It’s a biobased plastic that biodegrades in weeks and months rather than years and centuries, like most petroleum-based plastics. It looks, feels and acts like real plastic, but when the user’s done, the materials in Mirel Bioplastic soon will be too.
http://blog.jumpintotomorrow.com/?p=1327
Metabolix (NASDAQ: MBLX) is using bioscience to develop industrial technologies that can really change the world. One of those technologies is Mirel™, a family of biobased plastics which is created from corn – not petroleum, gas or other fossil fuels.
Mirel plastics are characterized by possessing excellent resistance to heat and hot liquids in addition to offering users a desirable alternative to traditional, petroleum-based plastics. Mirel biodegrades benignly upon exposure to biologically active environments like soil, home compost, wetlands, rivers and oceans, leaving no harmful byproducts behind. In fact, under proper composting conditions, a piece of Mirel Bioplastic 1 mm in thickness will biodegrade in around 90 days. Under appropriate marine degradation conditions, a 4 mm thick film (about 4-5 times thicker than a typical kitchen trash bag) will degrade in 70-80 days. In December, 2007, Target introduced gift cards in all 1,600 of its stores made out of Mirel. After use, when those cards were exposed to a compost heap, after 40 days, they were well on their way to completely biodegrading (click on image 4).
Mirel is suitable for a wide variety of conversion processes including injection molding, cast and blown film, sheet, papercoating, extrusion coating, and thermoforming. Metabolix is also developing a proprietary platform technology for co-producing plastics, chemicals and energy from crops such as switchgrass, oilseeds and sugarcane.
PRODUCT APPLICATIONS
• Single-use disposables: hot cups, lids, house wares, dinnerware
• Packaging: jars and tubs, bags, detergent sachets, beverage cartons, cosmetic containers
• Agricultural and horticulture: degradable stakes, erosion control netting, plant pots
• Consumer products: personal hygiene products, flushable household products, gift cards
GLOBAL PLASTICS PROBLEM
A 2005 report from the UK’s Environment Agency states that plastic production uses 8% of the world’s oil supply every year.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2005 statistics):
• 28.9 million tons of plastic was deposited into the municipal solid waste stream, representing 11.8% of the total weight of waste, up from less than 1% in 1960.
• Only 5.7% of total plastic solid waste in the U.S. was recycled and diverted from landfills.
• Of the 4.4 million tons of plastic bags, sacks, and wraps made, only 5.2% was recovered.
Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) are commercializing Mirel through a joint venture called Telles. The first commercial scale Mirel production plant is being constructed adjacent to ADM’s wet corn mill in Clinton, Iowa. The plant is expected to begin operations in late 2008 and is designed to produce up to 110 million pounds of Mirel annually. Mirel will reduce reliance on petroleum and decrease environmental impacts relative to conventional petroleum based plastics.
About Metabolix
Founded in 1992, Metabolix, Inc. is an innovation driven bioscience company focused on providing sustainable solutions for the world’s needs for plastics, chemicals and energy. The Company is taking a systems approach, from gene to end product, integrating sophisticated biotechnology with advanced industrial practice.
http://www.mirelplastics.com
