File this under "ew": Researchers in New Zealand have developed a process to convert animal protein waste -- that'd be blood and feathers -- into plastic. "The material we can produce has the strength of polyethylene, the plastic used in milk bottles and plastic supermarket bags, but it's fully biodegradable," says Dr. Johan Verbeek, adding, "Plant proteins have successfully been used to make bioplastics, but animal protein has always ended up gumming up the extruder." Mmm -- pass that milk bottle! The bioplastic would actually likely end up as agricultural sheeting, seedling trays, plant pots, and the like. Says Verbeek: "The aim is to stay away from any food packaging." That's probably for the best.
source: The Engineer, Indo-Asian News Service, ABC Rural
see also, in Grist:Vietnam hospital waste turned into plastic utensils
Obama headed to Copenhagen, sets the bar for success
‘Copenhagen Diagnosis’ offers a grim update to the IPCC’s climate science
Comments
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Orfintain Posted 10:12 am
29 May 2008
http://renewablemat.bse.vt.edu/
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Sapgirl13 Posted 12:01 am
30 May 2008
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PermieWriter Posted 5:23 am
30 May 2008
Once it's plasticized, no one will be able to tell that it came from a bird, thus no gross-out. There will have to be some way to shunt the bio-plastic from the landfill to some sort of really intense composting operation, but that's a a system that needs a radical overhaul anyway.
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