HowStuffWorks Show: Episode 1: Corn Plastic

[nrz666]

How about potato starch?

[OhBabsTV]

Biodegradable is great but reusable, sturdy biodegradable plastics are better... The best corn pen ever at CornPens.com

[vonlossberg]

THey can make plastic from Hemp..insane that it is llegal

[fastlane59]

it is worth? I mean.....X amount of corn equals X amount of plastic ? it'realy worth

[LachlanJG]

You can recycle polylactic acid as well.

[ScopedOUT2]

All we can use is hemp, but instead we want to wage a war on hemp as if it was cannabis.

[DarkKnight00073]

This should help in reducing still births.

[RaynorX]

So why don't they use more corn for plastic instead of putting so much corn syrup in our food?

[crimsonhalo13]

The problem is we already put too much demand on corn to be something it isn't. Ethanol manufacturing was short-sighted and did lots to raise the cost of food.

If we want a feedstock for bioplastics products, we need to think a little further ahead and look at something with a higher yield that is *separate* from the food chain. When we strain the supply for crops we are strongly dependent upon for our food, it does nobody any favours.

[rockerteen08]

LOL:)

[MrRonnierams]

Global warming is a hoax; however bio plastics is possible. The problem with corn is that it is not strong enough which it still has to be mixed with a little petroleum for strength still. Just not as much. There are laptops in Japan that are made with corn and petroleum based to make its plastic shell. So we still cannot go completely with just corn based. Besides once we go 100% corn then no more corn for us to consume? Oh yeah thats right high fructose corn syrup by product which is worse.

[LTF85199]

This is cool biodegradable/edible plastic is an awesome innovation. Goo scientists, makes life easier and feeling less guilty.

[almostnearlyevil]

Corn isn't carbon neutral. If we use corn for plastic, we'll need to use more land, and when land it changed for farming, it releases carbon. It's better than oil, but it's not carbon neutral

[IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO]

Exactly, the chemical process isn't exactly ideal and "edible" part is really naive.

Whats wrong with reducing packaging to the maximum and reusing packaging?

Why innovate to sustain wasteful habits?

[LTF85199]

"Why innovate to sustain wasteful habits? " very true I agree lololo..

[LTF85199]

"when land is changed for farming, it releases carbon">> HOW?

[almostnearlyevil]

Plants that were once there can't absorb the carbon they once did and the carbon they absorbed is re-released into the atmosphere. I'm not sure on the specifics, but I read an article about it in Scientific American.

[LTF85199]

I don't understand but thanks i will research on this..

[slugdeez]

So are you basically saying that the absence of plants= buildup of carbon?

[almostnearlyevil]

I think it releases carbon, too, but I haven't read up on it lately.

[bens12321]

@almostnearlyevil Agreed. Even though corn based polymers sound nice, the take up millions of acres of land that could be used for agriculture for food. So much forest and land is being consumed for corn to make ethanol and soon, corn polymers. There are much better ways to combat global warming, which is undeniably happening, whether it is caused by humans is up to personal opinion, though evidence points to us as the culprits. Instead of destroying forests to farm corn we should conserve them.

[reggeaton3]

woot corn ownz oil

[chaddexter]

o yaaa go corn!!!!