Cover Page
I wanted to focus on the environment in a more modern way. Everyone wants to write about global warming and strike about cutting trees down, but I think plastic needs to have the spotlight for a while. Plenty of others, activists and scholars alike, have been touching on this topic in the recent years, as people have noticed the effect plastic has on the environment and its inhabitants. So, what if a material could replace most or all of the plastic we use? What if that material was fully biodegradable on its own and contributed to the overall health of the ecosystem? The following sources from the web and a book both side for and against this idea.
The first source I found after narrowing down some keywords was the book, “Sustainable
Plastics: Environmental Assessments of Biobased, Biodegradable, and Recycled Plastics”, written by Joseph Greene. I chose to use chapter four, for it seemed to me the best introduction of the topic. The first few chapters touches on definitions, global warming, and the life cycle of the products we use every day. Chapter four introduces the chemical make-up of biodegradable polymers (plastics). It also defines what a biobased product is, saying it usually contains some sort of natural oils. Biodegradable products are normally made from agricultural ingredients, such as corn and wheat. Further into the chapter, Greene goes into extensive detail on the extraction and injection process for manufacturing the materials. With many charts and chemical names, plus a long list of sources at the end of the chapter, he’s convincing in showing that he knows what he’s talking about.
Kelsey Barron’s scholarly article on biodegradable products had the opposing side of things, claiming that the materials do not decompose into the soil like they are advertised. She

breaks down the reasoning and methods behind how others found out this betrayal to consumers.
She considers the economic and agricultural impact of the products, were they to fully replace the plastic we all know and hate.
I had the good luck of finding a TED talk on this topic, although I found another opposed. I kept thinking, “Why is it so hard to find a source FOR this idea?” So, Leyla Acaroglu talked about how paper was actually the worst choice against plastic. It takes more energy to make, it’s heavier, you have to cut down more trees to meet the consumer demands for more paper bags, and it’s not the most durable, reusable product. You can recycle plastic bags and make clothes! Acaroglu pointed out something very important: it doesn’t matter what material you use or what it can do to the environment after use, it is the human activity and behavior that makes the plastic end up in the ocean and in the forests where animals get stuck and sick.
According to her, it’s all her fault and changing the material of the products will not change anything. Contrary to this mindset, I believe if a fully biodegradable material is created, human behavior (although still depressing) will not matter as the products will break down and improve the environment.
Brenda Platt did a good job of debunking a few product designs, and I’m convinced those companies hate her. Gomez and Michel wrote an article together, sourced below, proving that some biodegradable products can, in fact, break down in nature, and not under perfect conditions. The only exception is that the plastic parts of their studied design did not break down along with the rest of the materials. Although that is sad news, it was an old-ish article and I assume, given the books I found written last year, that things have greatly improved since then.

Unit II Research Project
The Search For A Better Material
Greene, Joseph. Chapter 4: "Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers." Sustainable Plastics:
Environmental Assessments of Biobased, Biodegradable, and Recycled
Plastics. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2014. Print.
I thought that this chapter was a good starting point for getting to the main topic at hand.
In this, Greene thoroughly describes and defines “biobased” and “biodegradable” polymers. He references many companies, tests, and such that has categorized materials as biobased or biodegradable. It was a good introduction, even though it was the fourth chapter. Biobased materials are seen as commercial or industrial products that are compromised with biodegradable products. Biodegradable products are defined as materials straight from nature like forest moss.
This chapter also introduces the production process, focusing on chemical make-up, molding, manufacturing, and conditions. As the chapter progresses, more types of biobased materials are introduced, like starch-based from potatoes.
I consider this chapter and this book very reliable. It is extremely recent, being published last year, which means that every piece of data is fresh and credible. Greene continuously cites sources within the text and at the end of every chapter. On the back of the book, it says Greene is a professor at California State University for Mechanical Engineering and other things.
His research focuses directly with my topic, on the chemistry part of the spectrum, which is equally as important as the production and use. Greene outlines everything down to the miniscule detail, and I will look at the other chapters for reference, but use chapter four as a source.
Barron, Kelsey. "Green Chemistry and Biodegradable Plastics." ESSAI 8 (2011).
Digital Commons. Web. 24 Mar.
2015.<http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1302&context=essai>.
This is a scholarly article opposing my point on fully replacing plastic and other harmful materials. In just two pages, Barron outlines the effect of biodegradable materials compared to normal plastics. In the second page, she claims that the so-called biodegradable products that have become popular are just as harmful as the plastic they’re supposed to be replacing. Only under perfect conditions do they actually decompose. Due to this, they will sit in the land fill just as long as everything else.
At the end of the article, there’s a work cited section with four sources in MLA format. I found no biased statements and consider this article very reliable and credible. Although it is only two pages, it still contains a full explanation of facts and non-biased opinions. I found the entire article intriguing, also, due to its examination of all the important factors that brought her to this conclusion.

Leyla Acaroglu. “Paper beats plastic? How to rethink environmental folklore” TED. Feb.
2013. Lecture.
I found this TED Talk both invigorating and extremely helpful to my research. In this talk, Acaroglu elaborately explains how picking plastic versus paper is the best choice and how it is the activity of humans that decide the fate of the environment. In alignment with my topic, she has a section where she discusses biodegradable materials and how they are not the best option.
She went into examples such as electric tea kettle use effecting the amount of electricity London uses, and how the increase in refrigerators’ size over time has directly increased the amount of food wasted. Leyla used familiar and relatable examples to show her point.
Being that this was a TED talk video, there are no sources to find but it can be safely assumed Acaroglu knew what she was talking about because of the ability to speak at a TED conference. She is a design advisor and encourages and promotes the upgrading of our current devices. Longer lasting cell phones was one of the big examples. Her vision is to get these kind of problems rectified in the near future.
I really enjoyed the video and, even though it goes against my point, Acaroglu provides solid explanations and evidence that I find difficult to go against. The paper bag isn’t the best choice for the environment, and that argument can’t be challenged. Due to the need for opposing opinions, I will use this source in the up-coming paper and presentation.
Platt, Brenda. "Biodegradable Plastics: True or False? Good or Bad?" Biodegradable
Plastics: True or False? Good or Bad? Institute of Local Self-Reliance. Web. 4
Apr. 2015. <http://www.sustainableplastics.org/spotlight/biodegradableplastics-true-or-false-good-or-bad>.
What Platt is trying to explain is that biodegradable plastics are mis-categorized and that they are not good for the environment. This is, of course, another source opposing my topic and ideas. By use of a few reports on new “green” products she researched herself, she goes through each one, de-bunking them and analyzing what is wrong with them ethically and scientifically.
One analysis even brings the lack of scientific data to light.
This is a very short article, but does not need too much wording. Pratt gets to the point of these companies’ neglect of truth through a few paragraphs quite well. With a total of six sources, she thoroughly proves that the public has to do their own research before believing what the companies and/or the commercials say about the supposed biodegradable products.
I want to use this to have the perspective of the consumers dealing with this deceit. It’s infuriating seeing the label of “green” and “biodegradable” being used wrongly. The environment needs fully decomposable products in any condition.

Gomez, Eddie, and Frederick Michel.
“
Biodegradability of conventional and bio-based plastics and natural fiber composites during composting, anaerobic digestion and long-term soil incubation” Elsevier, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 2
Apr. 2015 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141391013003066.
This article seems to be my only source in slight agreement with my topic. Authors
Gomez and Michel collaborated on this piece to prove that some materials that have been made to decompose have been proven to actually do their job more than expected. The plastic part of the materials still failed to fully biodegrade, but it was a work in progress.
Through many good points and clear data, including carbon conversion formulas, I was convinced that this was a very credible and true source. Everything is sourced and listed at the end, and I can’t really be the judge of their math. It’s a very lengthy article, but extremely helpful and full of data that proves there is potential in the idea of biodegradable material and products.