RMIT University, Melbourne, has undertaken an independent full life-cycle assessment of the Plantic® material, evaluating its environmental impact throughout its entire life, using the example to manufacture 1000 packaging trays of standard size. In addition to this, life-cycle analysis data for four alternative trays have been developed from public data sources. The comparators are the synthetic materials PET, PVC and HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) with the fourth based on the biopolymer PLA. An external peer review of the data has been undertaken by Dr Martin Patel, Assistant Professor, Utrecht University, Netherlands.
Compared to these materials, Plantic® has the lowest impact in resource depletion, cumulative energy demand, acidification and waste to landfill. Even assuming the appropriate end-of-life disposal infrastructure for synthetic material is in place, Plantic® has the potential to outperform due to its biodegradability. The chart below shows the overall energy requirement from the life-cycle assessment.
Source: RMIT
In citing the reasons why major manufacturers and packaging users have recognised the significance of Plantic's innovations, three factors are continuously noted:
It is this triad of advantages working together which is unique. For the first time, an ecosensitive alternative to petrochemically derived plastics has come competitively priced to market with a broad range of applications and capabilities which outperform conventional plastics in many categories, and which offer the additional benefit of being able to be integrated with conventional plastics for enhanced performance and improved environmental impact.
With the rising cost of oil and the increasing market adoption of Plantic technology, the business viability of bioresponsible Plantic based plastics will only increase.
Ingenuity alone is never enough. But ingenuity combined with solid business advantages can change the world.
