Benefits of SunChips ‘three-thirds’ bag laid out
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In April, Frito-Lay, a business unit of PepsiCo, launched the first snack bag made in part from a renewable, compostable plastic resin—polylactic acid from NatureWorks LLC (see related story at “SunChips bag is 33% PLA”). In an exclusive interview with Greener Packaging, those involved with the project discussed why Frito-Lay chose this direction to further their sustainability goals, the challenges they encountered with the new application, and what benefits they are reaping as a result.
Taking part in the interview were Tony Knoerzer, vice president of Packaging and Sustainability for Frito-Lay; Brad Rodgers, manager of Packaging and Sustainability for Frito Lay; Aurora Gonzales, with Frito-Lay’s communications department; and
Steve Davies, director of Communications and Public Affairs for NatureWorks.
In this Podcast, all three Frito-Lay team members, beginning with Knoerzer, talk about the environmental, cost, and marketing advantages currently accruing from this pioneering development, as well as future expectations for the project.
In “Frito-Lay’s SunChips compostable packaging team tells all,” Knoerzer and Rogers talk about how their search for sustainable packaging options led them to the development of a fully compostable snack bag, in three manageable steps. The audio clip is approximately eight minutes long.
In the Podcast “Plumbing the properties of PLA for SunChips,” Knoerzer and Rogers provide details on how Frito-Lay worked with the unique properties of PLA to create a bag with the right barrier and other properties. In addition, during the six-minute clip, Davies provides insight on NatureWorks’ involvement in the project.
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When are people going to wake up to the PLA big lie? #1 It uses more fossil fuels than plastics so it is not sustainable. (I got this right off NatureWorks' website where it confessed to buying energy credits to off-set this problem. Also noted in "How Green are Green Plastics" and a study done by the Franklin Associates.)
#2 PLA will only biodegrade in a commercial or municipal compost of which I believe there may be 100 in the entire U.S. So it goes into the garbage where it lasts as long as normal plastic-400 years or so.
So why use PLA? Other bio-based products are backyard compostable whereas PLA is not. Other plastics are landfill biodegradable (ASTM 5511 and 5522). So why waste corn that could be used for animal feed or to help feed the ONE Billion people going to bed hungry as they do not get the minimum amount of calories? (And I put this on corn-based ethanol also.) PLA is made from GMO's -bad news to the Monarch Butterfly and other helpful insects. I honestly cannot think of a positive for PLA.
Using one layer with other non-bio-based or biodegradable films is a total waste also. It's usually all or nothing in a compost (if it even got there). The composter will have to sort out the regular plastic and this just slows the operation down.
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