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New bioplastic materials may enable gardeners to tend their plants more sustainably and could even help plants "self-fertilize" and grow healthier roots, according to research conducted by Iowa State University horticulturists.
Bioplastics present a range of environmental advantages, such as improved biodegradability, that conventional petroleum-based plastics can't claim, said William Graves, associate dean of the ISU Graduate College and professor of horticulture. Graves, along with James Schrader, an associate scientist in horticulture, and a team of researchers recently concluded a five-year study of bioplastics in an attempt to identify materials that show promise for horticultural uses, such as the plastic pots and flats that retailers use to sell immature plants.
Bioplastics come from renewable biological sources, such as plants, and large-scale adoption in the marketplace could ease dependence on fossil fuels, he said.
The study looked at numerous options for bioplastic derived from sources such as polylactic acid and the more biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates. They also included byproducts that result from the production of corn, soybeans and ethanol.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 27 2016, @10:05AM
The Netherlands here... we produce lots of plants and flowers a year. Personally, I'm a plant biologist. Here my thoughts:
1) In TFA, the upper image. Even if I grow plants in normal plastic pots (derived from non-biodegradable ones), they don't look as bad as the one in the image. They tend to look more like the ones in the biodegradable ones.
2) Biodegradable pots are pretty common here, can find them in almost each garden centre. I even have them on the shelf here.
3) They claim that the biodegradable pots could release nutrients. Did they actually check the bioavailability of the nutrients released? There is more to this point why the beneficial claims might be less than claimed.
4) Potting soil often contains an overdose of nutrients any way.
5) Biodegradable plastics are IMHO a bit overrated. Yes, they are biodegradable, but don't wait for it to do so. Also, you can't mix them with normal plastics. They are good for replacing conventional plastics, but the advantages are not that big.
(Score: 2) by Yog-Yogguth on Monday November 28 2016, @02:04AM
And for large scale production shouldn't everyone be using at least hydroponics if not aeroponics anyway? Much more environmentally friendly too, at least for water use, pest and disease control/poisons, eradicating runoffs, and maybe also maximizing the plants atmosphere. Far less chance of anyone passing on "hidden" costs to society as well.
Capital expenditure shouldn't be higher either, just different (and more scalable/redundant, much less heavy equipment and increased human safety).
(I'm just being biased in favor of aeroponics because it should mean 0% chance of bugs in the salad :) )
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