Packaging made from corn is here - why aren't we using it? Why isn't it more widespread?

Question

Has anyone seen it in any stores, or know where to get it?

Answer 1

because its much cheaper to grow trees on tree farms to make paper from than it is to grow corn. corn is one of the most expensive crops to grow because of the chemicals & water required.

its also very bad for the environment because of the chemical run off into streams & rivers.

the dead zone in the gulf of mexico has been growing bigger in recent years, most researchers attribute this to increased runoff into the mississippi/ missouri rivers from all the additional corn being grown to make ethanol fuel.

Answer 2

Simply put, it doesn't work - at least from a landfill perspective.

The idea of mixing corn starch monomers into plastics to facilitate biodegradation kicked off in the 80's.  Every major grocery chain offered these bags with much fanfare. The problem - the disintergration process needs water to work, and landfills are dry to control leechate.

Several archaeologists publicly commented that in excavations of old landfills, they routinely find perfectly preserved corn and corn cobs.  Why, they wondered, would we think that adding some corn to plastic make it degrade when pure corn remains intact?

Packaging peanuts made from corn starch are still used, but have the same problem.  They will last forever in a landfill, but will disintegrate within a minute when held under running water.  How many people make the effort to dissolve them?

Answer 3

I will let you know why we arent using it.

For one, Alot of the corn is for eating and for ethanol. Also, when recycling these materials, it is hard to distinguish between items made from corn vs that of plastic or whatnot. The corn products are not recyclable and can contaminate it all. I remember reading about a recycling plant that had plastic like forks made from corn that ruined the whole thing.