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Why Hemp for Eco-Plastic?
We have been experimenting for years
with ways to produce an 'earth friendly' plastic body for our
weighing instruments. The advent of Hybrid cars made us
realize that perhaps we should look at creating a hybrid plastic.
Thus a new composite was created using Hemp and Recycled plastics.
Hemp had to be used instead of other natural fibers due to the
inherent strength of the Hemp fiber. Hemp fiber is one of the
strongest natural fibers on the planet and it's natural resilient
qualities made it the only choice for our hybrid composite plastic.
We experimented with flax fiber, canvas, and crushed soy, but none
could function at the same level as commercial hemp.
If today is a typical day on planet
Earth, we will lose 116 square miles of rainforest, or about an acre
a second. We will lose another 72 square miles to encroaching
deserts, as a result of human mismanagement and overpopulation. We
will lose 40 to 100 species, and no one knows whether the number is
40 or 100. Today the human population will increase by 250,000. And
today we will add 2,700 tons of chlorofluorocarbons to the
atmosphere and 15 million tons of carbon. Tonight the Earth will be
a little hotter, it's waters more acidic, and the fabric of life
more threadbare.*
Over 200 billion pounds (100 million
tons) of plastics are produced each year.
45% of all plastics are produced/consumed in the United States.
A composite is a solid product consisting of two or more distinct
phases, including a binding material (matrix) and a fibrous or
particulate material.
Plastics have successfully competed with other materials on account
of their 'low cost'. An example is a zipper. Previously made of
metal, a plastic zipper performs as well as its predecessor. The
lesser durability is not an issue as it often lasts long after the
application using the zipper fails.
In the United States over 60 billion pounds of plastic are discarded
into the waste stream each year (from 4 billion in 1970). Most of
this is in Municipal Solid Waste.
Beach litter is 40-60 percent plastic, much of which often floats in
from the sea. Such beach litter is hazardous to birds, fish and
animals who die from ingesting it or becoming entangled in it.
Wide-scale postconsumer recycling of plastics is relatively new.
Modern plastics are becoming harder to recycle.
The word plastic comes from the Greek plastikos,
meaning able to be shaped.
Plastics manufactured today, with few exceptions, are made from
synthetic polymers. But polymers also occur in nature. They are
produced by plants, animals and microorganisms through biochecmical reactions.
Biodegradable plastics are not new. In the biblical Book of Exodus,
Moses' mother built his ark from rushes, pitch, and slime, a
composite that might now be called a fiber-reinforced bioplastic.
Natural resins- like amber, shellac, and gutta percha have been
mentioned throughout history, including during the Roman times and
the Middle Ages.
My Weigh is proud to be the first
company to launch Hemp Plastic into the marketplace and we hope it
will be a success. It is important to the future of the planet
that Hybrid materials such as Hemp Plastic replace conventional
petroleum based plastics as quickly as possible. |
i5000H
ECO-Plastic Bowlscale
