Myth: bioplastics will solve the trashproblem
It doesn’t take you very long to find the consequences of the plastic soup in the ocean. The internet is filled with images of sea turtles with sixpack-rings around their shell, seals covered in shredded plastic bags and beaches littered with plastic bottles. Bioplastic, which accounts for only 2 percent of the total amount of plastic, seems to be the logical solution. If all the materials come from nature, it can’t harm nature. But that’s too simple of a thought according to Yvonne van der Meer, Associate Professor Sustainability of Biobased Materials.
“Bioplastic is made from natural materials, but those materials are often processed. The added substances may be harmful. The goal is to produce a more durable type of plastic to counter climate change, and not necessarily to make it degradable. Some plastics are, but definitely not all – you can’t solve all problems at once.
- Faculty of Humanities and Sciences
- Sciences
Department of Biobased Materials
You want a long-lasting product, but in at the same time you want it to be easy degradable. That makes it very hard because those two objectives clash with each other. It is possible with a specific ‘trigger’, which dissolves the product when you want it to and not sooner.”
Also read:
-
Saudi Aramco to support study in Biobased Materials by AMIBM
Tuesday, June 27, 2017Read moreWe are pleased to announce that leading energy and chemicals company Saudi Aramco, is supporting a research programme on the Sustainability of Biobased Materials in a circular economy, at the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM).
-
Golden combination of commerce and science
Tuesday, June 20, 2017Read moreThe success of the master’s programme in Health Food Innovation Management was one of the critical factors in whether or not to establish a Maastricht University campus in Venlo. The graduation of the sixth class puts an end to any possible doubt. “We’re sticking around; we’ve proven that we have a right to exist”, says associate professor and programme coordinator Freddy Troost.
-
MaCSBio Science Day 2017: a big success!
Tuesday, June 13, 2017Read moreThe second MaCSBio Science Day was organized on 9 June 2017 at Maastricht University. This time the theme of the Science Day was: Extending Networks and was focused on fostering and expanding MaCSBio’s networks at Maastricht University and beyond.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Google+
Forward
Tumblr
del.icio.us
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit