Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 4
COMMENT
EDITORIAL
Editor: Julian Buckley
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t @Julian_Buckley
FROM THE
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A member of
Accentuate the positive
M
aybe it's not as popular as in years gone by, but gardening remains a quintessentially British pastime. Even if you paid someone to come over and mow the lawn,
there's little better than relaxing in a sunny, well-manicured garden, a glass of your
favourite beverage close to hand.
Personally, I'm terrible at gardening - and plant care in general. People have gifted me
with plants and regretted it just weeks later, as they stood shrivelled, unloved. This does
not bode well for the small patch of grass outside our new house, but I'm going to give it a
good shot this time. Really.
But although I may have been otherwise occupied when green thumbs were handed out,
I think I'm reasonably good at spotting a decent idea. Tomatoes, it is reported, are the vegetable (or fruit, if you prefer) used most in the food processing industry. To support this,
commercial tomato farming generally involves a PE mulch film to help control weeds, water
usage and soil temperature.
After the tomatoes are harvested, that plastic film must be
removed from the soil. But that's difficult and some product is unavoidably left behind. This breaks down into microplastics and collects in the earth - not an ideal situation.
In late August, global chemical giant BASF announced the
launch of a new mulch film product, Ecovio M 2351. Made
from polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) and other
biodegradable polymers, the new material can be ploughed
into the soil after the harvest. Naturally-occurring micro-organisms recognise the plastic particles as food and metabolise what remains.
Not only does the film deliver the same benefits as standard PE product, but increased microbial activity directly attributed to the PBAT product generates energy used to form new
biomass. This promotes better root development, plant growth and improved soil quality.
That bears repeating - this is a plastic which promotes improved soil quality.
While plastic bashing continues unabated, it's developments such as these that need exposure to help counter the one-sided argument. Promotion of the benefits plastics can
provide is key to the 'communication' message that Martin Althorpe, new president of
the British Plastics Federation, is looking to implement while in office. You can read more
about Martin's plans on page 32 of this issue.
But for now, when you're relaxing in your garden in the last of this summer season's sunshine, pay a mind to those tinned tomatoes you might include in your bolognaise sauce.
They could've been grown with the help of a great new sustainable plastic product. And
that's worth talking about.
Really.
As always, thanks for reading.
Julian Buckley
Editor, PRW magazine and website, jbuckley@crain.com
4
This is a plastic
which promotes
improved soil
quality
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Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019
Contents
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - Cover1
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - Cover2
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - Contents
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 4
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 5
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 6
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 7
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 8
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 9
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 10
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 11
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 12
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 13
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 14
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 15
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 16
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 17
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 18
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 19
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 20
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 21
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 22
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 23
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 24
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 25
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 26
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 27
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 28
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 29
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 30
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 31
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 32
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 33
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 34
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 35
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 36
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 37
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 38
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 39
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 40
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 41
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 42
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - Cover3
Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - Cover4
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