Plastic pollution has become a major problem for the planet. One French entrepreneur is trying to fight the scourge with a 100 percent biodegradable water bottle.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/X. Leoty
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Use of plastic bottles is surging worldwide with a million being bought every minute. Even in Germany, which has a reputation for being an environmentally-aware nation of recyclers, more and more people are reaching for single-use bottles.
Producing the bottles consumes vast amounts of resources. In Germany, their manufacture requires 665,000 tons of crude oil and 11 billion kilowatt hours of electricity — ultimately spewing out 1.25 million tons of CO2 annually, according to environmental organization, DUH.
Most plastic bottles — even single-use — are recyclable. Still, most countries either lack waste infrastructure or cannot keep up with the sheer amount being produced. Instead, the plastic ends up on beaches and in the sea, where it accumulates because it doesn't biodegrade in nature. As a result, it poses a danger to marine life and can even enter our food via fish and other animals that ingest it.
French entrepreneur and packaging designer Nicolas Moufflet wanted to tackle this problem. After years of creating bottles for major companies, he turned his hand to developing the "Vegan Bottle." In contrast, to plastics based on petrochemicals, the bottle is 100 percent biodegradable, according to the company.
Nicolas Moufflet developed a biodegradable plastic to help fight plastic pollutionImage: Getty Images/AFP/X. Leoty
"The goal was to place water in a biodegradable bottle," William Coquerel, who is charge of sales at Lyspackaging, the company behind the bottle, told DW. "Nobody wanted to develop the idea, so Nicolas decided to develop it."
A sweet solution
Made from sugarcane — which the company says does not require much water or intrude on farmland — the bottles have been on sale for about 1.5 years. They're mainly used by juice bars and for other perishable items, such as herbs and cosmetics.
"We want to avoid anything with a long shelf life. Once it (the bioplastic) comes into contact with nature it degrades quickly — within one to two years," said Coquerel.
Right now, the company is working on distinguishing its product from other non-biodegradable competitors. As the bottle is transparent, many customers don't know it's different from regular plastic, said Coquerel. For instance, the company is using olive seeds ground into powder to give its bottles color and texture.
Lyspackaging's bioplastic is 100 percent plant-based and biodegradable, says the company Image: Getty Images/AFP/X. Leoty
Lyspackaging plans to produce 700,000 biodegradable bottles by the end of 2017. But according to Coquerel, they want to expand their bioplastic for use with other products, particularly as France is trying to cut back on plastic waste.
In 2016, the country announced it would ban the sale of plastic disposable dishes and cutlery in favor of compostable alternatives made primarily from biologically-sourced materials such as textiles and cornstarch.
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Rivers of plastic
Most of the plastic that ends up in our oceans is carried there by eight rivers in Asia and two in Africa. They face many other environmental problems too.
Image: Imago/Xinhua/Guo Chen
1: Yangtze River
The Yangtze is Asia's longest river and the third-longest river in the world. It also tops the list of river systems through which the most plastic waste flows into the oceans, according to a recent study. The Yangtze flows into the East China Sea near Shanghai and is crucial to China's economy and ecology. The river basin is home to 480 million people — one-third of the country's population.
Image: Imago/VCG
2. Indus River
The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research found 90 percent of plastic flowing into oceans can be traced to 10 rivers. The Indus ranks second on the list. One of Asia's largest rivers, it flows through parts of India and Pakistan into the Arabian Sea, supporting millions of people. While much plastic enters rivers because of a lack of waste infrastructure, sewage systems contribute too.
Image: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images
3. Yellow River
Plastic can enter the food chain as fish and other marine and freshwater animals ingest it. The Yellow River, said to be the cradle of Chinese civilization, is third on the plastic-waste list but that's not the only environmental problem with which it contends. Pollution has rendered much of the river's water undrinkable. Around 30 percent of its fish species are believed to have disappeared too.
Image: Teh Eng Koon/AFP/Getty Images
4. Hai River
Another of China's rivers, the Hai, comes in at number 4. It connects two of China's most populous metropolitan areas, Tianjin and Beijing, before flowing into one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the Bohai Sea. The 10 river systems share traits, says the study. One is that they are located in densely populated areas with a lack of waste infrastructure and little awareness of recycling.
Image: Imago/Zumapress/Feng Jun
5. Nile River
Generally thought to be the world's longest river, the Nile flows through 11 countries before entering the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt. Some 360 million people live in the river basin where its waters support agriculture — the region's main economic activity. Irrigation and evaporation mean the river doesn't even reach the sea in dry periods. Still, it comes in at number five in the ranking.
Image: Imago/Zumapress
6. The Ganges
The Ganges is central to Indian spiritual life and provides water to more than half a billion people. Sewage, agricultural and industrial waste have made it one of the world's most polluted rivers, as have the multitudes of plastic that end up in it. Cleaning up the waste — as students are doing in this picture — is important, but experts say we must produce less and stop pollution at the source.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Kanojia
7. Pearl River
Here, workers clear floating waste from China's notoriously dirty Pearl River, which enters the South China Sea between Hong Kong and Macau. Sewage and industrial waste flow into the river delta, keeping apace with the region's incredible rate of urban expansion. Since the late 1970s, the delta has transformed from a mainly agricultural and rural region to one of the world's largest urban areas.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Goh Chai Hin
8. Amur/Heilong River
It's not until they hit urban and industrial areas that rivers feel the worst effects of pollution. Still, according to recent studies, plastic debris is even being found in remote and "pristine" locations. The Amur River rises in the hills of northeastern China and forms much of the border between China's Heilongjiang province and Russia's Siberia before it snakes out to the Sea of Okhotsk.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/Chu Fuchao
9. Niger River
The Niger is West Africa's main river, supporting over 100 million people and one of the planet's most lush ecosystems. It flows through five countries before entering the Atlantic Ocean from Nigeria. Plastic pollution aside, extensive dam construction is affecting water availability — and frequent oil spills in the Niger Delta have caused widespread water contamination.
Image: Getty Images
10. Mekong River
Dams are having major ecological and social impacts on the Mekong too. Around 20 million people live in the Mekong Delta. Many are dependent on fishing and agriculture for survival. The river flows through six countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Laos, and is tenth on the list of river systems that carry most of the 8 million tons of plastic that are dumped into the seas each year.
