Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Plastic performs a vital role in our society. It became a part on our daily living and had
been the most used material in the modern century. You can see it everywhere used for food
packaging, liquid containers, different equipment in our households, and many more. Plastic is a
type of polymers which is made by long chains of molecules and is flourish in nature, for
example a cellulose found in plant cells. Plastic was first invented by John Wesley Hyatt in
1869. According to Nicholson and Leighton (1942), the creation of plastic was inspired by a New
York firm’s offer of $10,000 for those who can provide or find a substitute for a natural ivory.
This is due to the massive killings of wild elephants to take their tusk. The discovery of plastic
was called ‘revolutionary’ because for the first time in human history they will be able to use a
material that is not naturally made but processed. It prevented the extinction of tortoise,
elephants, and other minerals. It became the protection of the natural environment from the
abusive actions of human towards the natural resources. But too much or unmannerly usage of
materials can really bring destruction in the society which is happening on the world right now.
In its previous state, this product which was made too protect the environment from devastation
had alarmed very nation for its unwanted and increasing number that affects the surrounding
badly. This is the reason why a lot of researchers experiments and find a way of creating a new
product which can decrease the number of plastics used to help the environment.

As stated in the House Bill No. 8692 also known as the Act of banning the manufacture,
importation, sale, and use of single-use plastic products, providing funds therefore and other
purposes Section 6

Phase-out Plan for Single Use Plastic Products. - A plan to phase out :single-use plastic products
shall be formulated within three (3) months upon the effectivity of this Act by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) with the cooperation of Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Finance
(DOF), Department of Science and Technology, and other concerned agencies of the
government.
 The abovementioned provision implied the governments move toward the completely
banning of plastics within the scope of three months. This law also covers four phases out plan
which are the prohibition, awareness, collection and establishing of recycling centers in the local
government units.

Objectives

The following are the purposes of conducting this study;

1. To prove that dry leaves can be a substitute material in creating bio-plastic.

2. To create an alternative way of using dry leaves rather than burning it.
3. To produce an eco-friendly and affordable packaging material.

Theoretical Framework

The study was anchored on Bioplastics and biodegradable plastics cited by Chris
Woodford (2019). The study stated the facts and information about the bioplastic and
biodegradable plastic. It also discusses the three so called environmentally friendly plastic which
includes the bioplastic, biodegradable and eco/recycled plastic.

Plastics are carbon-based polymers (long-chain molecules that repeat their structures
over and over) and we make them mostly from petroleum which is very versatile. The word
plastic, which means flexible, says it all. The trouble is that plastic is just too good. We use it for
mostly disposable, low-value items such as food-wrap and product packaging, but there's
nothing particularly disposable about most plastics. On average, we use plastic bags for 12
minutes before getting rid of them, yet they can take fully 500 years to break down in the
environment. Getting rid of plastics is extremely difficult. Burning them can give off toxic
chemicals such as dioxins, while collecting and recycling them responsibly is also difficult,
because there are many different kinds and each has to be recycled by a different process.

Talking about the bioplastic, it says that the theory behind this is simple. The most
familiar bioplastics are made from natural materials such as corn starch that can be found in
corn and maize. Some bioplastics look virtually indistinguishable from traditional petrochemical
plastics. Polylactide acid (PLA) looks and behaves like polyethylene and polypropylene and is
now widely used for food. Making PLA saves two thirds the energy you need to make traditional
plastics. Unlike traditional plastics and biodegradable plastics, bioplastics generally do not
produce a net increase in carbon dioxide gas when they break down (because the plants that
were used to make them absorbed the same amount of carbon dioxide to begin with). Another
good thing about bioplastics is that they're generally compostable. They decay into natural
materials that blend harmlessly with soil. Some bioplastics can break down in a matter of
weeks. The cornstarch molecules they contain slowly absorb water and swell up, causing them
to break apart into small fragments that bacteria can digest more readily. Unfortunately, not all
bioplastics compost easily or completely and some leave toxic residues or plastic fragments
behind. Some will break down only at high temperatures in industrial-scale, municipal
composters or digesters, or in biologically active landfills.

This theory is connected to our study for it gives emphasis on the bioplastic. It also
discusses the potential, strength and limitations of the bioplastic using corn starch. In our study
we will try to use dry leaves in exchange for the corn starch that this study uses.

Conceptual Framework

Significance of the Study

 The importance of conducting this study can be clarified by citing the different
stakeholders who are going to benefit from it. The study will be beneficial for the following:

Community. Bio-plastic is the most favored study to help the community in terms of
composting. These Bio-plastic are type of community composting instead of landfill which is the
worst disposal option. Therefore bio-plastic can make significant contribution to the community
by material recovery, reduction of landfill and utilization of renewable resources.

Environment. The study about bio-plastic is beneficial to the environment because it is

potentially a much lower carbon foot print, lower energy cost in manufacture, and it do not use
scarce crude oil that helps the environment to fight the global warming.

People. Bio-plastic is a less toxic and does not contain bisphenol A, a hormone disrupter that is
often found in traditional plastic that can harm people.

Future Researchers. The result of the study would provide other researchers a basis for
concluding supplementary researches or similar studies using other variables.

Hypothesis of the Study

The study tested that dry leaves is an effective material to produce an eco-friendly
plastic (bioplastic). The advantages of the material will still be the same with regards to its effect
in health and environmental anticipation. Biodegradable plastics offer innovative solutions to
improve recycling quality. Dry leaves as bioplastic are propitious for it boost the organic
recycling and improve the environmental state in our country and possibly around the world.
The component dry leaves is an organic material which wouldn't be a hindrance to the health of
the consumer.

Scope and Limitation

This study compile with the researchers last February 4, 2020 up to now, the Teachers
and Senior High School of the Tomas Claudio Colleges are the respondents of this research.
This research is all about the (Green Earth Project: "Dry leaves as a Bio-Plastic.") our project
may go through different processes for it to work the way we should expect to see and to
believe, the participants of this research and the builders of the project are the researchers
itself.

Definition of Terms

Ending Note
 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Foreign Studies

According to Damla Tonuk (2016), in his study of Making Bioplastic: An Investigation of

material-product relationship, the materials (more precisely types of plastics) that are biobased
and/or biodegradable. Briefly, bioplastics’ source of carbon, which is the fundamental element of
which any type of plastic is made, is renewable biomass, i.e., plants such as corn, potato, algae
and the like, thereby making them ‘biobased.’ At the disposal end the materials dissolve into
carbon atoms that can be digested by microorganisms, making bioplastics ‘biodegradable.’

He explores in his study how bioplastics come into being and are changing by focusing
on the relationship between bioplastic materials and the products into which they are made.
Bioplastics, which are types of plastics that are made from plant sources and/or can be
decomposed by microbial activity, are a challenging set of materials not only because of their
variety, but also because of the multitude of industries, actors and socio-technical arrangements
involved in their making. He also said that some types of bioplastic materials have been around
for about a century, only after 2005-6 were they first named as bioplastics, which also arguably
created ‘the bioplastics industry’ by uniting differently interested groups under a single category.

Its connection to our study is that, he discussed the different problems that may results
according to the materials and product used in bioplastic. As well as how the decomposition
happens in each of it. We can use this study as guide in choosing our own materials base on
what decomposition rate we want our product to be.
 According to (Berlin 2017) , biodegradable plastics provide an innovative solutions to
improve recycling quality by promoting the means for more efficient separate waste collection.
This has been confirmed by a recent study jointly released by Corepla, the Italian Consortium
for Collecting, Recycling, and Recovering Plastic Packaging, the Italian Composters Consortium
(CIC), and Assobioplastiche, the Italian Bioplastic and Biodegradable and Compostable material
Association. The study focused on the effects of biodegradable plastics on plastics recycling
streams in Italy, where all single-use carrier bags have to be compostable (according to the
European standard EN 13432) since 2011.

Biodegradable and compostable plastics facilitate separate collection of bio-waste and

help in diverting organic waste from other recycling streams. Organic recycling is a well-
established industrial process that ensure the circular use for biodegradable plastics at the
same time creates a strong secondary raw material market and opportunity for renewable
energy generation. Yet, the contamination of organic waste streams by misthrows of non-
compostable plastics is high and constitutes a real problem for composting facilities and
negatively affects the quality of compost. CIC, in cooperation with Corepla, conducted tests in
27 composting plants in Italy and found that the contamination of organic waste by non-
compostable plastics reaches up to 3.1% on average. The study also confirmed the complete
biodegradation of compostable items such as bags and tableware and their ensured
compatibility for industrial composting plants.

“The results of these studies carried out in real-life conditions in recycling plants confirm
that mandatory separate collection of recyclable waste throughout Europe is necessary in order
to improve the quality and quantity of plastics recycling. Additionally, more investments in the
modernisation of the waste management infrastructure are essential, including the
implementation of separate mechanical and organic recycling streams”, says Hasso von
Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics (EUBP), the association representing the
interests of the bioplastics industry in Europe.