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Videos
Videos Competition
Would you like to make a bioplastic instructional video?
Can you create a fun and informative instructional video about bioplastic? We are looking for videos of all different types. You can demonstrate how to make a specific bioplastic product in your own home. You can test the biodegradability of various bioplastic products. You can compare and constrast the properties (strength, flexibility, etc) of bioplastic compared to regular plastic. Regardless of what you want to show, make it fun and informative and we will feature your video here!
Would you like to make bioplastic as part of a class or science fair project?
Put together a team with your college classmates, your high school AP Chemistry class, or your team for the science fair. Create a fun and informative video, and you can be featured on this site and possibly win a prize for your school.
(Contact us for detailed instructions and information about prizes.)
CONTACT US for more information on how to get featured!
videos@green-plastics.net
Make Your Own Bioplastic (Brandon’s Remix)
This video shows you how to make starch-based plastic in your own kitchen, from household ingredients. Give it a try, and make eco-friendly plastic yourself!
Discussion
Discussion
What makes biodegradable plastic degrade?
There is one question that we hear over and over again from people who are interested in using home-made bioplastic in their products and designs. Whether they are students making a bowl or a decoration for a class project, or a young entrepreneur looking to invent a new type of jewelry or fishing lure, people always want to know:
What will actually make my biodegradable product degrade?
How can I make sure that it doesn’t degrade too soon?
Materials can be “degradable” but still last for a long time. Degradation has certain environmental requirements; a material may degrade readily in one environment and be long-lasting in another. Degradation requires, for example, some level of moisture (to allow the process of “hydrolytic” degradation). For example, old newspapers have been found in landfills where they had not come into contact with any water, and as a result they have not degraded. Temperature also plays a role. Animal remains have been found trapped in ice for hundreds of years.
Exposure to microorganisms is also necessary. Plants and animals, inherently biodegradable, will not biodegrade if they are kept in a sterile environment.
So what about your home-made bioplastics?
A gelatin or starch bioplastic product can last for years sitting on a shelf; however, when placed in soil, or a landfill, or an ocean, it can biodegrade in days. The applications you have to be careful about are those which put it in contact with heat and moisture. For example, jewelry that is worn close to the skin for long periods of time will show signs of wear much faster than an ornament that hangs on a wall. Alternatively, a bowl that you wipe clean by hand under warm water will show signs of wear much faster than a desk lamp that simply sits, dry, on the table.
There are many commercially-produced bioplastics that are specifically designed to be programmed-degradable. These materials have already been used commercially to produce bowls and trash bags that are stable through the periods of shelf-life and use and then biodegrade in several disposal environments. You can learn more about the idea of “programmed-degradable plastics”, plastics that are made to be stable for some period of time (depending on the application) and then degrade when placed in some defined disposal environment, in the Green Plastics book.
What can i mix with my bioplastic product?
Dina is a product design student who is working on using bioplastic to make new products. At one point she asks:
Is it possible to mix the plastic with additional material, crushed egg shell for instance or Carob tree fruit (we have this one widely available) to make an interesting texture?
There are a lot of things that you can add to your home-made bioplastic during the mixing process, to make it more interesting or more visually appealing. The thing people use most often is food coloring, to affect the color of the end result. One American designer even used food flavoring, in his BITE ME product: an edible bioplastic lamp!
But you can also add solids, like you were suggesting. If you added something like crushed egg shell, the end result would be called a “composite” – a solid consisting of a binding material (“matrix”) and a fibrous or particulate reinforcement.
One commercial biodegradable plastic that is actually out on the market right now consists of a polymer matrix mixed with calcium carbonate, from crushed limestone. Your crushed egg shell idea is very similar.
As I’m sure you can imagine, there are very many possible combinations, and they would all have to be tested separately (for example, your carob fruit idea). You would probably want to experiment with small batches at first, where you try out different materials, possibly also in different amounts or concentration, to make sure that you get both the texture and visual properties that you want, but that the end result is still strong and hard and will not come apart or crumble.
Please feel free to send us pictures of your final product, with composite egg shells or any other material, and we will add them here to this article as illustration!
Will my bioplastic be dishwasher safe?
Dina, a product design student, wants to use bioplastics for a school project that involves making two products a fruit bowl and a wastebasket. She asks:
How heat resistant is the bioplastic? If I use the gelatin recipe or the algae one, can I make the product dishwasher safe?
First of all, thank you very much for your question! I think home-made bioplastics are exactly the right kind of material for projects like this. However, I also think that you might have more success using bioplastics for a wastebasket than a fruit bowl. I will explain why.
Bioplastics cast from water solutions are not water resistant and if the water is hot, they are even more vulnerable. Heat resistance is limited. Products made with this method would not be dishwasher safe, both because of the temperature but also because of the water.
Water-proofing coatings have been used to improve water resistance. Shellac, for instance, has been used. But the coating would have to be tested for good bonding to the particular material.
Although a bowl made from home-made bioplastic would probably not be safe to put in a dishwasher, it might survive careful hand-washing in warm water, especially if it has a coating. You would have to test it out, depending on what you used for the base plastic and what kind of coating (e.g. shellac) you used.
Good luck, and happy experimenting!
News
News
Biodegradable products and conservation
There is a very good educational article about plastics and bioplastics called “The positive impact of biodegradable products on our ecosystem” over at the Savannah Nature House website.
The purpose of the article is to give information about plastics and bioplastics, as well as to alert people about environmental conservancy more generally. This would also give way to the reader an easy and instinctive way to understand the issues concerning biodegradable and compostable products.
Conservation yields the greatest sustainable benefit to current generations while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations. Conservation is thus positive, embracing preservation, maintenance, sustainable utilization, restoration, and enhancement of the natural environment
Making our world less prone to collapse and more stable on its natural processes, more productive of goods and services important to the lives of all species, forest that provides carbon storage, shelter to wildlife and promote the quality of air that we breathe in.
So check out the article! It has some very good detail, especially about PLA bioplastics!
Novatein: blood bioplastic
On this website, we have talked about innovations in using bioplastic from a wide variety of sources, ranging from corn to algae to crab shells and cow brains and beyond.
It looks like there is a new type of bioplastic you may want to keep an eye out for: blood-based bioplastic.
A recent invention from WaikatoLink, the “Novatein” bioplastic is made from “low value animal protein sources”, like the blood that is drained and discarded from slaughtered animals. Sure, it might not make the vegetarians happy; however, currently the protein in this material is usually wasted: discarded as a by-product of the red meat industry. Instead of letting this resource go to waste… why not make it into plastic?
Prepare for a Bioplastic Boom
The European Bioplastics industry association has released results of a market forecast published yearly in cooperation with the University of Hanover Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites that predicts that the production values within the industry are set to increase by a factor of five by 2016.
The study shows that around 1.2 million tons of bioplastic production capacity was online last year and that this figure is likely to swell to 5.8 million tons within the next four years. With global awareness of other environmental issues, such as reducing carbon footprints and the need for more sustainable energy, growing rapidly, it is little wonder that more and more companies are turning to bioplastics as a greener alternative to conventional plastics.
Non-Biodegradable Bioplastics Predicted for Largest Increase
According to European Bioplastics, the largest growth is likely to be in the production of non-biodegradable bioplastics, most significantly biobased polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). These are plastics that are made from renewable resources, such as crops or algae, but that are processed in a way that renders them non-biodegradable.
Global plastics industry newspaper Plastics News states that partially biobased PET currently accounts for an estimated two fifths of global bioplastics production capacity. European Bioplastics’ forecast predicts that the production capacity for biobased PET will continue to grow through 2016, reaching just over four and a half million tons, or four-fifths of total bioplastic production capacity. Managing director of European Bioplastics Hasso von Pogrell states that the production capacity of biodegradable bioplastics will also carry on increasing. He says that their production capacity will increase by forty percent by 2016, with biobased polylactic acid and polyhydroxyalkanoate leading this increase.
The report carried out by Hasso von Pogrell’s organisation shows that bioplastic production has increased significantly over the course of the past couple of years, growing from just under 250,000 tons in 2009 to 1.6 million tons in 2011. In 2011, non-biodegradable bioplastics comprised around fifty-eight percent of production capacity, with biobased PET comprising just under two fifths of that capacity. Biodegradable bioplastic production was responsible for just under forty-two percent of production capacity, with biobased polyactic acid comprising the biggest proportion of that capacity at just over sixteen percent. By 2016, non-biodegradable bioplastics are predicted to account for just over eighty-six percent of production capacity, with biobased PET increasing to more than four fifths of that total. Biodegradable bioplastics are predicted to comprise thirteen percent of bioplastic production capacity, with biobased polyactic acid making up just over five percent of that capacity.
High Bioplastic Production Capacity in Asia
The report also demonstrates that Asia had the highest bioplastic production capacity online last year, with just under thirty four and a half percent. The relative totals for Europe, South America, Australia and North America were 18.5 percent, 32.8 percent, 0.4 percent and 13.7 percent. In 2016, Asia is predicted to be home to 46.3 percent of the global bioplastic production capacity. South America is projected to have nearly as much capacity in place, with just over forty-five percent. Australia, North America and Europe are predicted to represent a relative 0.2 percent, 3.5 percent and 4.9 percent of global production capacity. Chairman of European Bioplastics Andy Sweetman has expressed his disappointment that Europe is lagging behind Asia and South America to such a great degree when it comes to bioplastic production capacities. He says that, whilst many statements are made by those in the EU with regards to bioplastics, there is a lack of implementation of concrete measures. Sweetman says that it is time the ‘corresponding decisions are made’ if Europe wishes to profit from the growth in the bioplastics industry.
European Bioplastics have expressed the viewpoint that they find the geographic distribution of production capacities towards South America and Asia and away from Europe to be a cause for concern, describing it as a ‘disturbing trend.’ Overall the association remains extremely pleased with the growth in the bioplastics industry though, with Hasso von Pogrell expressing his pleasure that bioplastics have been so successful that they have achieved established positions in a wide variety of different application areas, ranging from the automotive industry and the electronics sector to the packaging market.
This is good news for the bioplastics industry and also good news for everybody who is concerned about the environment and supports the popularization of materials that are more ecologically sound than conventional plastics.
Features
BITE ME : a bioplastic LED desk lamp
Reduce, reuse, recycle…. digest!
Introducing a new product that has taken the interior design scene by storm: a fully biodegradable, compostable, and edible bioplastic desk lamp.
Created by American designer Victor Vetterlein, the BITE ME Desk Lamp is an algae-based plastic, made using the same basic recipe and method that we have described on this website, in the article HOW TO: make algae bioplastic.
The core ingredients are agar (the polymer substance found in seaweed and algae), vegetable glycerin, purified water, food coloring, and flavoring.
The desk lamp comes in orange, cherry, blueberry, and apple. Yes, that’s the flavor of the lamp, not just the color.
The ingredients of the bioplastic are all natural, non-toxic, and edible. In fact, all of the ingredients can usually be bought in a regular corner grocery store. As a result, when you are done with the lamp, you can compost it… or you can eat it.
Of course, you can’t eat the entire thing. It comes with a LED lighting adhesive strip, an LED circuit board, and an electrical cord.
But the plastic part is not only edible, it’s good for you. Agar is low in sodium, cholesterol and saturated fat. It is a good source of vitamins E and K and other trace minerals. It will not be out of bounds for any healthy diet.
How did Victor Vetterlein come up with this genius idea for a biodegradable, edible desk lamp?
You guessed it: he read the Green Plastics Book, the same place where most of the recipes that we talk about on this website come from. Here is a photo of all of the ingredients used to create the BITE ME desk lamp, along with the book that inspired the idea:
What new product can you invent, by experimenting with home-made bioplastics?
Lili Design Jewelry – a bioplastic success story
For the holiday season, we would like to share with you a home-made bioplastics success story: bioplastic jewelry by Lili Design, Ltd.
Lili Design, Ltd., has created a line of bioplastic jewelry that is entirely adapted to skin, completely natural and biodegradable. The bioplastic jewelry came out of long research into sustainable solutions to replace fuel based plastic. After months in the kitchen, mixing each ingredient to understand the chemical reaction of natural elements, Lili has developed an innovative bioplastic, based on corn, potato or even tapioca, which is unique.
Lili wrote to us with this wonderful testimonial about her project:
“Bioplastic is fascinating but required a bit of time. As every piece need at least one week to set, it’s a long process, to know what works and what doesn’t. But if you are interested to learn how to cook it from scratch and see a range of completely innovative material,I organize workshop in Surbiton ( Greater London).
And I sincerely recommend the video of Brandon on youtube, which was one of my starting point, more than a year ago. And a great guy, by the way, who took time to answer to my questions and help me really nicely.”
Bioplastics News in August 2011
Cereplast, one of the key manufacturers of biodegradable plastics made from renewable resources, has continued to expand, signing a new agreement with a distributor in Scandinavia. Cereplast is one of the leading providers of truly “green” bioplastic resins that appears in products ranging from car parts to compostable plastic utensils that you can buy at the store. The expansion of Cereplast into the Scandinavian market is a reflection of the broader world-wide expansion, especially in Europe and Asia, of the bioplastic industry.
This world-wide shift is good news, because the global economy is based on positive feedback. As distribution goes up to meet demand, production and manufacturing will also rise, and this will drive costs down: the more you can mass-produce any product, the cheaper it is.
What’s the evidence for this? Also in August, Dow Chemical announced plans to set up operations for mass-producing sugarcane-derived polyethylene in Brazil. With the opening of the new production plant, Dow Chemical will control the entire chain of production of their bioplastic resin, from the sugarcane field to the processing plant, allowing them to mass-produce the bioplastic more efficiently and at a lower cost. Cardia Bioplastics has also announced growth, and Genomatica, an industrial biotechnology startup based in San Diego, has agreed to establish a joint venture with Novamont, a leading bio-plastic producer, to produce butanediol (BDO) from renewable feedstocks in Europe.
But the excitement isn’t just going on overseas. Trellis Earth Products Inc., a company that specializes in consumer products (bags, boxes, cutlery) made from plants, announced that it will spend $7 million to move part of its overseas manufacturing to its Wilsonville, Oregon. The company has been seeing consistent growth, expecting $4 million in sales this year, which is a 30% growth over last year. Although they have outsourced manufacturing to China in the past, they said that high tariffs and shipping costs have made it more cost effective to move much of their operations home. They also said they plan on opening another manufacturing facility in Chicago in the near future. We know the company must be doing well, because it also filed for two new patents this month, as well.
Petoskey Plastics is adding 12 million pounds of capacity to its plant in Hartford City, Indiana. BioAmber Inc., a Minneapolis-based company, is building a new 35 million-pound-capacity plantin Sarnia, Ontario, to make succinic acid. This is a bio-based chemical that can be converted into the types of bioplastics that are used in plastic cutlery and auto parts. And Taiwan just signed a deal with Cargill to buy $55 million worth of corn-based plastics made in Blair, Nebraska.
All in all, it looks like investing in “green technology” is already beginning to happen in the United States, regardless of the posturing and politics going on in this election season.
What new bioplastic source materials were all the buzz this past month? Bioplastics from cheeseand bioplastics from cows seem to top the list of interesting and buzz-worthy announcements.
Did we miss something from this past month? Do you have an announcement you want included in next month’s round-up? Email Us and let us know!
Advertise
Advertise
The banner ads that appear on this website are handled by Google AdSense. If you would like to advertise on this website and others, as well as have your ads show up in Google search results, go to the Google AdWords website and sign up for their program.
However, if you are interested in gaining exposure for your bio-plastic products and increasing your customer base, there is a better way.
Our partner website, www.greenplastics.com, is a wiki site with pages and directories for different types of bioplastic material, bioplastic products, and companies that manufacture them. That site is searchable by company name, product type, plastic type, and keyword. If you would like to be included in these directories, please contact us at either advertising@green-plastics.net or advertising@greenplastics.com, and we will be in touch with you to answer your questions and discuss some of your options. and a representative will get back to you to answer your questions and discuss the best advertising option for you.
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2. Acceptance of Terms
Use of The Site constitutes full acceptance of and agreement to The Terms; if a user does not accept The Terms set forth in this agreement, he or she is not granted rights to use The Site, and should refrain from accessing The Site.
Green Plastics reserves the right at any time, and from time to time, to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any or all parts of The Site. Green Plastics shall not be liable to any user or third party for any such modification, suspension or discontinuance except as expressly provided herein. It is your responsibility to regularly check The Site to determine if there have been changes to The Terms and to review such changes.
3. No Unlawful or Prohibited Use
By using The Site, you warrant to Green Plastics that you will not use The Site, or any of the content obtained from The Site, for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by The Terms. If you violate any of The Terms, your permission to use The Site automatically terminates.
4. Registration Obligations
When requested, each user of The Site must: (1) personally provide true, accurate, current and complete information on The Site’s registration form (collectively, the “Registration Data”) and (2) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data as necessary to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If, after investigation, Green Plastics has reasonable grounds to suspect that any user’s information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, Green Plastics may suspend or terminate that user’s account and prohibit any and all current or future use of The Site (or any portion thereof) by that user other than as expressly provided herein.
Each user will receive passwords and account designations upon completing The Site’s registration processes and is wholly responsible for maintaining the confidentiality thereof and wholly liable for all activities occurring thereunder. Green Plastics cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from a user’s failure to comply with this section, including any loss or damage arising from any user’s failure to: (1) immediately notify Green Plastics of any unauthorized use of his or her password or account or any other breach of security; and (2) ensure that he or she exits from his or her account at the end of each session.
Green Plastics handles user Registration Data in accordance with The Site’s Privacy Policy.
5. Content
All information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, or any other materials whatsoever (collectively, “Content”), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated. This means that the user, and not Green Plastics, is entirely responsible for all Content that he or she uploads, posts, emails or otherwise transmits via The Site. No user shall transmit Content or otherwise conduct or participate in any activities on The Site that, in the judgment of Green Plastics, is likely to be prohibited by law in any applicable jurisdiction, including laws governing the encryption of software, the export of technology, the transmission of obscenity, or the permissible uses of intellectual property.
Green Plastics reserves the right to refuse or delete any Content of which it becomes aware and reasonably deems not to fulfill the Purpose. In addition, Green Plastics shall have the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to refuse or delete any Content that it reasonably considers to violate The Terms or be otherwise illegal. Green Plastics, in its sole and absolute discretion, may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or judicial or governmental mandate or as reasonably determined useful by Green Plastics to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of The Site’s users and the public. Green Plastics does not control the Content posted to The Site and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. Under no circumstances will Green Plastics be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, liability for any errors or omissions in any Content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed or otherwise transmitted via The Site.
Each user, by using The Site, may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Each user must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content.
6. Licensing and Other Terms Applying To Content Posted on the Site
Use, reproduction, modification, and other intellectual property rights to data stored on the Site will be subject to licensing arrangements that may be approved by Green Plastics as applicable to such Content.
With respect to text or data entered into and stored by publicly-accessible site features such as the Discussion or News sections, the submitting user retains ownership of such Public Content; with respect to publicly-available statistical content which is generated by the site to monitor and display content activity, such content is owned by Green Plastics. In each such case, the submitting user grants Green Plastics the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, and display such Content (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, all subject to the terms of any applicable license.
With respect to Content posted to private areas of the Site (e.g., email), the submitting user may grant to Green Plastics or other users such rights and licenses as the submitting user deems appropriate.
7. No Resale of Service
You agree not to sell, resell, or offer for any commercial purposes, any portion of the Site, use of the Site, or access to the Site.
8. General Practices Regarding Use And Storage
Green Plastics may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the Site. While Green Plastics will use reasonable efforts to back up site data and make such data available in the event of loss or deletion, Green Plastics has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages and other communications or other Content maintained or transmitted by the Site. Green Plastics reserves the right to mark as “inactive” and archive accounts and/or Content that are inactive for an extended period of time. Green Plastics reserves the right to change these general practices at any time, in its sole discretion, with notice to users and the public as described in Section 3 above.
9. Termination
Green Plastics may terminate a user’s account in their sole absolute discretion and for any reason. Green Plastics is especially likely to terminate for reasons that include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) violation of these Terms; (2) abuse of site resources or attempt to gain unauthorized entry to the site or site resources; (3) use of the Site in a manner inconsistent with the Purpose; (4) a user’s request for such termination; or (4) as required by law, regulation, court or governing agency order.
The termination of any user’s access to the Site may be effected without notice and, on such termination, Green Plastics may immediately deactivate or delete user’s account and/or bar any further access to such files. Green Plastics shall not be liable to any user or other third party for any termination of that user’s access or account hereunder. In addition, a user’s request for termination will result in deactivation but not necessarily deletion of the account. Green Plastics reserves the right to delete, or not delete, a user’s account at their own sole discretion, as well as to delete, or not delete, content at their own sole discretion.
10. Links
Green Plastics, the Site, or a third party may provide links to other websites. Green Plasticsexercises no control whatsoever over such other websites and web-based resources and is not responsible or liable for the availability thereof or the Content, advertising, products or other materials thereon. Green Plastics shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss incurred or suffered by any user in connection therewith. Your access and use of linked websites, including information, material, products and services therein, is solely at your own risk.
The Sites’ Privacy Statement is applicable only when you are on the Green-Plastics.net Site. Once you choose to link to another website, you should read that website’s privacy statement before disclosing any personal information.
11. Indemnity; Disclaimer; Limitations of Liability
Each user shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless Green Plastics, and its parent organization and affiliates and their respective officers, employees and agents, and each of Green Plastics’s website partners, from any and all claims, demands, damages, costs, and liabilities including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of that user’s acts or omissions, including claims arising out of that user’s use of The Site; his or her submission, posting or transmission of Content or his or her violation of The Terms.
EACH USER’S USE OF THE Green-Plastics.Net SITE IS AT HIS OR HER SOLE RISK. THE Green-Plastics.Net SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS AND Green Plastics ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TIMELINESS, DELETION, MIS-DELIVERY OR FAILURE TO STORE ANY USER COMMUNICATIONS OR PERSONALIZATION SETTINGS. EACH USER WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO HIS OR HER COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL. Green Plastics EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. SPECIFICALLY, Green Plastics MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE Green Plastics SITE OR ANY SERVICE THEREON WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) ANY USER ACCESS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE QUALITY OF ANY CONTENT, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIAL OBTAINED BY ANY USER WILL MEET HIS OR HER EXPECTATIONS, AND (iv) ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED. EXCLUDING ONLY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF Green Plastics’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT, Green Plastics SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF Green Plastics HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM ANY USER’S USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE Green Plastics SITES OR SERVICES THEREON; THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES; UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE Green Plastics SITE; OR ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE Green Plastics SITE. IN NO EVENT SHALL Green Plastics’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO ANY USER OR OTHER PARTY UNDER THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR OTHERWISE EXCEED $1,000.00. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. NOTHING HEREIN SHALL BE DEEMED TO CREATE AN AGENCY, PARTNERSHIP, JOINT VENTURE, EMPLOYEE-EMPLOYER OR FRANCHISOR-FRANCHISEE RELATIONSHIP OF ANY KIND BETWEEN Green Plastics AND ANY USER OR OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY NOR DO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE EXTEND RIGHTS TO ANY THIRD PARTY. AS NOTED ABOVE, Green Plastics DOES NOT AND CANNOT CONTROL THE ACTIONS OF Green Plastics SITE USERS, VISITORS OR LINKED THIRD PARTIES. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REPORT ANY MALFEASANCE THAT COMES TO OUR ATTENTION TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE CONTINUOUS UNINTERRUPTED OR SECURE ACCESS TO THE Green Plastics SITE. OPERATION OF THE Green Plastics SITE MAY BE SUBJECT TO INTERFERENCE FROM NUMEROUS FACTORS OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL. FURTHER, SCHEDULED AND PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE AS WELL AS REQUIRED AND EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE WORK MAY TEMPORARILY INTERRUPT SERVICES OR ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE. THE DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY APPLY, WITHOUT LIMITATION, TO ANY DAMAGES OR INJURY CAUSED BY THE FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, COMMUNICATION LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION OF OR USE OF ANY ASSET, WHETHER ARISING OUT OF BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTIOUS BEHAVIOUR, NEGLIGENCE OR ANY OTHER COURSE OF ACTION BY Green Plastics.
12. Copyrights
Green Plastics respects the intellectual property rights of others, and requires that the people who use the Site do the same. It is our policy to respond promptly to claims of intellectual property misuse.
If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible on this site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, you may notify us by providing our copyright agent with the following information in writing:
(1) the electronic or physical signature of the owner of the copyright or the person authorized to act on the owner’s behalf;
(2) identification of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
(3) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit Green Plastics to locate the material, including the full URL.
(4) your name, address, telephone number, and email address.
(5) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
(6) a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.
If Green Plastics receives such a claim, Green Plastics reserves the right to refuse or delete Content as described under Section 5 hereto, or to terminate a user’s account in accordance with Section 9.
Our designated agent to receive notification of claimed infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act OF 1998 (“DMCA”) is:
Greg Stevens
Greg Stevens Holdings, LLC
4605 Cedar Springs Rd.
Suite #127
Dallas, TX 75219
dmca@green-plastics.net
214-697-6566
After receiving a claim of infringement, Green Plastics will process and investigate notices of alleged infringement and will take appropriate actions under the DMCA and other applicable intellectual property laws. Upon receipt of notices complying or substantially complying with the DMCA, Green Plastics will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to any material claimed to be infringing or claimed to be the subject of infringing activity, and will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to any reference or link to material or activity that is claimed to be infringing. Green Plastics will take reasonable steps to expeditiously notify the subscriber that it has removed or disabled access to such material.
Upon receipt of a proper counter notification under the DMCA, Green Plastics will promptly provide the person who provided the initial notification of claimed infringement with a copy of the counter notification and inform that person that it will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to it in ten (10) to fourteen (14) business days. Additionally, Green Plastics will replace the removed material and cease disabling access to it ten (10) to fourteen (14) business days following receipt of the counter notice, unless Green Plastics’s designated agent first receives notice from the person who submitted the initial notification that such person has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the subscriber from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on the Green Plastics system or network.
You may provide us with a counter notification by providing our copyright agent the following information in writing:
(1) your physical or electronic signature;
(2) identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled, including the full URL;
(3) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled;
(4) your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which Green Plastics may be found and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the initial notification of infringement.
13. Jurisdiction and Legality of Content
Publication of information found on the Site may be in violation of the laws of the country or jurisdiction from where you are viewing this information. The Site’s database is stored on a server in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States of America, and the Green Plastics company, a subsidiary of Greg Stevens Holdings, LLC, operates out of the state of Texas, in the United States of America. All services of Green-Plastics.net shall be deemed to have been requested and provided in Dallas County, Texas.
Laws in your country or jurisdiction may not protect or allow the same kinds of speech or distribution. Green Plastics and Greg Stevens Holdings, LLC do not encourage the violation of any laws, and cannot be held responsible for any violations of such laws, should you link to this domain or use, reproduce, or republish the information contained herein.
14. Final Notices
This Agreement contains the complete and final statement of understanding between you and Green Plastics with respect to Green-Plastics.net, and supercedes any and all prior or contemporaneous negotiations, agreements or communications, whether written or oral, between you and Green Plastics or Greg Stevens Holdings, LLC, or any of its members, concerning its use. If any provision of this Agreement is rendered by a court or governmental agency of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect the remainder of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect and be enforced in accordance with its remaining terms. Any waver of any breach of the provisions of this agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any succeeding breaches of the same or of other provisions; nor shall any delay or omission on the part of Green Plastics or Greg Stevens Holdings, LLC to exercise or enforce any right, power or privilege be construed as a waiver of any breach of provisions, nor shall it be construed as a waiver of the right to enforce or exercise that power or privilege in the future. Any claimed infringement related to the use of Green-Plastics.net or to any aspect of this Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.
Thank you for spending the time to read this page, and please enjoy your experience at Green-Plastics.net.
Contact
Ask us about bioplastics
This site is owned and run by the Dallas-based Limited Liability Partnership Green Plastics, a subsidiary of Greg Stevens Holdings, LLC.
Email Addresses
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help@green-plastics.net
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webmaster@green-plastics.net
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advertising@green-plastics.net
Business-related questions about Green Plastics or Greg Stevens Holdings, LLC?
business@green-plastics.net
If you have scientific or technical questions about plastics or biodegradable plastics, or business-related questions having to do with the purchase, sale or use of bioplastics, please post your questions in the discussion section of this website.
Mailing Address
Please send all mail comments and inquiries to:
Attn: Green Plastics
Greg Stevens Holdings, LLC
4605 Cedar Springs Rd.
Suite 127
Dallas, Texas 75219
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About
Learn About Bioplastics
The Green-Plastics.net website located at green-plastics.net provides news, discussion, videos, and other resources for people interested in biodegradable and environmentally-friendly plastics (also called “bioplastics” or “green plastics”). This site is owned and operated by Green Plastics, a subsidiary of Greg Stevens Holdings, LLC.
It all started in 2001, when Eugene S. Stevens, Professor of Chemistry at the State University of New York at Binghamton, published the book Green Plastics: An Introduction to the New Science of Biodegradable Plastics as an introduction for students and entrepreneurs interested in learning more about the science and application of biodegradable plastics made from renewable resources. This book came onto the market as a popular press (non-academic) book just as the “buzz” over environmentalism and “going green” was beginning the wave of popularity that it is currently riding.
In 2004, he worked with his son, Greg Stevens, to create the website greenplastics.com as a complement to the book: an online introductory resource for students and interested laymen who wanted to find out more about this exciting new science.
The interest generated created by these simple resources revealed a new need: a place where regular people-students, consumers and entrepreneurs, rather than scientists and big business manufacturers-could go to ask questions, find out the latest news, and (most importantly) figure out where to get the products they want and need.
Thus began green-plastics.net in 2008. Our goal is to provide an online meeting place for people who share an interest in plastic, sustainability and the environment. We provide a user-contributed news section so you can keep on top of what is happening in the world of plastics and the environment. We provide a discussion section where you can share your experiences (whether as a student trying to learn about bioplastics, or a business owner trying to buy, sell, or use them), and ask questions of other people. We also are soliciting people—especially students—who are interested in making educational videos about how to make green plastics yourself. Eventually, we would like you to share your projects, failures, frustrations and successes in making your business, school, or town more environmentally friendly with green plastics!
Please contact us and let us know your suggestions, comments and concerns.