Food service items

Polystyrene (PS) 95 Foam cups and food service items... 

PET liquor miniatures, PS cups, PET food service items. 

PLA have been used in films for packaging, thermoformed and injection moulded disposable rigid containers (for example, food containers and trays), blown flasks and bottles, filaments, and biomedical uses (capsules for drug delivery, fibers for tissues and absorbable/degradable surgical sutures, and internal bone fixation implants). It is a polymer with consolidated use in the medical area, due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability in the human body. PLA-based resins may be modified to adapt to many applications, from disposable food-service items to sheet extrusion, and coating for paper [40]. 

Food-service items constitute another significant end use, including cutlery, plates, cups, trays, and plastic coatings for paper products like plates and cups. Markets include institutions (hospitals, schools, prisons, and the military), the fast-food industry, and the general public. Another end use category is consiuner products, including such products as diapers, personal care and hygiene articles, sports and recreation items, and others. 

Poly(e-caprolactone)/PLA Blends Poly( -caprolactone) (PCL) is a water-insoluble biodegradable, petroleum-based aliphatic polyester synthesized by ringopening polymerization of -caprolactone (e-CL) [81, 82]. PCL blends are widely used in many applications such as compostable bags for yard waste or other organics collection, disposable food service items, food packaging, health care products, mulch films in agriculture, and adhesives [81, 82, 101-103]. The nontoxicity, biocompatibility. 

The first LCA from Franklin and Associates is dated but can provide a starting point in discussing LCAs of plastics for packaging. The Franklin LCA compares the environmental impacts of PS, paper, and PLA packaging materials. Franklin and Associates use SIM Pro LCA software with a database of LCI data. Food service items were produced from polystyrene foam, paper, and PLA. The food service items included cups, plates, and clamshells. Only the clamshell data are analyzed in the following analysis (LCI Food Service Products 2(X)6). 

Lack of recyclability eliminates items from the marketplace. New York tried to complete a ban on food service items made from EPS. Most other municipalities have no such ban in place. 

One market which may provide potential for biodegradable polymers includes institutions such as theme parks or special events that must manage their own solid wastes. This concept was showcased at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 where 40 million food service items made of starch-based polymers were collected after use and composted [97]. Disposable cutlery and dishes used at the Sydney Olympic Games were supplied by Biocorp Inc., Novamont s North American distributor. 

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