Edible waxes or shellacs have been used for a long time, but PLA is easier to get and work with given the fossil infrastructure that already exists (path depend

Edible waxes or shellacs have been used for a long time, but PLA is easier to get and work with given the fossil infrastructure that already exists (path dependence). That being said, PLA is pretty benign. Back when I was in pharma we used it in a variety of formulations and never saw anything in animal histopath (as expected — that’s why we used it). It’s a pretty common excipient. This result is interesting, perhaps minor perhaps not. And let’s not forget that the discarded cups themselves clog waterways and interact otherwise with the local ecosystem (as housing for some animals, pests or not), change the local pH of standing water etc…