Is Hemp Bioplastic Sustainable?
Plastic waste is a serious global problem. Each year, about 8 million tons of plastic find their way into the oceans.
Hemp is an excellent material for eco-friendly applications due to its high durability, low water absorption rate, and natural biodegradable qualities. The use of hemp byproducts that have the elastic properties of natural rubber will be particularly beneficial to remove plastic pollution.
The hemp plant has a lot of cellulose in its stem. Cellulose can easily be converted into bioplastics by a simple process. Since hemp is a vegetable product, not an oil-based product, hemp plastics can degrade within a few months rather than the centuries it takes now for plastics.
The comeback of cannabis has been a major topic in the past decade. It all started with hemp clothes, followed by its seeds as dietary supplements, and now we are witnessing how this plant is transforming our world through a new plastic.
What Makes Hemp Plastic Sustainable?
The traditional process of making plastics is from using petroleum. For the last 80 years, we’ve been refining crude oil and creating greenhouse gasses. In contrast, manufacturing hemp plastic is relatively clean. All that is necessary is to extract the cellulose from the dried hemp stem.
Hemp plastics are biodegradable- this is a huge bonus. Landfills cannot hold more plastic, and hemp plastic degrades very quickly. We can re-use landfills and create a sustainable future by converting used hemp plastics into compost.
Chemicals produced by refineries are carcinogens, and constant exposure may lead to cancer. Many workers in the oil industry are exposed daily to these chemicals, which are a health risk. However, hemp plastics pose no such issues.
Hemp Cultivation is Environmentally Friendly
The cannabis plant has a surprising amount of potential and can be grown on any type of soil with the exception of cold weather or desert conditions. For example, Arizona is currently experiencing a drought which could make it an ideal location to grow hemp as farmers there would benefit from its cash crop that requires little water compared to other crops.
Hemp plastic isn’t the only product made from the stem. There are various products produced from hemp, including textiles and paper.
Less reliance on pesticides
The problem with spraying plants with pesticides is that they can easily seep into the groundwater and travel to rivers, contaminating our drinking water. The cannabis plant needs minimal pesticides.
Plants are like sponges that soak up nutrients from the soil. This is why it’s important to apply synthetic fertilizers regularly. However, this also seeps into the groundwater and eventually our drinking water. Fertilizers are also expensive and increase the cost of production.
However, Hemp plants need much less fertilizer than most other crops do – they need just enough to maintain their deep roots.
Cannabis plants are usually 6-9 feet tall and grow close together like sugar cane. An advantage is that the roots of many plants tightly bind the soil. Even after harvest, the roots remain and protect the soil from erosion.
Hemp is a sustainable crop that takes less than five months to harvest. Farmers can alternate between hemp and winter crops and can recoup their investment in as little as six months. Moreover, every ton of hemp captures 1.6 tons of carbon dioxide from the air. It cleans the air and soil and is excellent for bioremediation.
Are downsides to hemp plastic?
The only potential problem is the lack of supply. Farmers believed that sugarcane and cotton were the only cash crops for many years. Cannabis has recently entered the picture. It hasn’t even been four years since farming became legal in the United States. As more growers know how easy it is to grow hemp, the lack of supply will be significantly eased.
What is the future of Hemp Plastic
With its strength and durability, hemp plastic is an excellent replacement for traditional plastics. In fact, many car companies have started researching how they might incorporate this new plastic into future designs.
The hemp industry is growing quickly, but there are still problems with supply restrictions. The more information and emphasis on the environmental aspects of hemp plastic, the easier it will be to ease those restrictions.
