Bioplastics Manufacturer Expanding
Cereplast, a manufacturer of bioplastics, is expanding into a new production facility, capable of producing half a billion pounds of biodegradable plastic by 2010. That's good news for Cereplast and good news for the bioplastics industry in general, but for some reason beyond my ken the company hasn't been doing so well, according to Earth2Tech:The company, which trades on the bulletin board under CERP, needed to issue some good news. In November the company reported some not-so-stellar third-quarter financials. According to their release, the company reported a net loss of $1.6 million, or a penny a per share, for the latest three-month period, compared with a net loss of $1.1 million, or a penny a share, for the third quarter 2006.I know. Boring business stuff. And really, the things that Cereplast make right now are sort of boring, too, mostly the biodegradable cutlery that you see above.
But I've got a spoon made of bioplastics on my desk which I pick up and bend every once in a while, waiting to see how long it will take before it feels like the slightly soft plastic will start to lose strength. It's just been a couple of months so far, but it is hands down the most interesting disposable spoon I've ever treasured. I keep talking about trying to do a piece about why this stuff couldn't be used in consumer electronics. Maybe next year!
Cereplast to Build Big Ol’ Bioplastics Plant [Earth2Tech]
the latest
latest episodes
Not doing well? Their stock is up +70.27% YTD, as of today!
Biodegradable how? Virtually nothing degrades in a landfill. If these save on fossil fuels to make, that's one thing, but if they're made from corn, the corn probably takes more oil to grow than plastic ones take to make. Cosmetic green.
Well, they're trying.
I am very curious why this material cannot be used in Consumer Electronics items. Anyone know what Joel means?
The cafe on my college campus had these.
They're useless for eating hot food. Cutting into a fresh calzone resulted in a goopy mess of "biodegradable" plastic and cheese.
Mmmm... DELICIOUS!
I've been using bio-plastics in my business for about 4 years now.
The only problem I have with them is the that they biodegrade too fast!
As previous posters have said, they do not function well in heat. I cannot leave an item in direct sunlight, nor can I package hot items.
@ #2 Fnarf: Biodegradable if you put it in a compost bin, I guess, which isn't much but is the same definition of biodegradable that applies to banana peels or anything else.
Plus shorter-lasting litter on mountain tops or the side of the road, I guess.