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Photodegradable Shopping Bags. Presentation to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on the Environment. Agenda. To introduce a new invention that reduces plastic bag litter to manageable levels To provide evidence that the invention works
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Photodegradable Shopping Bags Presentation to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on the Environment
Agenda • To introduce a new invention that reduces plastic bag litter to manageable levels • To provide evidence that the invention works • To raise concerns about increasing the thickness of the bag
Objective • To create a space for a technological solution to the problem of plastic bag litter • To delay the regulations for three months so that we can perform a large scale trial on the new bags • And report to the Portfolio Committee on our findings so that the regulations can be amended accordingly
Plastic Bag Regulations • Are about LITTER
Our invention • Developed at University of Pretoria • An ingredient that is added when plastic bags are manufactured • It causes plastic bag litter to disappear quickly
Effect on litter • 10 times less plastic bag litter in the environment
How does it work • The plastic bag dries up like a leaf • The wind/rain breaks it into smaller and smaller pieces • The pieces are reduced to a fine powder that is harmless to man, animals and plants • The powder ultimately degrades into simple compounds like water and carbon dioxide
Does it reduce litter? • Beverage carriers are photodegradable in US • Required in terms of US Public Law • In effect for two decades • 10 times reduction in litter • Photodegradable plastic mulch film in same fields for over 10 years
Testing • Production trials at 3 of largest manufacturers in SA • Market trial at Food World Stores • SABS/UP testing according to US Federal Regulations • WESSA has endorsed the technology
Made to Degrade TM Bags • REDUCE: Bags use less plastic • REUSE: Bags can be reused • RECYCLE: Bags do not interfere with recycling of plastics • DEGRADE: Bags will quickly degrade if littered
Plastic bag litter • Makes up 5-10% of roadside litter and 2% of beach litter • Costs 25 times more than garbage to collect • Widely dispersed • The thicker the bag, the longer it lasts
Regulations • Thick bags for • Reuse • Recycling • BUT increasing the gauge means increasing the plastic per bag by 76% (32 000 tons)! • AND thicker bags are very expensive
Plastic Bag Agreement • Includes charging for bags • As soon as you charge for bags you immediately get a reduction in demand, people find substitutes (Ireland, P Ryan) • You don’t need to increase gauge to charge for bags
Problems • Limits on re-use: • Contamination on the bags • Already reused as kitchen waste bags • Limits of recycling • Uneconomical to collect • If all refuse bags are made from recyclate, maximum market of 5 000 tons • Environmental impact of substitutes
What does this mean? • Recycling simply doesn’t work for plastic bag litter • RSA < 1% • UK < 1 in 200 • The consumer will suffer an unnecessary cost • A thicker bag = longer lasting litter
Substitutes for Plastic Bags • Only viable substitute is paper • Production of Paper vs. Plastic bags • 30% more energy is consumed; • 70% more air pollution results; • 90% more water is used and • 5 000% more water is polluted • PAPER BAGS ARE NOT REGULATED
If we switch to a degradable bag • The litter will drop from 800 million bags in the environment at any one time to as little as 80 million with NO change in demand! • The consumer will benefit because the degradable bags are less expensive • 15 cents compared to over 30 cents for a thicker bag
Question & Answer Session Felix de Kleijn 083 296 5167