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A manufacturing company in Thailand has developed a new and environmentally-friendly way to package food and other goods. Universal Biopack has created a material from bamboo and cassava that acts as a substitute for plastic and styrofoam. They collect leftover materials from chopstick production as well as crops from bamboo and cassava harvests then treat these natural components to form a shapeable, biodegradable solid. Thailand and other countries in the east Asian region have an extreme waste management issue, so as landfills exceed their capacity, trash spills over into public areas and creates numerous sanitation and lifestyle issues. Universal Biopack and companies that produce similar goods hope to reduce the use of plastic bags and styrofoam cups/bowls and minimize non-degradable waste. Consumers have seen similar products in the past, but the market has yet to see a product that is in widespread use.
Is it worthwhile to develop and produce biodegradable alternatives to trash materials?
If these products are beneficial, how can we make them more widely used?
What effect does this product's price (high or low) have on its popularity?
It's definitely worth it to develop these kinds of alternatives, especially for countries in East Asia that have issues with their waste management. Products like these would be beneficial in other parts of the world, so maybe it should be made well-known to attract possible investors. If this product costs too much, then people might not buy as much but if its price is low, then people will buy more and more of it.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that using biodegradable alternatives is a very smart decision, for the amount of trash on earth is going to severely affect us later on. There is no where to put all this trash, but if we use biodegradable alternatives to plastic and paper we will be helping tremendously.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what has been said above. Although I imagine alternative packaging materials are more expensive than plastic and styrofoam now, countries should invest in this much more environmentally-friendly option.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what has been said above. Although I imagine alternative packaging materials are more expensive than plastic and styrofoam now, countries should invest in this much more environmentally-friendly option.
ReplyDeleteI do think that it´s worthwhile to find biodegradable alternatives to trash materials because landfill has become a problem in the last couple of years. I think that these biodegradable alternatives are a bit more expensive compared to other trash materials, but people need to begin to realize how bad for the environment they are and the effects that trash materials can have on the environment in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think it is worth it do find biodegradable alternatives to trash materials. There is a lot of trash on the earth and it is becoming a huge problem. I think these products should be cheap so more people buy them and they become more popular and more used.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if it is used to find better biodegradable materials that can be used in place of just trash. The overflow of waist that is constantly being collected in the world is a problem that keeps on growing.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this is a great idea because we want to all be environmentalist and stop global warming so the penguins can live in peace. Even though it might be a bit more expensive than just chucking the plastic into the furnace and emitting those pesky greenhouse gases, it is definitely worth all the while.
ReplyDeleteAlternatives that have the same purpose that are better in any way should be used
ReplyDeletei think biodegradable is better because trash can end up in the ocean somehwere killing animals but if its biodegradable than it just goes away on its on basically
ReplyDeleteI think the government should subsidize research in discovering effective biodegradable packaging alternatives. One way to make them more common is for the government to create some kind of incentive for companies to adopt this.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is worthwhile to develop and produce alternatives to trash materials. We can make them more widely used with the countries that need more help. If the price is low people will tend to buy it compared to a high price.
ReplyDeleteI think this is something worthwhile and unique. If the price is right, then people will buy it.
ReplyDeleteI think developing something like this is worthwhile. The issue of not using biodegradable alternatives has been a problem and I think we could learn something from Thailand and their ways.
ReplyDeleteI think it is worth developing something new because at this point anything can help. Obviously we can just put it more on social media because at this point in time many people have and check social media on a daily basis.
ReplyDeletedeveloping something like this will be huge step to new opportunities and will lead us to a better future.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a worthwhile investment that will replace trash manufacturing because one this will make the environment cleaner and if the price for manufacturing the bamboo and cassava into a solid shape is cheap then I think this will benefit the environment even more.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely worthwhile to develop and produce biodegradable alternatives to trash materials because although it could be expensive right now it will be more beneficial in the long run. If these products are beneficial, to get them more widely use, they need to find a way to produce it at a reasonable price because if it is too expensive companies will not want to use it.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a worthwhile investment because it would be beneficial to the environment. Despite the high costs this could bring the benefits in the long run can be better.
ReplyDeleteI believe this is a really great alternative to trash since the biodegradable material wouldn't harm the environment. The alternative is a bit more expensive, but it is a worthwhile investment since it would reduce pollution. The more this biodegradable alternative is produced, its price would go down. And a product with environmental benefits such as this would draw investors as well.
ReplyDeleteI think as we move towards a more sustainable world, actions like this will be necessary. Getting a head start on it will only help the world and the company for the future.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely worth making these kinds of biodegradable products, and the price will need to stabilize at something fairly affordable if they are to be more widely used.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is worth it and think they could be more widely used by reminding people what the benefits would be to using these biodegradable alternatives. I think that this might be expensive, but maybe with the more people wanting this, the less expensive they could become because more people would be willing to buy it.
ReplyDeleteIt is worth it to make biodegradable alternatives because there is a lot of plastic that goes into the Earth. It might be more expensive, but it will help keep the Earth cleaner.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is worth while to create biodegradable alternatives to trash materials because a lot of products are made and put into plastic which then pullouts the world which is bad for the environment. The biodegradable alternative will keep the earth cleaner then plastic materials. One way that we can make this product more widely used is by apply them to more products and start having other countries use them for their products. Once they see how well this biodegradable package works other countries will want to use it as well.
ReplyDeleteRight now I think it is very mandatory to find alternative ways to throw out our "extras" away since there is a trash pile island in the middle of the ocean. I think that the idea of biodegradable bamboo is an excellent idea since it is so plentiful at the moment, but we must seek out a more efficient way to do this worldwide.
ReplyDeleteThis company has made an intelligent decision to become environment-friendly. If everyone in the world does what's best for our natural habitat, then Mother Earth would giveback to us many times as much as what we did for her.
ReplyDeleteI do think it is benificial to find eco friendly packaging methods. I wonder what the extent of the research is for this method is. What are the long term effects of using bamboo.How does it effect the bamboo population.
ReplyDeleteI also think it is important to make the idea of helping the enviornment needs to be better promoted across the universe. Even though we may be very aware of the issues in the Bay Area, different parts of our own country have different views.
It is worth while to develop biodegradeable products because right now landfills are way too overcrowded and if we can cut back on our waste significantly that would make our future brighter. In order to make these products more widely used, we need to make sure the costs aren't that much more expensive compared to non-environmentally friendly alternatives. If the cost is too high, manufacturers are not going to use the biodegradeable products, but if the costs are low then they will use them.
ReplyDeleteI think it is worth it do find biodegradable alternatives to trash materials. There is a lot of trash on the earth and it is becoming a huge problem. I think these products should be cheap so more people buy them and they become more popular and more used.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely worthwhile to develop and produce biodegradable alternatives to trash materials. We can make these products more widely used with advertisement
ReplyDeleteI think this product will grow in popularity because people want to help the environment. Its popularity will contribute to its expanse. Hopefully more people will start manufacturing more eco friendly goods after this
ReplyDeleteEven though we may be very aware of the issues in the Bay Area, different parts of our own country have different views. It is definitely worth all the while.
ReplyDeleteI think that the product would become more popular because more people would want to help the environment.
ReplyDeleteI think this product will grow popularity because of all the pollution and its horrible effects on the ozone layer. The less trash the better for our world
ReplyDelete