Unfortunately, these plastics are made out of GMO corn, & land, including rainforest, is cleared for these toxic petrochemical-dependent crops, usually in developing nations. Why can’t they just use non-gm hemp?
Timeline Photos
Bioplastics, petroleum free, compostable, sustainable plastic made from plants!
"Sourced from biomass, bioplastic products are typically made from plant matter such as vegetable starch, cane sugar, cellulose (wood fibers) and lactic acid. In the foodservice industry, applications range from clear food trays and containers to organic waste bags.
Most bioplastics today can be engineered to be composted safely in a properly managed, municipal composting facility. In this environment, breakdown occurs in a combination of water, heat and microbial activity, resulting in a mixture of carbon dioxide and water vapor, which is completely mineralized by microorganisms and turned into humus, or compost."
http://www.biomasspackaging.com/education/bioplastics
"Polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA) is a thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch (in the United States), tapioca roots, chips or starch (mostly in Asia), or sugarcane (in the rest of the world). In 2010, PLA was the second most important bioplastic of the world in regard to consumption volume."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid
"Pros and Cons of the Corn-based Plastic PLA
PLA is carbon neutral and burns clean, but has a host of unsolved problems"
http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/pla.htm …read more