March 28, 2024
Business

Plastic fantastic: Potatoes promising

PORTLAND – The humble Maine potato took center stage Friday at a gathering of scientists, business leaders and environmentalists who believe the spud has enormous promise beyond the realm of the side dish.

While the official name of the conference was “Better Living Through Green Chemistry,” much of the talk was about potato potential as the 100-plus attendees discussed plans to make plastic out of potato starch.

Earlier this year, a coalition involving University of Maine researchers and InterfaceFABRIC of Guilford announced it was exploring the feasibility of a manufacturing plant that would turn Maine spuds into various plastic products.

The hypothetical factory likely would be located in Aroostook County and use either waste potatoes or starch or new acreage of potatoes grown specifically for plastics manufacturing.

The vast majority of plastic in the world today is petroleum-based, which raises a host of economic, environmental and health issues. But a few factories have begun making a type of plastic known as PLA – or polylactic acid – out of corn starch.

“We have a vision that we will make [PLA-based] fabric in Maine out of Maine potatoes. The question we ask is, ‘Why not?'” said Stacie Beyer, corporate environmental manager for InterfaceFABRIC, which has manufacturing facilities in Guilford and Newport.

“Everybody is looking for corn to build the next biobased products,” Beyer said. “We want to look at something different.”

For years, environmentalists and farmers have been calling on the United States to invest heavily in research and production of fuels made from renewable resources. Political and business interest in such “bio-based” fuels has exploded recently because of the steady skyward creep of oil prices.

Friday’s conference, which was held at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, was geared toward exploring ways that Maine can capitalize on its enormous forest and agricultural resources to simultaneously build jobs while helping protect the environment.

In addition to potato-based plastics, speakers also discussed the potential for growing crops for bio-based fuels and using waste products from Maine’s pulp and paper industry to make ethanol and other bioproducts.

Keynote speaker John Warner, an internationally recognized expert in the area of “green chemistry,” said the state of Maine is at the forefront of the issue.

“I really do think that in all of the world, with everything that’s happening, that Maine is one of the focal points” for bio-based products, said Warner, president and chief technology officer for The Warner-Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry. “When people in Australia are talking about green chemistry, they now know about the state of Maine.”

Yet Warner said there still are enormous challenges that must be overcome. And at the top of the list is the fact that most chemists – himself included – were never required to take classes in toxicology or environmental sciences as part of their training, he said.

Warner said environmental and toxicological issues should be right at the top with economic issues when a chemist or manufacturer is creating new products. And that will take a sea change both in corporate culture and in higher education.

“It’s great to want to do it, but we don’t know how,” Warner said.

Warner and others praised Maine’s ambition to make plastics from potatoes. But what also was clear Friday is that leaders of the potato-to-plastic movement face some large hurdles.

Representatives from Colgate-Palmolive, Whole Foods Market, Poland Spring and other companies said that while bio-based PLA plastic has promise, it also has some major drawbacks.

For instance, PLA is not as durable or moisture-resistant as the more common PETE plastic, which is the type used for most water and soda bottles. It is also more likely to lose its shape in heat and is not clear.

And although PLA can be recycled and composted, there are few facilities that accept it.

Richard Pfeffer, president of Aroostook Starch Co., also warned a panel that starch is in short supply these days.

“I think you’re a long way from that,” Pfeffer said of potato-based plastics manufacturing. “But I think it’s a wonderful idea, and I hope we get there.”

Friday’s conference was sponsored by the Environmental Health Strategy Center, InterfaceFABRIC, Tom’s of Maine, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like