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How to make biodegradable 'plastic' from cactus juice [video]

layoutIfNeeded 7y ago
Looks similar to "kombucha leather": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8ZFzOwGeI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8ZFzOwGeI
- exDM69 7y ago
  Wow! Thanks for linking this. I do arts & crafts and I use some animal protein based products, leather and other non-vegan stuff and I am looking for vegan alternatives. As for TFA, I'm aware of a product called "Cactus juice" used in woodworking for stabilization. Does anyone know if it is similar to what was shown in the video?
  - ivanhoe 7y ago
    The stuff used in woodworking is a resin, just heavily diluted, so I guess it's the same thing just with additives. I once forgot to close the bottle of it properly, and next time I tried to use it (months later) it was all dried down into a plastic-like hard stuff.
rplnt 7y ago
> How to Can't decide whether this is a clickbait or "rest of the fucking owl"
baxtr 7y ago
Interesting. Most ‘biodegradable’ plastic isn’t going to be very helpful as far as I have understood. See link below. This one seems to really biodegradable, but like with any of these materials it’s the industrial process that will define its success potential. http://theconversation.com/when-biodegradable-plastic-is-not-biodegradable-116368 http://theconversation.com/when-biodegradable-plastic-is-not...
londons_explore 7y ago
No real mention of its properties... For example, Is it waterproof? If I were to package meat in a film of the stuff, would it start dissolving into the meat?
- davidarkemp2 7y ago
  It says it degrades after a few days left in water, so not really viable to replace plastic bottles
  - username444 7y ago
    But a great replacement for plastic grocery bags. And packaging for dry goods. It doesn't have to replace ALL plastic uses. It's perfectly fine if it's just a replacement for specific uses. Eg. Using a glass bottle instead of a plastic bottle
cheeaun 7y ago
Indonesia already a biodegradable plastic replacement (in production) called bio-cassava bag https://www.avanieco.com/portfolio-item/bio-cassava-bag/ https://www.avanieco.com/portfolio-item/bio-cassava-bag/
bellsnwhistles 7y ago
I had some interest in that topic a few months ago, but still have some rather general questions. The idea sounds great, but it is hard to tell how helpful it is for the environment without doing some sort of a life-cycle assessment of the entire process. Question such as how sustainable is it if we need three cactus leaf to make one sheet. Also, asking if someone might be able to answer or to point me where to read more. Is there a link between making plastic from plants and the plastic property of being non-toxic and/or biodegradable? Some plants are toxic, I would suppose this leads to toxic plastic. Same for biodegradability, how do we know the process of making plastic using plants (naturally biodegradable) plus other "things" leads to a plastic that is biodegradable?

Looks similar to "kombucha leather": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8ZFzOwGeI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8ZFzOwGeI

exDM69 7y ago
Wow! Thanks for linking this. I do arts & crafts and I use some animal protein based products, leather and other non-vegan stuff and I am looking for vegan alternatives. As for TFA, I'm aware of a product called "Cactus juice" used in woodworking for stabilization. Does anyone know if it is similar to what was shown in the video?
- ivanhoe 7y ago
  The stuff used in woodworking is a resin, just heavily diluted, so I guess it's the same thing just with additives. I once forgot to close the bottle of it properly, and next time I tried to use it (months later) it was all dried down into a plastic-like hard stuff.

rplnt 7y ago

> How to Can't decide whether this is a clickbait or "rest of the fucking owl"

baxtr 7y ago

Interesting. Most ‘biodegradable’ plastic isn’t going to be very helpful as far as I have understood. See link below. This one seems to really biodegradable, but like with any of these materials it’s the industrial process that will define its success potential. http://theconversation.com/when-biodegradable-plastic-is-not-biodegradable-116368 http://theconversation.com/when-biodegradable-plastic-is-not...

londons_explore 7y ago

No real mention of its properties... For example, Is it waterproof? If I were to package meat in a film of the stuff, would it start dissolving into the meat?

davidarkemp2 7y ago
It says it degrades after a few days left in water, so not really viable to replace plastic bottles
- username444 7y ago
  But a great replacement for plastic grocery bags. And packaging for dry goods. It doesn't have to replace ALL plastic uses. It's perfectly fine if it's just a replacement for specific uses. Eg. Using a glass bottle instead of a plastic bottle

cheeaun 7y ago

Indonesia already a biodegradable plastic replacement (in production) called bio-cassava bag https://www.avanieco.com/portfolio-item/bio-cassava-bag/ https://www.avanieco.com/portfolio-item/bio-cassava-bag/

bellsnwhistles 7y ago

I had some interest in that topic a few months ago, but still have some rather general questions. The idea sounds great, but it is hard to tell how helpful it is for the environment without doing some sort of a life-cycle assessment of the entire process. Question such as how sustainable is it if we need three cactus leaf to make one sheet. Also, asking if someone might be able to answer or to point me where to read more. Is there a link between making plastic from plants and the plastic property of being non-toxic and/or biodegradable? Some plants are toxic, I would suppose this leads to toxic plastic. Same for biodegradability, how do we know the process of making plastic using plants (naturally biodegradable) plus other "things" leads to a plastic that is biodegradable?