Here it is:
New Study Finds Bio-Based Plastic And Plastic-Blend Textiles Do Not Biodegrade In The Ocean
It’s getting massive outreach.
There’s no reply or statement from the PLA industry regarding that study I think. When I say PLA industry, I mean ‘TotalEnergies Corbion’ and ‘Natureworks’: two companies who should be leading the PLA marketing and communication.
The truth is that the PLA marketing and communication is turning into a sweat sour fiasco…. à la sauce hollandaise. It’s like they don’t even care anymore. It seems as if they have given up. Well, to be honest with you, they never really picked it up; isn’t it? Or maybe I’m wrong; they’re just really bad at it
NatureWorks did its best when they were still run as a startup… many many many years ago.
Novamont did also its fair share for bioplastic marketing in general. They knew a few things about marketing and they did a good job for bioplastics marketing in general. But now, Novamont is in financial trouble.
PLA startups also did their best.
With ‘TotalEnergies’ it was something else … the house of cards collapsed…. the tower of Babylone burned down … the marketing clock stopped ticking … we went back to the fax, telex, pigeon post … we went back to morse code communication (metaphorically speaking). I think they didn’t know how to spend their marketing dollars wisely in a digital era.
The login was: I have no clue how digital marketing works
The password was: Greed (oil companies were build on greed)
Well, TotalEnergies doesn’t really need PLA to be honest….. it’s an oil company. For them, PLA is just a attraction, a “chapter in the book” to get a seat at the so-called “green” plastic table.
However, having two “so-called” leading companies (NatureWorks and TotalEnergies) who are sleeping behind the steering wheel is unwise because of the ripple effect on other degradability claims of PLA.
Let me resume the situation:
The home compostability claim of PLA, for instance, has already been judged and condemned in the independent press. PLA home compostability claims stands for greenwashing now. Well, to be honest with you…. Nobody really does home composting anyway… except for the hippies and the ’Bobos’ (Boheme bourgeois) … both of which hate plastic more than any other social groups. Well, they could market PLA as ´Polylactic Acid´ instead of plastic, to convince the hippies its a party drugs.
Marine degradability isn’t working either for PLA. The press got that memo as well. But then again, PLA has never really being marketed as ´marine degradable’. Nobody really knows what the heck ´marine degradability’ means anyway. The BOBOs think it means food for their gold fishes.
There’s chemical recycling …. but the recyclers and the press are not really convinced it’s a good idea to start mixing PLA in the plastic rubbish stream. Then again, marketing ´chemical recycling’ in today’s context is a bit … complicated.
So we have the last “option”: industrial composting…. But this never really picked up isn’t it? That was more intended as a revenue stream for lobbyists and certification agencies than an ecological solution.
I’ve reached out to the bioplastics industry with the question: Guys, do you need any help?
But I got the middle finger as answer (metaphorically speaking).
Those guys live on another planet. A world of perks and privileges, red carpets and champaign. They believe they run the show….Well’ thats partially true… they have their pawns at the EU commission and they run the CBE JU so they get EU tax payer money for imaginary circular projects…. Tax money from imbeciles like me…. But the real intention is …. They want us to eat plastic. And what a better way to get it done than through the ‘compost’ route that will end up in the food chain. I’m sure the hippies will love some (polylactic) acid in their herbs.
Guys, don’t take yourselves too seriously.