man probably millions of years.

Hope this helps with your question.

Re: If Al Gore is an environmentalist, why did it take over 8 years to make his house "Eco-friendly"

Author: Treebeard
Forum: Everything Else Green
Date: 2010-11-28

Come on, he took up this cause after losing the presidential race.... It wasn't like he was born an environmentalist... I'm no fan of the tax-and-spend Dems, but I admire what he's done for increasing our awareness about the environment... jeez.

Re: If Al Gore is an environmentalist, why did it take over 8 years to make his house "Eco-friendly"

Author: eelfins
Forum: Everything Else Green
Date: 2010-11-28

He was caught with his hands in the cookie jar, raping mother earth per se. Fixing his mansion is just reparations. Nevertheless is home still requires 10 times the energy of the average one. I wonder when he'll add solar cells to his private jet.

Re: Why is the 100% compostable Sun chips bag so loud?

Author: Tay
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

i know. and you can never open it during class.

Re: How much is their environment and how much is genetics?

Author: orestes_returns
Forum: Everything Else Green
Date: 2010-11-28

You're asking a question that has been the subject of many many research studies. Anyone here is just going to give their anecdotal evidence... which really amounts to nothing, because they are not scientists. What I can tell you is that they have found evidence of gay animals and found striking similarities in the brain structure of the gay animals compared to the straight ones (there was a study about bulls that especially showed this). There are also many signs in the human species that it is most likely genetic. Different voice patterns, finger length, brain wave patterns, all sorts of things that are consistently found in gay men. They haven't found a gay "gene" persay, but most respectable scientists believe that it is genetic, and that they could, if it were ethical and legal, in theory inject certain hormones into a pregnant mother to "ensure" heterosexuality. Since it starts in the womb, I think it's safe to say that it's mostly genetics. The only convincing evidence that I've found for the "environment" arguement, is that statistically, the more male sibllings you have, the more likely you are to be gay. This could be due to different parenting approaches with so many male children, or it could be due to the reduction of testosterone the father would experience from having children at a later age. For now, it's mostly up to interpretation.

Re: Why is the 100% compostable Sun chips bag so loud?

Author: ?noga?
Forum: Other Biodegradables
Date: 2010-11-28

So people don't have to brag about the very little to nothing they are doing for the planet, the bag is loud enough that everyone in the neighborhood will know what they are up to.