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Written by Gerry Pugliese
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New Hampshire based yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm has upped the going-green ante, recently announcing it's switching its yogurt multi-packs to a corn-based bioplastic. And will fund enough non-GMO corn crops to accommodate the amount of corn needed to make the new packaging.
Wow, corn-plastic? I just hope it isn't anything like quick-dissolving toilet paper. Things could get messy…well, not as messy. Eek!
The new bioplastic will replace traditional petroleum-based plastic and be used for Stonyfield's YoBaby, YoKids, and O'Soy. Plant-based plastics are made from a material derived from corn called polylactic acid (PLA). And to keep the corn-plastic coming, Stonyfield Farms is working with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Working Landscapes program to pay a premium to farmers growing GMO-free corn to be used for bioplastic.
Bioplastics can result in 48% fewer carbon emissions over the plastic's life cycle, plus bioplastics are compostable, unlike regular plastic that will still be around after the nuclear holocaust, even after all the cockroaches die. However, Stonyfield's bioplastic is too thick to be composted, so says the American Society for Testing and Materials, but hey, its a good start - still better than regular plastic which will never die!
In related plastic news, organic potatoes shrink-wrapped in plastic aren't so natural after all. And in June, one Washington, DC supermarket booted plastic water bottles from stores over fears of BPA.
Image credit: Stonyfield.com |
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