7 May 2024 – Plastic waste is a huge problem, with only a tiny amount being recycled each year. The rest ends up in landfill, is incinerated or pollutes our environment. But a startup has now come up with a solution: plastic made of bark.
Bioplatics have been made from plant-based sources, most commonly from corn and sugarcane. However, these have to be grown in order to get the source material, which means huge amounts of land would be needed.
And while existing bioplastics from corn and sugarcane are better than conventional plastics, there are still issues with disposal. They can’t be recycled in most council-run recycling facilities.
And while they are mostly biodegradable and compostable, only under the right circumstances, such as commercial composting facilities. All this makes disposal of these bioplastics rather difficult.
But one company made its mission to change that. They have looked for a sustainable way to make plastic packaging that is easy to dispose of and found the answer: bark.
The Problem With Conventional Plastic
Traditional plastic poses a lot of challenges to our environment. It’s mostly made from petroleum, an unsustainable source. In order to avert a climate catastrophe and keep the earth’s temperature below the 1.5°C threshold, we have to stop extracting and using fossil fuels, like petroleum.
This doesn’t just mean switching to renewable energy, but also stopping producing things, like plastic, from fossil fuels.
Plastic production also releases large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, which contributes to global warming. The only way we can prevent global warming from becoming an unsolvable problem is by the world becoming net zero. So we have to find ways to drastically reduce our emissions.
Disposal of plastic is difficult for many reasons. Even though some plastic can be recycled, only about 10% is recycled globally every year. Most plastic waste ends up in landfill, being incinerated, exported to developing countries and polluting our environment.
With most plastic not being biodegradable and persisting in our environment for hundreds if not thousands of years, no wonder we have created a plastic waste crisis.
And as it breaks down slowly, the plastic releases microplastics, which reach every corner of the world and enter animals, plants and humans.
So Bpack, a startup based in Belgrade, Serbia, has come up with plastic made of bark.
Barking Up The Right Tree
Bpack is trying to solve all the problems conventional plastic is posing without losing the benefits of this material. First, the source material: bark.
It’s a waste material from wood production, so is easily available. It’s thought that between 300 and 400 million m3 of bark are produced annually, providing ample source material for Bpack’s bark plastic packaging.
By using a waste material, bark plastic doesn’t need huge amounts of land like other bioplastics. Therefore, there isn’t a risk of valuable forests being chopped down to grow feedstocks.
Another huge issue with conventional plastic is disposal. Bark plastic packaging is 100% compostable. It will fully compost in wet soil in one to two months, returning valuable nutrients back into the environment.
And the company even says that the used packaging can be recycled to make new packaging. Other paper-based items can also be used, reducing waste.
One problem with other bioplastics is that the technology to produce them is expensive. This keeps many companies from adopting them. But bark plastic is different, because it can be used in the same way polymers are used.
This means businesses who produce plastic packaging with traditional plastic can easily switch to making bark plastic packaging.
Bpack currently produces both the bark plastic packaging, but also granules that can be used instead of plastic pellets.
With governments, including the EU, worldwide, brining in legislation to make packaging more sustainable, bark plastic packaging could be the solution. And Bpack could be on the forefront of change in the plastic industry.
Our Opinion
This news surely is positive. We urgently need to find ways to deal with the plastic waste crisis. However, there is one aspect of this story that worries me.
The company says that currently 75% of their source material comes from production waste. This leaves 25% that comes from what, chopped down trees? Unfortunately, they don’t give this information on their website.
Given that the demand on their plastic made of bark is probably relatively low at the moment, it begs the question how it can be scaled sustainably. With plastic production predicted to grow every year, it’s difficult to see where the bark for their plastic will come in future.
While projects like these are great, and we need them, we also have to look at our culture. Rather than trying to replace petroleum-based plastic with bark plastic, we should aim to reduce our use of plastic.
There are so many things that come in plastic packaging, that needn’t: shampoo, cleaning products, shower gel, toothpaste, deodorant, hand cream, etc. So let’s look for ways to reduce plastic production and only use it when necessary. And then only use sustainable plastic.
