Environmental Question #43 [Safe Plastic Additives]

Do safe natural plastic additives exist? 

Courtesy of Reddit user u/almondreaper

Q: I've read that with biodegradable plant made plastic the same plasticisers and fillers are used in order to give the "plastic" its properties. These additives pose endocrine disrupting concerns that have been published in multiple studies.

Is the biodegradable plastic community addressing this issue or do they just glorify the fact that the plastic itself is not made from petrochemicals? Do natural additives even exist that could fill the same role?

 _______________________________________________________

There are hundreds of different plasticizers and fillers used in the plastics industry. Some of them are toxic or endocrine disrupting, and some of them are totally safe and biodegradable. One of my favorite plasticizers that I use regularly in my work is called triethyl citrate, and it is made by reacting drinking alcohol (ethanol) with the acid in lemon juice (citric acid). The resulting molecule is a common plasticizer that is totally safe and biodegradable.

That said, just because safe and biodegradable plasticizers and fillers exist, doesn't necessarily mean that companies are using them. An untrustworthy biodegradable plastic company might choose to use toxic plasticizers in their products even though safe alternatives exist. That all comes down to how much a given company cares about doing the right thing.

As public outcry around plasticizers and endocrine disruptors increases, it will become increasingly difficult and unpopular for companies to use those materials, and I expect they will be gradually replaced with already existing safe alternatives over time.