InvestorsHub Logo
Followers 39
Posts 2154
Boards Moderated 0
Alias Born 09/15/2009

Re: None

Sunday, 02/06/2011 2:25:22 PM

Sunday, February 06, 2011 2:25:22 PM

Post# of 3506
I thought this was interesting considering TLGN says they can do it in 30 days.

PLA Biodegrades Slowly Unless Subjected to Industrial Composting
But critics say that PLA is far from a panacea for dealing with the world’s plastic waste problem. For one thing, although PLA does biodegrade, it does so very slowly.

According to Elizabeth Royte, writing in Smithsonian, PLA may well break down into its constituent parts (carbon dioxide and water) within three months in a “controlled composting environment,” that is, an industrial composting facility heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and fed a steady diet of digestive microbes. But it will take far longer in a compost bin, or in a landfill packed so tightly that no light and little oxygen are available to assist in the process. Indeed, analysts estimate that a PLA bottle could take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill.

http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/pla.htm