My solution

Problem statement
I am doing my project on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Garbage Patch is a hazard to the ocean because sea animals get stuck in the plastic soda can rings and suffocate. Also they eat plastics and trash that they shouldn't be eating. Some trash is too big for them to swallow and they choke and die. Also if the object that they are eating is sharp enough it could cut their insides. Lastly, chemicals used to create the object go into the animal when it eats it and the toxic chemicals kill the animal.

PROBLEM QUESTION



WHAT CAN WE AS HUMANS DO TO PREVENT THIS OCEAN HAZARD FROM GETTING BIGGER AND BIGGER?

My solution
Start creating more plastic products out of PLA or polylatic acid

WHAT IS IT?
Polylactic acid, or PLA, is another aliphatic polyester and one that can be made from lactic acid, which is produced via starch fermentation during corn wet milling. Although most often generated from corn, PLA can be made from wheat or sugarcane as well.

WHAT IS PLASTIC MADE OF?
The term “plastics” includes materials composed of various elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, and sulfur. Plastics typically have high molecular weight, meaning each molecule can have thousands of atoms bound together. Naturally occurring materials, such as wood, horn and rosin, are also composed of molecules of high molecular weight. The manufactured or synthetic plastics are often designed to mimic the properties of natural materials. Plastics, also called polymers, are produced by the conversion of natural products or by the synthesis from primary chemicals generally coming from oil, natural gas, or coal.

HOW PLA HELPS THE ENVIORNMENT?
It decomposes within 47 days in an industrial composting site, won't emit toxic fumes when burned and manufacturing them uses 20 to 50 percent less fossil fuels than petroleum-based plastic. Often, companies blend PLA with starch to reduce cost and increase its biodegradability.
Consumers may encounter PLA in bottles, bags and film, but it's only beginning to live up to its potential. In fact, if Walmart used 114 million PLA containers a year, company executives estimate they could save 800,000 barrels of oil annually. If that isn't enough, scientists are trying to make PLA stronger and more heat-resistant. This should open up new applications for the popular green plastic, from automotive parts to coffee cups.

some items are made out of regular plastic

• Headphone
• Binocular
• Pens
• Flashlights

some items that are made out of pla plastic

• Some water bottles
• Some plastic cups
• 3D printerfilament
• Some plastic containers
• Some plastic utensils

PLA biodegrading PROCESS

• PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• HYDROLYSIS
• FERMENTATION
• POLYMERIZATION
• MOLDING
• DECOMPOSITIO
• WE DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN

Which Product Decomposes Faster