The Cooperative Research Centre for Sugar Industry Innovation say it is close to commercialising an unusual by-product of sugar cane - biodegradable plastic.It has successfully inserted genes into cane that make the plant produce a form of biodegradable plastic in its leaves.
Centre chief executive Dr Peter Twine says he is now looking for investors to turn the research into a viable business venture.
He hopes biodegradable plastic extracted from sugar cane will be used to produce a multitude of products in around five years time.
"It could be used for any form of plastic where you want to get rid of it at the end of the day," he said. "It can be injection-moulded or it can be created into sheet plastic."
Just as an aside..
ReplyDeleteCan't we already make plastics from hemp? Can't we do that without releasing another GMO plant into the environment/ecology?
I take exception to this even when genetic engineers put beta carotene into rice to create golden rice saying that this will help reduce blindness from dietary insufficiency. The solution is to plant green vegetables in the fields, interplanting to keep weeds down.
There are natural alternatives to a lot of these developments, but unfortunately it tends to get overlooked because it's not sexy enough. Intelligent , common sense processes do tend to take a back seat to the latest (perhaps ill advised) technological innovation. I figure that this is just another example.
Indeed, another modificated plant... and they already make plastic plates and cups from sugarcane... http://www.earthbasics.com.au/shop0000top.html
ReplyDeleteIt will still take at least another 5 years of research... and more testing with genes...
I think it's our task as designers, developers and engineers to make the good choices in using the right materials.
Although... hemp plastic like Zeoform can't use injection moulding yet, unfortunately. But who knows within another 5 years?!