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Everyone knows the kind of damages we
are inflicting on our planet. The massive production of
plastics and Styrofoam not only depletes our already
limited resource of oil, we are also churning out huge
amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the
atmosphere, causing global warming which results in
worldwide natural disasters of droughts, flooding and
irregular weather patterns. Hurricanes and typhoons may
not affect us but our country will not be spared when
sea levels rises due to the melting of the polar ice
caps. |
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There are many methods to counter
pollution that leads to an increase in CO2.
One way is to reduce the production and disposal of
plastics. The Singapore government is currently
encouraging recycling and the reduction of the usage of
plastic bags. We now have another option: to use
bio-plastics instead of conventional plastics.
Bio-plastics are carbon-neutral and made of natural raw
materials, primarily corn and yam starch. This means
that there is no excess CO2 and toxic gases
released into our atmosphere when incinerated (Carbon
neutral). Being 100% biodegradable, it can be safely
disposed off in landfills without causing land
pollution. Many sea animals perish from consuming
conventional plastics that have been thrown into the
oceans. Bio-plastics on the other hand, disintegrate
quickly thus reducing or even eliminating this problem.
In
recent years, there has been the issue of food shortages
around the world and some people question the use of
edible crops for the manufacture of these bio-plastics.
However, the corn that we use, which is the main
ingredient of
CornWare
™,
is grown specially for the purpose of
making our products.
You can rest
assure that each time you use
CornWare
™ ,
you are not contributing to the global food shortage
problem. |
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Health Issues |
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Since conventional plastics are made
of chemicals, it comes as no surprise that there has
been much debate over the harms of eating out of plastic
containers. In fact, many studies have been made and
there are concrete evidences that it is indeed harmful
to eat food from plastic containers, particularly,
Styrofoam.
When analysing the negative impact
brought by disposable foamed plastic utensil, Beijing
City Consumer Union clearly indicated: disposable foamed
plastic utensils “at temperatures higher than 65 Celsius
has its hazardous substance infiltrating into the food,
causing damage to human’s liver, kidneys, reproductive
system and central nerve system.”
Other conventional plastics appear
less hazardous but have been speculated to cause various
cancers and damage to the reproductive system with long
term exposure.
What is the difference between
bio-plastic and conventional plastic?
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Bio-plastic |
Conventional plastic |
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Plant based (corn and
yam) |
Chemical based
(petroleum, oil) |
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Toxin free |
Toxic |
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Decomposes after 90 days
when discarded. |
Takes 300 years to
decompose. |
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Carbon neutral |
Produces excess CO2
when burnt. |
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