By Diana Lee

October 1, 2005

The main aim of the recycling law was to promote recycling of useful materials, reduce unwanted appliances, and discourage disposal of useful products and materials. Subsequently, it has invigorated the markets for secondhand shops and the increasingly popular Internet auctions for used items.

Even in rural areas, farmers have taken an interest in recycling. The community in Sendai City has taken one step further to promote environmental awareness by offering fresh vegetables in exchange for dried and compressed organic waste. The farmers can reuse the organic waste to grow more vegetables.

Unlike plastic made from petroleum, bioplastic is made of natural plant resin. As a biodegradable product, bioplastic produces no extra carbon dioxide when burned and it breaks down into carbon dioxide and water when buried in the ground. Bioplastic needs water to decompose fully, thus sufficient heat and moisture in a composter can accelerate the natural disintegration of bioplastic.

One of the bioplastic materials is polylactic acid, which can be heated and shaped to manufacture everyday products, like food containers, trays, cutlery, etc. Polylactic acid is made from common vegetables, such as corn, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes. The starch in the plant is first broken down into glucose and fermented. Then, the fermented glucose is made into lactic acid, which is polymerized and converted into polylactic acid.

The applications of bioplastic are being explored in various everyday uses, covering a wide range of consumer products spanning from textiles to automobile parts. Bioplastics are commonly used in making trash bags, food wrapping films, as well as cooking and eating utensils. One company has introduced a bento tray made from the starch of cassava. This vegetable-based material can be written and painted on as well as endure temperatures ranging from -40 degrees Celsius to 220 degrees Celsius. Besides being used in household items, bioplastics have been woven into uniforms for schools and companies, molded into casings for consumer electronics, and found in vehicle interiors, medical instruments and construction materials.

At the turn of the century, Japan has attempted to spearhead the trend of manufacturing clothes made from materials containing polylactic acid.. Kanebo Gohsen Ltd. created a corn-based fabric, Lactron, which is softer than cotton or polyester. Lactron claims to have antibacterial properties that reduce itchiness. Nisshinbo Industries developed the first type of cloth using banana stems, a denim-like material used in producing apparel and bathmats. Toray Industries, Inc. have designed T-shirts and kimonos made from fibers containing bamboo. Ginger plant leaves, known for their distinctive aroma and antibacterial properties, have been woven into Hawaiian shirts.

More recently, Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Laboratories, Ltd. and Toray Industries, Inc. have jointly announced the world's first personal computer cases made of bioplastics. NEC Corp. has invented a new vegetable-based plastic that could revert to its original shape when heated to 60 degrees. This “memory-type” bioplastic is already in practical use in shirts that retain their shape.

Toyota Motor Corp. is the first automaker in the world to employ bioplastics in the manufacture of auto parts, as displayed in the spare-tire covers and floor mats for Raum and Prius cars. Toyota plans to supply bioplastics to 60 other companies by opening a bioplastic factory near the company’s Toyota City base. With the ongoing ingenuity of biotechnology, the infiltration of bioplastics in the consumer market, and the world push for environmental friendly products, Toyota has expanded the horizon of its automobile empire to include running bioplastic plants and cultivating crops used for bioplastics. Although the production amount of bioplastics is relatively low at present, Toyota hopes to produce 20 million tons (about 4 trillion yen) and to control two-thirds of the global supply by 2020.

The annual domestic consumption of plastics is about 15 million tons, only 10,000 tons is thought to be bioplastics. Increasing demand for bioplastics in Japan has driven international businesses to expand their production. In 2004, Japan imported 27,500 tons of bioplastics, mainly from the United States. To produce bioplastics in Japan costs about five times more than to produce the traditional, petroleum-derived plastics. However, the prices of bioplastics will drop to the same level as petroleum-based alternatives when Toyota cranks up the domestic production of bioplastics.

While the United States, Europe and Australia are progressively researching and producing bioplastics, Japan is trying to leap forward by investing heavily in bioplastic technology, hoping to yield immense environmental and economic benefits in the future. With the expanding global demand for environmental friendly products, bioplastic will certainly become an important contributor to the 21^st Century green revolution.

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