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The Case for Eco-Friendly Bags

If the high price of oil has an upside, it can be found in plastic bags.

They’re getting more expensive to make, and that’s suddenly making environmentally friendly alternatives look a whole lot more appealing.

For example, plastic bags made from corn are growing in popularity. One company in Canada has vowed to replace nearly all of its plastic bags with corn-derived bags produced by Massachusetts-based company Metabolix Inc.

Companies such as Archer Daniels Midland and Dupont are getting into the green chemistry act as well. Archer Daniels will use Metabolix’s technology to produce natural plastics at a new plant in Iowa expected to go on line by 2008. Dupont already produces 10 percent of its products without petrochemicals. Crude-free products could soon include stain-resistant carpets, and vastly improved hair dyes and nail polishes as well.

The new products are better for the environment, safer to make and less harmful to human health. Turning corn into plastic produces fewer emissions than manufacturing plastic from crude oil. And, the bags can break down in a landfill in just four to 12 weeks, compared to 1,000 years for a typical plastic bag.

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To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org