(346a) The Value Proposition of PHA-Based Products to Manage Plastics Debris in Our Ecosystems

More than 5 million tons of plastic waste are discharged into our marine ecosystems annually. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation warns that the total weight of plastic waste in the oceans will exceed that of marine life by the year 2050 if plastic waste contamination continues at current rates. Promoting practices such as “reduce, reuse and recycle” are important to ensure a circular economy and minimize marine debris concerns. In this talk, we will present another approach, specifically biodegradation, that can help close the loop and ensure a truly circular use of materials.

Polymers such as PHB (polyhydroxybutanoic acid) copolymers and their products are certified to biodegrade in soil, home compost, industrial compost, fresh water and marine environments. Currently, PHB copolymers are the only marine biodegradable polymers available at a reasonable scale to displace many of the single-use and disposable plastic products that tend to pollute our oceans. Further, the PHACT family of PHB copolymers are also biobased – this has the potential to help lower the carbon footprint relative to the use of fossil carbon based polymers. We will present case studies of applications and products that demonstrate the tremendous value of PHB copolymers in a truly closed loop ecosystem. We will specifically highlight the lower environmental impact of such products from both a carbon footprint and an end-of-life perspective.