On biodegradable plastics.

Sapp (2019) in her article named, “Philippines plastic

manufacture goes bio with starch-based biodegradable plastics” introduced a new product called

Bionolle Starcla, an environmentally-friendly bag made from 100% plant-based materials. Based

on her article, Bionolle Starcla is a starch-based biopolymer that can be used as garbage and

shopping bags that fully decomposes in three months and is shipped to Japan for agricultural use

and have already been discussed to be exported to Italy due to the demand of biodegradable

plastics in the place.

https://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2019/03/21/philippines-plastic-manufacture-goes-bio-

with-starch-based-biodegradable-plastics/

On biodegradable plastics. The use of plastics in the Philippines continue to rise aas the

benefits and merits of doings so continue to spread. In fact, in the article published by Cabuag

(2019) named, “San Miguel to use biodegradable plastic in most of its packaging” the

conglomerate San Miguel Corporation was mentioned to be the first Filipino company to utilize

fully certified biodegradable plastic packaging.

The company stated that the development and research for biodegradable started have

started five years ago and was first designed to contain non-food products such as cement, but

has now innovated to also cater food products. The corporation also emphasized their objective

to advocate zero-waste manufacturing processes such as the said biodegradable plastic in order

to help the environment.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/11/12/san-miguel-to-use-biodegradable-plastic-in-most-of-

its-packaging/
 On agricultural wastes. The Philippines mostly is known as an agricultural country. In

the article of Zafar (2019) entitled “Agricultural Wastes in the Philippines” Zafar enumerates the

most common agricultural wastes in the Philippines: rice husk, rice straw, coconut husk, coconut

shell and bagasse. Due to this, the country contains a large potential for biomass power plants.

Aside from this, the researchers also wanted to recycle these agricultural wastes in order

to develop a corn-based biodegradable plastic to help minimize the amount of wastes and find a

solution that will improve the ecological and economical aspects of the country.

https://www.bioenergyconsult.com/agricultural-resources-in-philippines/

Rentoy et al. from Philippine Science High School western Visayas Campus have

recently conducted a study entitled, “Development of Cellulose-based Bioplastic from Corn

Stalks” that aims to develop an economical use of the abundance of corn and corn residue

available in the Philippines. The researchers developed a cellulose-based sheet from corn stalks.

The sheet was tested in terms of its density, tensile strength, and percent elongation in order to

determine the difference between the cellulose-based sheet and commercially-available

cellophane.

The results of the study showed that the cellophane passed as an alternative to

commercial cellophane in terms of the functional groups present but was weaker in terms of it

mechanical properties. Reviewing the methods and processes used in this study can greatly

benefit the present study considering that they also aim to develop a corn-based bio-plastic and

test its functionality based on transparency, plastic texture, usability, cost-efficiency, durability

and environmental concerns.

http://publiscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Wu2.pdf
 With regards of the objective of utilizing plans in the manufacture of biodegradable

plastics, the study of Cataquis et al. entitled, “Utilization of Indigenous Plants as an Additive for

the Manufacture of Biodegradable Plastics” is related to the present study. Instead of using corn

and other food scraps, the study of Cataquis et al. examined indigenous plants such as the potato

tuber, cassava tuber, and gabi tuber as a biodegradable plastic. The resulting product was tested

in terms of its density and tensile strength.

The researchers discovered that the bio-plastics made from cassava, taro, and potato were

glossy and translucent and greatly resembles Elastomers Silicone and the Polyvinyl Chloride

(PVC) type of plastic which is commonly used for packaging. They have also discovered that the

density and flexibility if the resulting product is highly affected by the type of starch used and

that the appearance of the bioplastics were not greatly affected by the atmospheric temperature

and pressure.

These findings will be of great help to the present researchers and will be more sensitive

to other variables that may or may not affect the development of the corn-based bio-plastic. In

addition to this, the study of Cataquis et al.also recommended to study some other ways or

processes in making bioplastics from cassava starch, taro starch, and potato starch such as

polylactic acid fermentation.

https://www.national-u.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/4-JSTAR3-Cataquis-et.-

al.pdf

On the other hand, the study of Millan et al. (2017) called,“Efficacy of Cardava Banana

(Musa paradisiaca) as an Alternative Component in MakingBiodegradable Bio-Plastic” utilized

Cardava (Saba) Banana peelings as the key ingredient in the production of bio-plastics, mainly

because of its abundance in the country. The researchers intend to develop an alternative for

traditional plastic that decomposes faster, eco-friendly and reduces the waste of banana peelings

making it more useful and efficient.

The results of the study showed that banana peels of Cardava (Saba) can be used as a bio-

plastic considering that it is blended with substances.

https://www.academia.edu/34003516/FINAL_RESEARCH_PAPER
 Synthesis

In the studies conducted by Sapp (2019) entitled “Philippines plastic manufacture goes
bio with starch-based biodegradable plastics” and by Cabuag (2019) named “San Miguel to use
biodegradable plastic in most of its packaging” , and lastly the“Agricultural Wastes in the
Philippines”by Zaraf (2019), Come up with an idea to produce a plastic that are biodegradable
and their main purpose is to help minimize the amount of wastes that will help the environment.
The different distinction of the three can still be observe. In the article of Sapp (2019), launched
a new product as a alternative to the conventional plastic bags that is made of 100% plant-based
materials that can fully decomposes within three months. While in the article of Cabuag (2019),
The “San Miguel” was the first Filipino company that utilize a biodegrable plastic packaging for
foods and non-foods products. And lastly in the article of Zaraf (2019), focused on recycling the
agricultural wastes to lessen the wastes in the Philippines.
 CITATIONS

Sapp, M. (2019). Philippines plastic manufacture goes bio with starch-based

biodegradable plastics.

Retrieved from https://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2019/03/21/philippines-plastic-

manufacture-goes-bio-with-starch-based-biodegradable-plastics/

Cabuag, V. (2019). San Miguel to use biodegradable plastic in most of its

packaging.

Retrieved from https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/11/12/san-miguel-to-use-

biodegradable-plastic-in-most-of-its-packaging/

Zafar, S. (2019). Agricultural Wastes in the Philippines.

Retrieved from https://www.bioenergyconsult.com/agricultural-resources-in-

philippines/