Why is Pla Film Better?

It’s no secret that packaging and plastics in particular, have exposed our throwaway culture. In fact, consumer packaging now represents 3% of the total waste sent to landfill each year.

PLA plastic can be a great solution for your packaging to achieve ‘environmentally friendly’ status. However, there are some worrying reports suggesting it isn’t as straightforward as it appears.

That’s why our team have taken a closer look at PLA plastic and covered everything you need to know about this packaging below.

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What is PLA Plastic?

PLA stands for Polylactic Acid. Made from renewable resources such as corn starch or sugar cane, it’s a natural polymer designed to substitute widely used petroleum-based plastics like PET (polyethene terephthalate).

In the packaging industry, PLA plastics are often used for plastic films and food containers.

What are the benefits of using PLA Plastic?

It’s common knowledge that the world’s oil reserves will eventually run out. As petroleum-based plastics are derived from oil, they will become more difficult to source and manufacture over time. However, PLA can be constantly renewed as it is processed from natural resources.

Compared to its petroleum counterpart, PLA plastic boasts some great eco benefits. According to independent reports, producing PLA uses 65 per cent less energy and generates 63 per cent fewer greenhouse gases.

In a controlled environment, PLA will naturally break down, returning to the earth, and so it can be classified as a biodegradable and compostable material.

Not all PLA plastic packaging will find its way to a composting facility. However, it’s reassuring to know that when corn-based plastics are incinerated, they do not emit toxic fumes unlike PET and other petroleum-based plastics.

What are the problems with PLA Plastic?

So, PLA plastics are compostable, great! But don’t expect to be using your little garden composter anytime soon. To properly dispose of PLA plastics, you have to send them to a commercial facility. These facilities use extremely controlled environments to speed up decomposition. However, the process can still take up to 90 days.

Local Authorities don’t collect compostable materials manufactured for industrial composting. Specific numbers for industrial composting facilities in the UK are difficult to find. Just one sign you might struggle to locate exactly where and how can dispose of your PLA plastic.

To produce PLA, you need a huge amount of corn. As production of PLA continues and demand increases, it could affect the price of corn for global markets. Many food analysts have argued that vital natural resources are better used in food manufacturing, rather than packaging materials. With 795 million people in the world without enough food to lead a healthy active life, doesn’t it suggest a moral issue with the idea of growing crops for packaging and not for people?

PLA films will always compromise the shelf life of perishable foods. What many people fail to see is this unavoidable paradox. You want a material to degrade over time, but you also want to keep your produce as fresh as possible.

The average lifespan for PLA film from the time of manufacture to final use can be as little as 6 months. This means there’s only 6 months to manufacture the packaging, pack products, sell products, deliver to the store and for the product to be consumed. This is especially difficult for brands looking to export products, as PLA will not provide the protection and longevity needed.

Is PLA plastic the right choice for my brand?

PLA plastic can be a great way to adopt a more environmentally friendly approach to your packaging. But brands need to seriously weigh up all the pros and cons before investing in packaging overhauls to meet loose, short-term environmental claims.

It’s clear we all need to address our throwaway culture. That’s consumers, businesses and governing bodies. What good comes from investing in the production of compostable packaging when the consumer doesn’t even know how or where to dispose of it? That beautiful PLA film could still end up in a landfill for the next 100- years.

By investing in more eco-friendly packaging solutions, companies are demonstrating positive steps towards a more sustainable future. But all those good intentions could go to literal waste without the infrastructure in place to see it find its rightful, (natural) home.

As part of our sustainability series, be sure to check out our commitment to sustainability.

If you’d like more information on the feasible solutions for your packaging today, grab a coffee and settle into our free ‘Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Packaging’ eBook

Read more blogs like these here or get in touch with us here.

Further reading:
An In-Depth Look into Eco-Friendly Shrink Films

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Pla Film.

The purpose of this article is to give some insights on the facts, perceptions, advantages and disadvantages of PLA or Polylactic Acid.

Play the video on PLA – POLYLACTIC ACID

PLA or Polylactic Acid

PLA was discovered in . It’s a compostable and bio based polyester.

The first applications of PLA were in the biomedical  sector. PLA has an ability to be absorbed biologically. It takes between 6 months to 2 years to break down inside body. Development in production methods and capacity made PLA cheaper &  enabled wider applications such as packaging material.

The world production of PLA is around 240 K tonnes / year. NatureWorks (ingeo) is a joint-venture  between Cargill &  PTT and produces around 135 K tonnes / Year. Total-corbion (luminy) is a joint venture between Total & Corbion and produces around 75.000 K Tonnes per year.

TECHNICAL

PLA is a thermoplastic; it will become liquid at melting point of 150 to 160 Celsius. 

PLA can be processed via extrusion, injection molding, casting, blown film, thermoforming, and fiber spinning.

PLA is made by the polymerisation of lactic acid or lactide. 

Lactic acid is produced through bacterial fermentation of a carbohydrate /sugars coming from plants such as corn, sugar cane, sugar beet, cassava

When the plants are grown specifically for the production of PLA, we’ll refer to it as 1st generation PLA. 

When we use residue, waste and by-products such as stems, straw, husks, and leaves as long as they contain carbohydrate, we’ll refer to it as 2nd generation PLA. 

First generation PLA is more more efficient in terms of production but less ethically correct than the second generation..

Advantages

Production

• PLA is made from renewable raw materials.
• It has a reduced carbon footprint compared to fossil based plastics. two reasons:
  • crops absorb co2 when growing;
  • It takes less energy and this produces less greenhouse gas to produce PLA than fossil-based plastic
• PLA is made in the USA (NatureWorks Ingeo)

Material

• PLA melts more easily because it has a lower melting point than many fossil-based plastics. It’s easy to work with PLA and it requires less energy to transform. 
• One of the two most used plastics in 3D printing (45% market share). It has a low melting point, inexpensive, easy-to print, no fumes. It’s the best option in case of 3D printing.

End-of-life

• PLA is compostable
• When PLA is Incinerated, it emits less toxic fumes than oil based plastics
• Food Contamination of food packaging is not a problem, unlike with plastic recycling.
• In case of biomedical use, PLA degrades into non-toxic acid.

Disadvantages

Production

• Price – PLA is more expensive than fossil based plastics
• 1st generation uses food crops
• When using crops to produce plastics; one should beware of Intensive agricultural practices, over using fertilisers and GMO, mono cultures and the destruction of natural habitats.

End of Life

• Compostable
  • It doesn’t compost fast enough for industrial composters.
  • The residue is not compost. it doesn’t improve the quality of soil. No nutrient. 
  • It changes the PH value of the soil. It makes it more acidic.
• Recyclable – PLA has a lower melting point and cannot be recycled with other plastics. There’s not enough PLA and it’s too dispersed to make recycling economically viable.

Material

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• Low melting point makes PLA unsuitable for high temperature applications. PLA may even show signs of getting soft or deforming on a hot summer day.
• PLA has a higher permeability than other plastics. Moisture and oxygen will go through it more easily than other plastics. This will result in faster food spoilage. PLA is not recommended for long-term food storage applications.
• PLA is not the hardest or toughest plastic. PLA is not suitable for applications where toughness and impact resistance are critical.

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