
How to make biodegradable 'plastic' from cactus juice [video] - open-source-ux
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07c2cfz
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layoutIfNeeded
Looks similar to "kombucha leather":
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8ZFzOwGeI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8ZFzOwGeI)

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exDM69
Wow! Thanks for linking this.

I do arts & crafts and I use some animal protein based products, leather and
other non-vegan stuff and I am looking for vegan alternatives.

As for TFA, I'm aware of a product called "Cactus juice" used in woodworking
for stabilization. Does anyone know if it is similar to what was shown in the
video?

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ivanhoe
The stuff used in woodworking is a resin, just heavily diluted, so I guess
it's the same thing just with additives. I once forgot to close the bottle of
it properly, and next time I tried to use it (months later) it was all dried
down into a plastic-like hard stuff.

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bellsnwhistles
I had some interest in that topic a few months ago, but still have some rather
general questions. The idea sounds great, but it is hard to tell how helpful
it is for the environment without doing some sort of a life-cycle assessment
of the entire process. Question such as how sustainable is it if we need three
cactus leaf to make one sheet.

Also, asking if someone might be able to answer or to point me where to read
more. Is there a link between making plastic from plants and the plastic
property of being non-toxic and/or biodegradable? Some plants are toxic, I
would suppose this leads to toxic plastic. Same for biodegradability, how do
we know the process of making plastic using plants (naturally biodegradable)
plus other "things" leads to a plastic that is biodegradable?

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cheeaun
Indonesia already a biodegradable plastic replacement (in production) called
bio-cassava bag [https://www.avanieco.com/portfolio-item/bio-cassava-
bag/](https://www.avanieco.com/portfolio-item/bio-cassava-bag/)

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baxtr
Interesting. Most ‘biodegradable’ plastic isn’t going to be very helpful as
far as I have understood. See link below. This one seems to really
biodegradable, but like with any of these materials it’s the industrial
process that will define its success potential.

[http://theconversation.com/when-biodegradable-plastic-is-
not...](http://theconversation.com/when-biodegradable-plastic-is-not-
biodegradable-116368)

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londons_explore
No real mention of its properties...

For example, Is it waterproof? If I were to package meat in a film of the
stuff, would it start dissolving into the meat?

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davidarkemp2
It says it degrades after a few days left in water, so not really viable to
replace plastic bottles

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username444
But a great replacement for plastic grocery bags. And packaging for dry goods.

It doesn't have to replace ALL plastic uses. It's perfectly fine if it's just
a replacement for specific uses.

Eg. Using a glass bottle instead of a plastic bottle

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rplnt
> How to

Can't decide whether this is a clickbait or "rest of the fucking owl"

