Innovation and the United Nations (FREE)

Innovation

“I believe you have to be willing to be misunderstood if you are going to innovate.”  –

Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon

My experience with oxo-biodegradable plastic proves him right.  Here is a technology which could transform plastic packaging to prevent it accumulating in the environment, but it has the misfortune to be seen as in competition with plastics made from crops. These are essentially useless because they convert into CO₂ in a composting facility, not into compost, Composting  but they are made by companies who can afford to spend a fortune on PR and lobbying, and on financing NGOs.

The consequence of this activity is an environmental disaster, because thousands of tons of ordinary plastic are still getting into the environment every week, where they will lie or float around for decades, and from which they cannot be recovered for recycling, composting, or anything else.  

People have been led to believe that microplastics come from oxo-biodegradable plastic, but there is no doubt at all that most of them come from the fragmentation of ordinary plastic when exposed to sunlight. They also come from other sources, such as industrial composting processes, which do not completely remove plastic film fragments, which are then spread on land used for food production.

The Oxomar Report proves oxo-biodegradability even in the marine environment, and the European Chemicals Agency, having studied the scientific evidence, were not convinced that microplastics are formed by that type of plastic.

The United Nations

In my last column, I wrote about the global plastics treaty being promoted at the UN, as a result of which I was interviewed on “Directors’ Talk.” You can watch the video at https://vimeo.com/758624179

Sustainable plastics design offers solution for UN Global Plastics Treaty says Symphony Environmental from DirectorsTalk on Vimeo.

Michael Stephen

Michael Stephen is a lawyer and was a member of the United Kingdom Parliament, where he served on the Environment Select Committee. When he left Parliament Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc. attracted his attention because of his interest in the environment. He is now Deputy Chairman of Symphony, which is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, and is the founder and Chairman of the Biodegradable Plastics Association.

Earlier Postings in this Column

All articles of Michael Stephen can be found here

• 1/ 1/ 20 – Plastiphobia, Microplastics and A Throw-Away Society
• 7/ 1/ 20 – Recycling, Lab Testing, Bangladesh and the Right Bioplastic
• 14/1/20 – Plastiphobia and Bioplastics Definitions
• 21/1/20 – Composting, the European Union and Unemployment
• 30/1/20 – Plastiphobia, Malaysia and a Case Against Compostables and Paper
• 7/02/20 – Coronavirus, MPs Letter, Montreal, Australia and the Dominican Republic
• 14/02/20 – Oman, MacArthur Foundation, Stifling Innovation, South Africa and Compostable Plastics
• 24/02/20 – Serbia, India, Pakistan and European Bioplastics
• 03/03/20 – Plastic To Protect Health and Common Sense on Plastic
• 10/03/20 – Plastiphobia, Singapore, Compostable Plastics, Doorknobs and Carbios
• 17/03/20 – Greening our Way to Infection, Defra Warns Against Bioplastics and Montreal
• 24/03/20 – Ditch the Plastic Bag Ban and Inn-Probio
• 01/04/20 – The Come Back of Plastic Bags, Compostable Plastic Not Wanted and EASAC
• 16/04/20 – Coronavirus and Agricultural Plastics
• 11/05/20 – Coronavirus, Peru, Barbados and Recycling
• 18/05/20 – Say No to Plastiphobia, False Descriptions and the Recycling Myth
• 02/06/20 – Definitions and More Setbacks for Plastiphobia
• 11/06/20 – BBIA, Food Waste and Testing of OXO-Biodegradable Plastic
• 19/06/20 – Oxo Biodegradation, Independent Reports and Precautionary Principle
• 29/06/20 – Banana Republic, Why Turn Plastic into CO2 and Plastic Waste from Ships
• 13/07/20 – Running Scared, The Daily Telegraph and Market Report
• 20/07/20 – Tipa, Plastics Today and The American Genius
• 27/07/20 – Coronavirus, Plastic Litter, Bahrain and Polymateria
• 17/08/20 – Plastics Europe, Confusing Issues and Paper
• 25/08/20 – Professor Emo Chiellini, Plastics Today, Greenwashing and Coronavirus
• 28/09/20 – Kill the Virus, Marine Degradation, Airports, Brazil Retail, Plastic Growth and Face Mask
• 08/10/20 – Compostable vs Biodegradable, Covid 19 and New British Bioplastic Standard
• 27/10/20 – Power of Lobbying, Paper and Cotton Worse than Plastic
• 02/11/20 – Covid 19 and Five Myths About Plastic
• 09/11/20 – Support for OXO BIO, Westminster Forum, Euractiv and Covid
• 23/11/20 – Toxicity of Bio-based and Biodegradable Plastics, and Covid Scaremongering
• 15/12/20 – Recycling and An Article from Austria
• 21/12/20 – EU Scientific Advisers, China Chose Wrong Bioplastics and Covid Nonsense
• 05/01/20 – EU, Covid Lockdowns, WRAP, British Standards Institution and Polymateria
• 12/01/21 – Intertek and Composting
• 19/01/21 – Recycling and Exporting Plastic Waste
• 22/02/21 – Seaweed Plastic, Orange Peel and Xampla
• 02/03/31 – OXO Biodegradable Plastic
• 08/03/21 – EU Scientific Reports and Paper vs Plastic
• 15/03/21 – India, Australia and Dow Chemicals
• 14/04/21 – Oxomar, UK Government and Microplastics
• 26/04/21 – Plastic to the Rescue of Covid and More News from Brazil
• 04/05/21 – Packaging Digest
• 07/06/21 – Minderoo Report and Korea Herald
• 30/06/21 – Recycling, Is the Use of Biobased Plastics Increasing, Confused Australians and Biodegradable Future
• 12/07/21 – EU Flawed Directive, Thailand and Pakistan
• 21/07/21 – Directors Talk, Confusion, Stir Magazine and Dumping Plastic Waste
• 02/08/21 – Angry Farmers, DEFRA and Substitutes for Plastic
• 06/09/21 – Microplastics
• 13/09/21 – UK Government, Defra and David Newman
• 20/09/21 – Michael Stephen Video Interview on Antimicrobial and Biodegradable Packaging
• 05/10/21 – Freedom of Information and Plastic Waste Solutions
• 14/10/21 – Michael Stephen at Pack4Change Summit
• 22/10/21 – Plastic from Algae and Carbon Dioxide
• 15/11/21 – Defra
• 22/11/21 – Defra, India, Food Service Footprint Magazine and Waste 360
• 30/11/21 – RWM Digital Spotlight and Plastiphobia
• 17/12/21 – Disposal in the Right Way and Defra Consultation Responses
• 04/01/22 – Precautionary Principle, Anti Oxo Campaign and Defra
• 11/01/22 – Microplastics
• 17/01/22 – Michael Laurier, A Saucy Problem and Unilever
• 21/02 /22 – No Alternative for Plastic
• 08/03/22 – Sustainable Agriculture, Canada, Consequence of Banning, United Nations
• 14/03/22 – Plastiphobia
• 04/04/22 – Virgin Mobile, Defra, OXO, Microplastics, End of Life Options
• 11/04/22 – Ellen MacArthur Foundation
• 09/05/22 – Response to Association of Plastic Recyclers
• 16/05/22 – Wrap and More Bad News for Compostable Plastics in UK Parliament
• 30/05/22 – A Threat to Humanity and Market Research
• 13/06/22 – Recycling, OECD and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
• 27/06/22 – Recyclass, Unilever, UK Plastic Packaging Tax
• 04/07/22 – Korea, Carbon 13 Study, Defra, Food Shortages and Biobased Plastics
• 09/08/22 – Oxford Analytica, Indonesia, Paper is not the Answer
• 16/08/22 – Video, Canada, The Guardian, Food Waste, Recycled vs Virgin Polymer
• 22/08/22 – Defra and Plastics in Agriculture
• 30/08/22 – Recycling and Food Waste
• 07/09/22 – Microplastics, Environmental Footprints and Coffee Waste
• 21/09/22 – DEFRA
• 4/10/22 – Agricultural Film and Global Plastic Treaty
• 10/10/2022 – Anti-Plastic Zealots

Interview with Michael Stephen

• Questions and Answers on OXO-Biodegradability

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed here by Michael Stephen and other columnists are their own, not those of Bioplasticsnews.com