PLA Food Container Treatment

About

Due to the persistence of plastics in the natural environment and the dependence of plastics on non-renewable resources, there has been an intense push by consumers for the development of biodegradable and compostable single-use plastics. Although there has been an increase in the presence of these materials in the market, there has been a lag in the development of commercial composting facilities. With the only certified alternative to treating this waste stream being incineration, there is a strong need for the development of alternative waste treatment methods as these materials, such as poly(lactic) acid (PLA) are not designed to breakdown in the natural environment and thus pose a physical risk to our marine and terrestrial environments. Researchers at the University of Hawai’i have developed a novel treatment process of select single-use 'compostable' food containers (such as PLA and fiber based materials like bagasse) that co-degrades these materials. Once pre-treated, these materials are able to be anaerobically co-digested to further biodegrade these materials. The techniques described in this invention provides an alternative treatment system to the traditional industrial composting methods and essentially transforms trash into an energy rich resource. Features - Liquification of poly(lactic) acid (Ingeo ™ ) single-use food containers into a strong acid - Method allows for the co-treatment of fiber based single-use food containers - Transforms 'compostable' single-use food containers from trash to a 'fuel'