PLA Not so Sustainable

28May10

I met Emily Pilloton when she visited Auburn University on her trip around the country speaking about Project H Design.  This meeting prompted me to take a look at her book and while flipping through Design Revolution I came across a section that outlined why PLA wasn’t as good or sustainable as I previously suspected. PLA is a plastic substitute that is made from corn and is completely compostable. Although PLA sounds like a great material and truly is compostable, Emily pointed out that out infrastructure isnt set up for it. For PLA to biodegrade it must be exposed to conditions that are present in a compost pile; a damp setting and temperatures that are 140 degrees or higher. A landfill does not have these conditions. This means that if you throw something made of PLA into the trash just like you would a traditional plastic item it will remain there just as long. The infrastructure simply doesn’t exist at the moment for PLA to be truly ground breaking.

This brings up the point of completely understanding the life cycle of a product before you designate its material and sustainable status. PLA does have many advantages if a proper infrastructure existed, I know of some people that have personal composters that could take advantage of the material. What are your thoughts on the material? Do you think PLA has a future?

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Tags: compost, compostable, Design Revolution, Emily Pilloton, green, Pilloton, PLA, Sustainable