In Michoacán, Mexico a company known as “Biofase” has found a new innovative solution to make a biodegradable alternative for plastic. The mastermind, Scott Munguia found that avocado pits are a potential goldmine! Since 2012, Biofase has been taking an abundant amount of unused seeds and renew them into compostable bioplastic. Since Michoacán is left with about 300,000 tons of avocado seeds a year due to the cities’ high demand for avocados, that leaves Munguia with an abundance of resources to work with. Simply put this is a breakthrough that will change plastic use for good.
For years food franchises and stores have been marketing a fossil-fueled polymer infused with plastic that takes centuries to degrade even if exposed in the right state. This results in Plastic cups, forks and bags becoming a major waste issue. According to the Jane GoodAll Institute, the U.S. alone uses over 500 million plastic straws a day. If that’s just in straws, then It would make sense to see why this waste ends up harming our environments and the animals that reside in them.
Biofase has been actively working on a resolution to this worldwide buildup of waste. According to an article posted on Now Science, the new petroleum-based source is mixed with the avocado remains that will only take approx. 240 days to degrade. Not to mention, the avocado bioplastic design is the first to offer a biodegradable product at the “same price as regular plastic”-SparkNews TV.
You would think this game changing development would be hitting all consumers and networks worldwide to make the change. In reality it is a slow process (as are so many other things) but Biofase is surely making progress. The company does not supply the products directly to retail or wholesale vendors, instead they target Major food chains such as P.F. Changs and Chili’s Bar & Grill that are already relying on Biofase utensils in their restaurants.
It will only be a matter of time until news of this development reaches another top industry to abandon the hazardous plastic. It would just be another step closer to renewing our way of living and most importantly, our planet.
Sources:
https://themindunleashed.com/2019/02/biofase-avocado-pits-biodegradable-plastic.html
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/biodegradable-straws-from-avocado-seeds/
http://www.janegoodall.org