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Dear fellow science enthusiasts,
To solve any problem you need a common set of facts to work with. From the day we began 5 Gyres, we’ve put science first, as the foundation for everything we do. Thank you for following our work and here’s an update on what we’re up to.
We’re halfway through our PHA biodegradability study. So far:
- We put 22 products in six different environments across the country to see how they truly degrade over 18 months.
- We’ve got several types of degradable mulch film on row crops to see how PHA works.
- We’re working with university colleagues in the Netherlands to understand microbial communities living on PHA as it breaks down.
Why is studying PHA important?
- Biopolymers will be part of the solution matrix we build for each application of plastic around the world. Therefore it is essential to know their lifecycle so we can advocate intelligently about where PHA best fits.
Bioplastics are commonly misunderstood and that often comes from misunderstanding and misrepresenting what we know about their lifecycle. We are shedding light on that, so that companies and policymakers can make informed choices. We will feature the results of this unique study in our next Better Alternatives List 3.0, hoping to infuse better understanding among stakeholders around the nature of degradability should bioplastic products or packaging get lost to the environment.
We are providing critical validation of alternatives to plastic. Will you help us complete this study?
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