Oil won’t last forever – for that, we are lucky. Petroleum dependence is a risky, unreliable crutch that drives global insecurity, depletion and pollution. If America’s future depended on it, our nation would have a life expectancy of 20, 30 or 40 years.
Fortunately, our success doesn’t come from fossil fuels. It comes from innovation, and there is plenty of that left. The technologies to free us from petroleum are at hand. Many are affordable today.
It is time we shifted our dollars away from the technologies of the past and toward technologies with a future. By using our buying power, global companies can drive demand for more secure, sustainable technologies beyond their tipping point, the threshold at which they take hold in the marketplace – where price, performance and penetration secure their growth.
But a few misguided advocates of petroleum are seeking a new strategy to perpetuate our oil dependence: convince environmentalists that shifting from petroleum-based resources will hurt one of their favorite causes: recycling.
Several years ago, we needed a biodegradable plastic film to increase the wet strength of our paperboard, without sacrificing recyclability. An employee of Battelle Labs was working on a new kind of plastic: polymerized lactic acid, or PLA. It didn’t come from petroleum; it was made by fermenting sugar into lactic acid.
The idea fascinated me. We put 20 chemical engineers on it and built a pilot plant. The product we created was extraordinary. It was more than just a better laminate; it could do almost anything we needed plastic to do. We could spin it into fibers, weave it into cloth or cast it into film. It had the same strength as nylon but was totally biodegradable. It came from renewable sources – corn, wheat or any source of sugar. It broke down into carbon dioxide and water.
As a newcomer to the polymer industry, we couldn’t afford to take PLA to the market, so we sold the technology, and have no stake in it anymore. Today, companies like Toyota, NatureWorks, Natur and Biocore have developed PLA into an affordable option. The largest plant has the capacity to manufacture 300 million pounds a year. If it succeeds, additional plants could be built wherever there is a source of high-sugar waste from plant debris.
Now, PLA is being used for everything from water bottles and drinking cups to clothing, carpets and bedding.
PLA can be recycled. But unlike any petroleum-based plastic, it can also be composted. It breaks down into carbon dioxide and water. It offers a zero-waste option, especially when used where composting is easy and available.
That’s what worries a handful of advocates of petroleum-based plastics. They are concerned that because of its superior environmental profile, PLA could further weaken the poor recycling record of the polyethylene terephthalate plastic often used in water bottles and food packages.
But PLA is no threat to PET recycling. It will be a long time before volumes reach the level where contamination will be a problem.
Moving beyond petroleum is good for the nation and the world. The technology and ingenuity is there. All it takes is the commitment.It is time for industry leaders to open the doors to environmental innovations like PLA, and to focus on finding solutions, not exaggerating problems.
Innovation will be good for the plastics industry, too, and for companies currently making petroleum-based plastics. Oil supplies are running short. If plastics are still a part of the future, the only option is to grow them from renewable sources.
When my company first invented the aluminum can back in 1960, even the aluminum companies opposed us. Now, they are grateful they made the transition to a recyclable source of supply. The plastics industry will be, too.
Increasing the use of more sustainable packaging will require boldness, both by environmentalists and business, but the effort will be worthwhile. We can begin to use better materials founded on renewable resources and designed from the start with the environment, and our future, in mind.
Bill Coors is retired chairman of Adolph Coors Co. He is a founding member of The Future 500, and an honorary chairman of SEED, an initiative to increase corporate purchasing of sustainable, post-petroleum technologies.
