Everyone knows of the kind of damages we are inflicting on our planet. The massive production of plastics and Styrofoam not only depletes our already limited resource of oil, we are also churning out huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, causing global warming which results in worldwide natural disasters such as droughts, flooding and irregular weather patterns. Hurricanes and typhoons may not affect us but our country will not be spared when sea levels rises due to the melting of the polar ice caps.
There are many methods to counter pollution that leads to an increase in CO2. One way is to reduce the production and disposal of plastics. The UK government is currently encouraging recycling and the reduction of the usage of plastic bags. We now have another option: to use bio-plastics instead of pure plastics.
These products will "disappear" after some time if they are buried in a landfill/compost facility and no toxic residue will be found. They should not be buried too deep down where oxygen is heavily depleted. If the landfill is oxygen deprived (anaerobic), methane - a greenhouse gas with over 62 times the GWP (Global Warming Potential) of carbon dioxide is formed and may do more damage to the environment.
Carbon neutrality is the net amount of carbon dioxide products releases into the atmosphere when incinerated. Incinerating materials made from animal or plant sources can offset the amount of carbon gases released by the amount of carbon dioxide they consume during their life time –that is are carbon neutral.
To understand carbon neutrality fully we need a Life Cycle Assessments of these products to have a better understanding of the net amount of carbon dioxide the products releases into the atmosphere - since transportation and production of these materials use energy and thus releases carbon dioxide as well.
CO2 emissions: 1kg of plastic emits 3.4kg of CO2 when incinerated compared to 1.14 kg of net CO2 emissions when Origo is burnt.
Hunger is a social disease linked to poverty, and thus any discussion of hunger is incomplete without a discussion of economics. If we're going to speak meaningfully about hunger, we need to understand the true causes of hunger. For example, hunger is not caused by shortage of food. According to international statistics, the world's farmers produce 4.3 pounds of food per person, per day. This includes vegetables, cereals, fish, meat, and grains.
In recent years, there has been the issue of food shortages around the world and some people question the use of edible crops for the manufacture of these bio-plastics. However, the corn that we use, which is the main ingredient of Origo, is grown specially for the purpose of making Cornware products. You can rest assure that each time you use Origo products, you are not contributing to the global food shortage problem.
The main material is still petroleum based plastics and the extent of the degradation process really depends on the amount of additives added. The more additives added, the faster the degradation, the more expensive the product. It can never be as cheap as normal plastics. If the product is as cheap as normal petroleum plastics, then the amount of additives is very little and the product is like normal plastic.
Several companies are greenwashing their so called oxo or hydro degradable product using this unethical method of adding very little additives and hoping to gain a premium on their otherwise ordinary everyday plastic material. Upon burial of these products, toxic wastes are produced and these can do further damage to the environment.
Paper is considered a good alternative to plastics or Styrofoam provided it carries the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) logo. The non-profit Forest Stewardship Council has established an international certification program, based on standards developed from the input of many interested parties such as forest managers and owners, consumers, environmental groups, scientists, indigenous peoples, and union representatives. The certification process not only looks at the forests themselves, but tracks each step in the supply path from the forest through pulp and paper manufacturing to distribution and sales. In this way, it is possible to be reasonably certain that a given product contains fiber that comes only from sustainably managed forests and has not displaced indigenous peoples or destroyed their livelihoods.
Papers (even tree-free ones) are often bleached with chlorine or chlorine derivatives that form dioxin, a known carcinogen (cancer causing) and other compounds that pollute local air and water supplies. This bleaching is necessary to whiten the paper for aesthetic effects. Look for products labelled either Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) or Totally Chlorine Free (TCF).
As the production of paper usually involves the unethical disposal of waste water into the environment, it is important the paper producing plant is certified under the ISO 14001 (EMS) standard. An EMS is a systematic approach to dealing with the environmental aspects of an organisation. It is a tool that enables the organisation to control the impact of its activities, products or services on the environment. There is no meaning at all if the plant pollutes the environment whilst producing a supposedly Green product.
