• brian@programming.dev
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    5 months ago

    Polylactic acid is made via condensation of lactic acid, which can be made entirely from corn. It’s still plastic, but just made from renewable sources. It’s pretty recyclable and can be industrially composted, but in normal conditions it lasts as long as any other plastic.

    • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      but in normal conditions it lasts as long as any other plastic.

      I am by no means an expert on the subject, but isn’t this basically the entire problem with plastic in the first place?

      It’s nice that this stuff is renewable and recyclable, but if it isn’t properly recycled, it sounds like we’re going to have the same problem we already have with existing plastics.

      • brian@programming.dev
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        5 months ago

        Yeah no, it’s only marginally better. All my information comes from 3d printing, which is even worse since there’s no way to recycle it since no recycling symbol. More accessible industrial composting would help though

      • Aux@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        PLA doesn’t last long. It starts to fall apart after a few months of exposure to sunlight in otherwise completely sterile environment. It is also easily compostable in hot industrial composters. It is also digestible by mammals, thus its micro particles are not an issue.