Scientists have come up with a method in which food and agricultural waste is used to produce green plastics so that the problem of oil products wastage and disposal of wheat bran are solved to some extent.
Easy access and use make plastic increasingly popular. Therefore a variety of plastic products are seen everywhere, most of which are not eco-friendly. It takes hundreds of years for them to degrade in nature. They leave toxic residues dangerous to the ecosystem and human health. It is because they are made of an un-renewable substance: oil. So disposing of plastics has become a major environmental hazard.
The answer was to produce less harmful plastics. Making eco-friendly plastics has been costly and challenging but recently researchers have come up with a cheaper method, according to IANA website.
The cellulose in herbal compounds, a polymer found plenty in nature, is mixed with parsley, spinach stems, wheat bran, and coconut shell to make the plastic; substances that guarantee environmental-friendliness.
The research not only helps conserve the environment but reduces oil consumption, a source of energy that cannot be renewed.
There are a number of suppliers producing eco-friendly plastics in Iran and encouraging measures are taken by the government to reduce plastic use, but it is still far from sufficient.
