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Prickly Pear As A Sustainable Crop | Earth Wise

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The fruits and pads of opuntia, better known as prickly pear cactus, find their way into people’s diets in many arid and semi-arid places around the world.  In Mexico, the pads are known as nopales and are used in a variety of dishes.  The pears themselves are used in jams, salads, and juices.

A five-year study by the University of Nevada Reno College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources investigated the prospects for cactus pear to become a major crop like soybeans and corn and to help provide a biofuel source.

As the climate changes, dry areas are going to get dryer and drought issues will increasingly affect traditional crops.

The study looked at the particular opuntia species called the spineless cactus pear and found that it had the highest fruit production while using up to 80% less water than some traditional crops.  Cactus pear can be used for both human consumption and livestock feed.  As a perennial crop, once the fruit and pads are harvested for food, the remaining biomass can be used for biofuel production.

Corn and sugar cane are the most utilized bioenergy crops right now, but these use three to six times more water than cactus pear.  The cactus pear productivity is on par with corn and sugar cane, but not only do they use a fraction of the water, they also have higher heat tolerance.

Over 40% of land area around the world is classified as semi-arid or arid.  There is enormous potential for planting cactus for carbon sequestration.  If nothing else, it makes great sense to grow cactus pear crops in abandoned areas that are marginal and may not be suitable for other crops.

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Study shows cactus pear as drought-tolerant crop for sustainable fuel and food

Photo, posted April 16, 2020, courtesy of Kevin Dooley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Replacing Plastic Tableware | Earth Wise

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Plastics have been described as the “ubiquitous workhorse material of the modern economy.”  But their versatility, pliability, and durability comes at a heavy price to the environment.  Plastic pollution is quite literally everywhere.  Plastic debris and microplastic particles can be found in every corner of the globe, including the Arctic and Antarctic. 

The scourge of plastic pollution is driving scientists to create ecologically-friendly alternatives.  According to a paper recently published in the journal Matter, scientists have developed “green” tableware made from sugarcane and bamboo that doesn’t sacrifice on convenience or functionality.  This eco-friendly tableware could serve as a permanent replacement for plastic cups and other disposable plastic containers. 

Traditional plastic polymers, a product of petroleum, can take as long as 1,000 years to decompose in landfills.  The new material only takes 60 days to break down.

To create this material, scientists used bamboo and bagasse, also known as sugarcane pulp.  Bagasse is one of the largest food-industry waste products.  The researchers wound the fibers together to form a mechanically stable and biodegradable material.  They added an alkyl ketene dimer, an eco-friendly chemical, to increase the oil and water resistance of the material.  The green material is durable enough to hold liquids like hot coffee and hot greasy foods like pizza.   

There’s another advantage: the green material’s manufacturing process emits 97% less CO2 than the process to make commercial plastic containers.  The next step is to lower the manufacturing cost.  While the cost of cups made from the green material is $2,333 per ton, traditional cups made from plastic are still slightly cheaper at $2,177 per ton.

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This tableware made from sugarcane and bamboo breaks down in 60 days

Photo, posted May 19, 2013, courtesy of Henry Burrows via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Keep Track Of Your LEGOs | Earth Wise

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Plastics in the ocean are a global problem that has attracted a great deal of attention.  Most of the concern surrounds grocery bags, bottles, six-pack rings, and similar items.  Recent research looked at another source of plastic pollution:  LEGOs.

According to environmental scientists at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom, it can take more than a thousand years for LEGO bricks to break down in the ocean.  The iconic toys are made from a strong plastic called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS.  Pieces of LEGOs are commonly found in ocean trash hotspots and wash up on shores across the globe by the thousands.

LEGOs are one of the most popular children’s toys in history and part of what makes them so popular is their durability.  Barefooted parents stepping on one on the floor in a dark room can attest to that fact.  But the full extent of their durability came as a surprise to the researchers.

The scientists analyzed pieces of weathered LEGOs collected from beaches, confirmed their age, and compared them to unweathered LEGOs from the 70’s and 80’s.  They were able to determine the extent to which LEGOs had been worn down by ocean waves, sand, and salt over time.  And it was surprisingly little.

LEGO has acknowledged the environmental impact of its products and has launched a goal to make its bricks from more sustainable sources such as sugarcane-based polyethylene by 2030, as well as improve its efforts to recycle and reuse old LEGO plastic.

Meanwhile, we should all we careful of where our old LEGOs end up.

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LEGO Bricks Could Linger in the Ocean for 1,300 Years, Study Finds

Photo, posted August 24, 2015, courtesy of Juan Luis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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