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Yes. The plastic is a polyactide (PLA) that is fermented corn starch that
is then separated and polymerized.
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No. While the material is derived from corn, it is not consumable.
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No. You can not taste the corn. You will simply taste the wonderful natural
flavors of the Milk or Yogurt stored inside.
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No it will not decompose under normal storage conditions. For the PLA
bottle to begin breaking down requires special conditions not found in
normal storage conditions.
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Because the container is made from a process which uses plant sugars rather than
petroleum, the process to make the container uses 20 percent to 50 percent
less fossil resources than is required to make conventional plastic resins.
And because carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere in growing corn, the
overall carbon dioxide emissions in the production of PLA bottles are lower
than production of plastics. There are also a greater number of waste
management options for the container because it is compatible with traditional
waste and recycling management practices and it is also fully compostable in
municipal and industrial facilities.
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Composting: The container is fully compostable and will break down into
water, carbon dioxide and organic material in 47 - 90 days when composted in a
municipal or industrial compost facility. These facilities have controlled
environments that regulate the heat levels, micro-organisms and high moisture
levels required to break down the PLA bottle. While it is possible for the
container to break down in a domestic compost, given the numerous variables we
do not recommend this as an option. At the present time it is important to
remove both the label, cap and cap ring from the bottle before disposing in
compost so as not to pollute the compost. It is Good Natured Family Farms
intent to ultimately have both the label and cap of our bottle compostable but
we can not do so yet. Click to read the Wikipedia entry on Compost.
Biodegradable: Much like the term "Organic", it is important to understand
there are a number of different conceptions about, and consequently often
misuses of the term biodegradable. Plastics and metals are "degradable" in the
sense that they will in time, break down due to the effects of sun, rain,
abrasion etc. into smaller and eventually minute parts. Unlike the PET plastic
water bottle which will take an estimated 1000 years to break down in
landfills, leaving traces of toxic residue, the Good Natured Family Farms Milk
/ Yogurt Container made of PLA, will completely biodegrade leaving nothing but
water, carbon and natural organic matter. To see the Wikipidea entry for
biodegradable, CLICK HERE.
Recyclable: The Good Natured Family Farms Milk / Yogurt Container is made
from PLA, a petrochemical free polymer, but it can still be disposed of in
quantities up to 1% into the standard recycled plastic stream. Good Natured
Family Farms promotes recycling as an important socially responsible activity
along with composting.
Click to
read the Wikipedia entry on Recycling
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We highly recommend using an industrial compost facility for the PLA
containers. Industrial facilities carefully regulate temperature, moisture
and turning. In industrial facilities complete degradation has occurred in
as few as 47 days. The container may likely break down in your home compost.
However, due to that variation in home composts, we cannot guarantee time
results in those conditions.
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- Does the PLA require GMO
corn?
No. Special crops or modifications are not required to
produce PLA. The manufacturer purchases corn sugar
(dextrose) to make PLA and the corn from which the dextrose is
made is sourced from producers within a 30-mile radius of
Blair, NE. The corn used to make the dextrose for Good Natured
Family Farms PLA containers is a stream of non-GMO corn
grown in the area.
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- I understand that PLA
does not contain GMO but does it promote the prevalence of GMO
into the world?
No, since special feed corn varieties are not required to
produce PLA, it does not promote the proliferation of
any specific agricultural practices.
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- Because it’s made from corn,
does PLA take away from the food supply?
No, the production of PLA utilizes dextrose as the base
stock used in a fermentation process (much like beer or
wine) which converts sugar to lactic acid. Then lactic acid
is used to
create a polymer, which is converted to a variety of
packaging and fiber applications. This dextrose is made from
No. 2 yellow dent field corn in the U.S. When the
manufacturing plant
is at capacity, it will use less than one
half of one percent of the available U.S. corn
crop.
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- Can PLA only be made
from No. 2 yellow dent field corn?
No, at this time dextrose made from No. 2 yellow dent corn
is used because it is the most abundant and cheapest source
of a fermentable sugar in the world. In the future other sugars or non-food biomass
could be used as
feedstock.
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- What is a LCA?
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely accepted
measurement tool for environmental sustainability – a
technique for assessing the environmental impacts associated
with a product or service, covering all stages in a product’s
life.
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- Does PLA use more
energy and hence emit more greenhouse gases than the
manufacturing of other traditional petroleum-based plastics?
Peer-reviewed and published life-cycle analysis (LCA) data
show that polyactic acid (PLA) requires fewer fossil resources
and generates fewer greenhouse gases than traditional
plastics. PLA uses 62-68 percent fewer fossil fuel
resources than traditional plastics in its manufacturing and
is the world’s first family of commercially available
polymers, with significantly reduced greenhouse
gas emissions, derived from 100 percent annually
renewable resources with cost and performance that compete
with petroleum-based packaging materials and fibers.
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- Does the energy used to
grow and harvest the field corn used to produce
PLA offset the LCA benefits?
The total energy required to grow and harvest the corn
actually adds benefits to our LCA due to the plants’
absorption of CO 2 and sunlight during photosynthesis. In
addition, the manufacturer is continuing to evaluate alternative energy
sources that will make the life cycle even better in the
future.
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