The Truth About Biodegradable Plastic

This week, the truth about “biodegradable plastic,” and new insights into how global warming might eventually make winters colder.
Hosted by: Hank Green
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Sources:
www.livescience.com/32233-how-...
pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/p...
www.eurekalert.org/pub_release...
cen.acs.org/articles/93/web/20...
ei.cornell.edu/biodeg/
books.google.com/books?id=EMY...
phys.org/news/2015-03-plastics...
www.eoearth.org/view/article/1...
www.eurekalert.org/emb_release...

[@Nirvanexus]

The city I live in has actually made some real, biodegradeable bags. These bags are used for all the food waste that gets thrown out and the idea is to make it into dirt and thus feed it back into Nature again :) The bags contain corn starch and are actually degradeable. I've several times seen holes appearing on the bags. Not because of sharp objects, but because the process of the rotting food in the bag made the bag start its own degration process. They actually degrade so fast that you have to change the bags at least once a week, unless you want rotten goo to spill out everywhere ofcourse... But I don't think anyone would like that tbh..

[@StratoSound]

Kewl!

[@maxor2277]

I wish more cities promoted technology like that

[@zuck9090]

It's Eoleh neat

[@kosh9639]

also, the thickness of the plastic bag; the bags, I get are too thin and easily fall-apart & rip open... : ( f'n junk )

[@risingsara]

It's Eoleh That's good 😊

[@iXpertMan]

My only question is "why didn't they investigate the effectiveness of biodegradable plastics, before they marketed and started using such materials?"

[@jackmcfadden-finlayson372]

The green

[@someperson5506]

$$$$$

[@moontitanzan]

Dollar dollar bills

[@TheSwayzeTrain]

Some of the main biodegradable plastics are still derived from petrochemicals. The oil industry. As someone already pointed out, its all about money.

[@BattousaiHBr]

for the same reason cigarretes are still sold and avdertised.

[@BridlingtonWarrior]

I'm sorry but how the fuck was this not tested?

[@666Tomato666]

marketing droids

[@NOVAKza]

"Hey we have a hot new invention for you, it speeds up the process" "Is it tested?" "Not yet but it'll cool people down politically now so you should buy in" "Sold." Years pass. No testing is done, a brilliant person runs away with the cash.

[@Meloncov]

The Louberforce Network I'm guessing, but I'd imagine there were tests that suggested it worked, they just didn't translate to real-world conditions.

[@DexLuther]

To be fair. The video mentioned only one type of biodegradable plastic (unless I missed something. He does talk kinda fast), and there are a ton of different types of biodegradable plastics and other materials. The type of plastic mentioned might not have worked, but I don't think that means that none of them do.

[@KainYusanagi]

***** Also only a very short period of time, in terms of how long it takes plastics to degrade.

[@epicpolyphony]

Dare I say, the Atlantic is running amoc?

[@zaneisfine]

+epicpolyphony *Bashes my head against desk* I NEED TO FORGET BAD PUN

[@MichaelSHartman]

That's cold bro.

[@Velociter]

My science class did a year long experiment to test biodegradable plastics. We buried a plastic bag, biodegradable plastic eating utensils, and organic matter in the ground near our school and waited to see how well each object decomposed. At the end of the school year we dug up everything and the only thing that actually decomposed was the organic stuff. Both the regular and "biodegradable" plastics didn't.

[@ruru6643]

Thanks (´,,•ω•,,)

[@vectoredthrust5214]

Wait, ordinary plastics that are simply TREATED with additives are considered "Biodegradable?" I thought that label was only reserved for actual bio-polymer plastics derived from Plants or Bacteria like PLA, at least I know that's the case here in the European Union. You can't call a plastic something "biodegradable" if it's still derived from oil

[@duckwhistle]

You can call anything biodegradable, if biological organisms can degrade it. What it's made from is irrelevant.

[@SjMk1.]

duckwhistle yeah but as this video is stating, chemical additives to oil based plastics don't work, hence his comment. Hemp plastic ftw.

[@Volvith]

FrediFirethorn Hemp plastic is not going to work, for a good few reasons, mainly for the reason that you're gonna get a lot of food poisoning if you pack food and things that contain bacteria, that are normally kept out of the food through plastic, in hemp plastic. Glass the the solution here, not bio plastics.

[@bazookallamaproductions5280]

No, bio degradable literally just means "able to be degraded by biological sources". You're thinking of something else.

[@emrock8729]

think thats the definition of biodegradable in US...lols

[@stephen1r2]

Oh; this is old. It just popped up for some reason. The "Biodegradable" additives only speed up _UV_ catalyzed degradation from what I remember. This also tends to result in microplastic shards as things progress.

[@edi9892]

He could have mentioned two related problems: mechanical degradation to nanoparticles (which end up in the food-chain and cause irritation/immune response) leaking plastizers: they can mess up our hormon-houshold and thus affect our development or simply make us ill. The problem is that 50-90% of our food and water are in contact with plastic.

[@audreymew7650]

Do another video on new biodegradable plastics! Like stuff made out of corn and seaweed lol, pls.

[@sallylemon5835]

Seaweed, is it the material used by Coffee Bean for their latest edition straws? Curious though, as the straws seems to be somewhat jelly composition, solid hard without water, soft to quickly soluble with water +time

[@AndreaCrisp]

That's not plastic actually. Plastic is made from petrochemicals not plants.

[@Bmonkeygurl]

In the late 80s, I tested a package of biodegradable garbage bags (for an elementary school science project) to see if they would degrade under various circumstances, like in sunlight, buried, in shade, etc. I concluded at the time that they didn't degrade in that time window, but might with more time. This video was interesting. I wish I had the foresight at the time to write down the ingredients. I am curious now.

[@saber1epee0]

I love all the scishow hosts, but there's definitely an added excitement to watching a hank episode. Especially a hank-talking-about-the-environment video.

[@spikeguy33]

Well as a matter of fact, i AM happy about the way scishow is now! I'm so glad you guys have gotten rid of that "progress bar" that would fill up as the host talks about a subject, it was driving me crazy!

[@waseealam7136]

I don't know, I kinda liked it better.

[@waswestkan]

What progress bar? I don't see one, other than the one at the bottom that's been there all the time.

[@mt_xing]

Wasee Alam yeah, I liked the progress bar.

[@orlandojones3973]

waswestkan look at their older SciShow news vids and look where the topics are on the left hand side; there is a little "bar" that fills up that part of the screen as his talks.

[@superdhebz]

Hahaha I thought I was the only one!

[@sashablfc]

What about the "corn plastic"? I've seen that biodegrade myself...

[@Nancy-uo9hk]

Corn plastics are bioplastics(different from biodegradable plastics). Unlike biodegradable plastics, which are treated with synthetic additives, bioplastics are manufactured from organic material, so they can actually be compostable. Problem is though, they take alot of resources(agriculture which can otherswise be eaten) to create.

[@hotpockets2224]

@@Nancy-uo9hk how many ears of corn does it take to make a dozen plastic bags? i dont think its that much, is it? but i dont know what else it takes to turn corn into plastic

[@hamham1498]

Seaweed is also an option, it will also help the "overproduction" of seaweed in asia

[@sambhav1686]

Corn starch bags cost nearly 10 times the plastic bags which presents a weak business case for adoption. Problem is looking for a cheaper alternative. Packaging material is a cost to the company and they would like to keep it low.

[@maaaaaay]

@@Nancy-uo9hk not all bioplastics are biodegradable, either. Being a bioplastic just means that it's made from biological compounds; biodegradability depends on the final polymer structure of the plastic (crystallinity, molecular weight, stuff like that!)

[@Freshbott2]

I used to work at Target in Australia and we had biodegradable bags. I buried one to find out if they worked and sure enough in a few weeks it had disappeared. That was a few years ago and they've since gone back to normal plastic bags.

[@samirsavani3853]

Can you tell me from which ingredients they were made of?

[@Freshbott2]

@@samirsavani3853 from corn starch

[@lemonade-os1rj]

There is a particular mall in my country uses biodegradable plastic bag.. and it really works after a month of storing it in the drawer for future used i notice that it becomes brittle over time and turned powdery over a period of time so i think it still works

[@linuxbasic3399]

yeah it turns into microplastic... still not degraded to nutrients that can be absorbed by living matter

[@BigTerKC]

I love your shows! And I always give them a thumbs up, and I just noticed that it says at the moment of this message, that this program has had 986 views and 2,688 'thumbs up'.

[@thomasca]

Oh my god, OF COURSE they aren't biodegradable! Why is it that every "green" or "organic" claim from some company always turns out to be completely false?

[@murimurimrui]

Marketing baby~

[@mrichar9]

Goverment subsidies It's a fad.

[@intelex22]

Why is it that EVERY person using superlatives demonstrates they don't know enough to understand they don't know enough? #Rumsfeld

[@user-ze8ce4ov5d]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oX-2l3mtl7mBaqs

[@gregameele5742]

What if we made an organism that eats plastic

[@toxic1698]

There already is a bacteria that does it just works really slowly and doesn't do well and certain environments.

[@thomasslone1964]

remember invasive species? we'd have to make these things really tough to survive any where plastic is, they'd only help speed up the degradation a little bit and around the world their presence could and would upset dozens to hundreds of environmental niches, why not just recycle all the plastic we can since we are about to run out of oil

[@yannmergezs2820]

Greg Ameele that's how zombie apocalypse start

[@intelex22]

If we did, one day your car will fall off the wheels it was riding on when you brake. Pretty much every plastic is biodegradable with enough time and proper conditions. But the relatable answer is like why people at a buffet don't solely feast on the most pitch-white iceberg lettuce at the beginning of the trough line. There's better stuff.

[@artificialintelligence2653]

Hey bro the bacteria Ideonella Sakaiensis can degrade plastic. Check on the google.

[@paultsanaktsidis2046]

Can I suggest that a copy on how to source this video be in the description! Very useful information! Good job SciShow

[@spikejoseph5482]

What about those plastics that are made from various starches from rice and potatoes? Are those also shit?

[@jonamahee]

+Seamus Spike I was wondering the same thing. My 3d Printer uses PLA (Polylactic Acid) plastic which has been touted as biodegradable. I did a bit of reading and it still requires certain processes to help break it down. One of it's biggest advantages is that it can be broken down and reconstituted into virgin PLA with no difference in quality.

[@spikejoseph5482]

Jonny Hovenden Wow, that's pretty sweet. Why aren't we using this everywhere. Oh yeah, oil makes money...

[@CemKalyoncu]

+Jonny Hovenden It requires constant ~60°C for a week before it can be degraded. Easy in a specific composting environment, not so much in sea or soil.

[@ragnkja]

The thought that the Gulf Stream might be interrupted may be a bummer if you live in the US, but it's absolutely terrifying if you live in northern Norway. I live a degree north of the Arctic Circle, and if that stream of warm water wasn't heating the ocean here, we'd literally have Arctic temperatures. Also, I'm pretty sure such a sudden change in temperature would be devastating for the flora and fauna in the area.

[@mangogirlruth]

Thanks Hank!! I really enjoyed this video and I finally understood how the warming climate change has an effect on making it more cold in the north! Also I'd love to learn more about other products that have a factor in climate change and the degradation of the environment. Like does modern day hairspray still have the same effects as back in the 50s? Keep up the good work!

[@victnat8231]

Hello! It would be great if you could do a video on alternatives to plastic straws. Thank you for your work!

[@chalzoo]

Well come on down to Enid Oklahoma where the weather is mild and all the storms seem to go around, literally always sunny. Windy tho.

[@kevinrosengold5073]

The part about biodegradable plastic is so wrong and inaccurate. 0:27 "plastic doesn't biodegrade" It depends on the polymer, mainly on the "backbone" (chainlinks). Many polyesters (especially polylactides, but not PET), PVOH, some polyamides and some polyurethanes are biodegradable. 0:39 "microorganisms can't eat plastics" partly true: in most cases they can not "eat" (assimilate) the polymer as it is, but they can break the polymer-chains of some plastics and assimilate pieces of them. 0:46 "by the suns UV-radiation" thats called oxo-degradation, we will come to that later. oxo-degradation is NOT biodegradation. 0:56 "treated with additives to biodegrade faster" no! it mainly depends on the backbone, additives can HELP to degrade faster 1:12 PE (pololefine) and PET (though a polyester) chains can normally not be biodegraded. thats why metals ar addet to induce oxo-degradation, wich needs UV-light and oxigen. this was already done, but not too successful: too much metal - material gets weak. too less metal: stable, but parts are too big to get assimilated by microorganisms. 1:28 "in containers" oxodegradation needs UV-light 2:03 "they use so-called biodegradable plastics in their packaging" if they want to call it biodegradable packaging, it has to fit ISO 13432 wich demands decay in less than 6 month. The method of mesuring the gasses is included in there too (in ISO 14855), so it was certainly NOT PE and PET what they sold as biodegradable. your video is uninformed and misleading, do some research next time please.

[@victorpeinado6986]

+Kevin Rosengold Very well explained. Congratulations. At this point, 475K viewers have seen a completely wrong video about "bioplastics", which is a shame....

[@intelex22]

Finally, someone who knows something. Toss the idea of abiotic or co-metabolic reactions and you have already lost 99.9% of people. Why does plastic exposed to ultraviolet light able to be degraded faster?

[@urvashisangwan8858]

@intelex22 Couldn't agree more!

[@MayankJairaj]

Yes please don't fall for oxo-degradation Could some please tell me about PSM ie Plas-starch material? Is it biodegradable or not

[@TessaBain]

Never hit me until just now, and I have to say it. So... You might say, the water in the Alantic Ocean is... Running AMOC?

[@germimonte]

idk, on Uruguay biodegradable bags work, had a couple of them on a dark box and after some years they turned into a million little and bridle scales

[@Peppermint1]

There are two types : biodegradable and compostable. The compostable ones are made of plant starch and will degrade in any environment and are the most environment friendly. The biodegradable ones are made of chemicals added with microorganisms and need special facilities to be degraded and leave residues. Biodegradable bags do not degrade properly if buried in the soil. Look for bags that says Compostable on the box.

[@dashlambda6707]

Damnit Greenland, this is all your fault.

[@93DavidJ]

Give me a tl;dr

[@whynotwynaut2427]

David Jeffers Greenland is leaking massive nuclear waste into the Hudson Bay which over time can build up to cause the Victorian islands being essentially inhabitable.

[@whynotwynaut2427]

David Jeffers Greenland is leaking massive nuclear waste into the Hudson Bay which over time can build up to cause the Victorian islands being essentially inhabitable.

[@dashlambda6707]

David Jeffers Greenland's ice sheets are melting, which is weakening oceanic thermal currents and causing a bunch of weird stuff.

[@93DavidJ]

Dash Lambda And what does this have to do with biodegradable plastic?

[@lootrpv90]

Umm.. I'm not sure I understand. In certain parts of Europe (Poland, in my case) we've been using biodegradable plastic bags for a long time now. I have personally seen the older (~2yrs old) of these bags I have to start degrading (they first lose their horizontal bonds, turning into a hair-like mesh). Perhaps the study described here only investigated one type of biodegradable plastic?

[@lordfelidae4505]

Based on your description, I think the issue is it isn’t ‘degrading,’ it’s breaking. The chemical doesn’t change, the plastic just frays and becomes smaller bits. Aka, microplastics.

[@ElleDeas]

Coming back to this during Winter 2019 in the USA is priceless.

[@deinonychus1948]

The intro music never gets old!

[@teagan_p_999]

"If the Climate could just stop changing, that'd be great." It would be, but it won't unless we stop changing it.

[@yippaindahood2642]

Its natural tho,look at the major ice age,and the other ice age after that

[@teagan_p_999]

Yes, but we're changing it faster than it's supposed to, which is having adverse effects on many things. See the SciShow videos "Mass Extinctions," and "Who will survive the 6th mass extinction." But if you don't "believe" in climate change, I don't have time to argue with you, except to say we're ruining the planet for ourselves and our descendants in more ways than just rising temperatures.

[@Raptorifik]

and we were actually showing signs of going into another ice age (scheduled in about 5 thousand years) but then in the 60s scientists began to notice that the Earth to get noticeably warmer, which they thought was odd. And now we have a huge amount of data showing why. Some places will become drier, some places will become colder and the Earth overall will be warmer.

[@GarryDumblowski]

+UnknownPlayer ...No, it's all our fault. Although I might add that I'm pretty sure the original quote was a joke?

[@GarryDumblowski]

***** ok then.

[@TheReligiousAtheists]

"We need to stop using fossil fuels and use solar energy instead." -Aristotle.

[@crazystuff3538]

What are fossil fuels and why use solar?

[@Projectdarksource]

@@crazystuff3538 oil, petroleum, gasoline. These are fossil fuels.

[@mohanaryal677]

I didn’t know Aristotle had idea about fossil fuels or solar energy back in the past🤔

[@gonzalot.605]

Solar energy it's pretty cringe. Go nuclear!

[@thatguy7155]

@@gonzalot.605 Well it's cool and all but it's expensive, hard to maintain, risky, and not a long term solution

[@voiceofreason3358]

You did a show about 2 years ago about why we need sleep. I was wondering if you could maybe do a show about the different stages of sleep and sleep cycles?

[@aceeilnox_25]

Such a good video since we're learning about this in class!!!

[@sixtopian]

"Target? We don't need no stinkin' Target" - Canada

[@33brianmorris]

Do you even PLA bro?

[@Rebar77_real]

Episode looked awesome! Thanks to all who can kick a few bucks for the rest of us eh. Real mvp's!

[@RealTwistedTwin]

I like the new intro a lot more than the older one :D I just realised that

[@crazed357]

my project car had a plastic bag for in the back that was +10years old. I tried to pick it up and it disintegrated in my hands. flaked into a thousand little pieces. so I don't think this videos accurate.

[@GoldSrc_]

UV light does that to plastics, which is nothing like bio-degradation.

[@hunterbowman5150]

Gordon Freeman they mention that in the video, but I think the part that Saucy is referring to being inaccurate is the "taking centuries." I have seen this happen to plastic bags left outside for a few days.

[@GregHib]

Is it still good to recycle plastic?

[@imfrommanndame]

No, you should definitely consume it.

[@GregHib]

imfrommanndame Oh good thing I've been digesting waste packaging for the last few years then!

[@SidCurry2]

I heard it makes dropping your morning deuce even snappier!

[@BottleWaterson]

RCGFilms also makes you bleed from the inside, exiting out both your ass and mouth while defecating, haven't tried this but what's stopping you >:}

[@TroggacomCactus]

Grog Recycling plastic is different. They can do more things with it. Much better to recycle than to throw it on the side of a road.

[@carschmn]

Pretty sure Hank showed up singing on my Hulu ads. It was trippy. I was like "This isn't KZbin!"

[@FlashYourJak]

I might not be correct in terms of things being able to break down the plastic and absorb them, but in england plastic shopping bags that are biodegradable break into pieces after a year or so. I packed loads of things up in them, stored them away and when i went to get the bags they disintergrated into tiny pieces

[@WilliamLevasseur]

I am concerned that this video will create confusion among your viewers. Polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA) is biodegradable. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid It's used abundantly in 3D printing and I've always assumed it was biodegradable. PLA is also used to make biodegradable cups, mulch film for agriculture, packaging and the famous biodegradable bag for compost. This last one I am CERTAIN is biodegradable, since it starts to turn to mud if I don't take out the trash soon enough. I have no doubt about this research that was done on those other non-biodegradable plastics with additives that made fake claims. Yet, I don't recall ever seeing them anywhere or hearing about them before today. I am worried that viewers will watch your video and assume afterwards that all bio-plastics are the product of misleading advertising, which is not true. You should have made a distinction there. The result may be that those people may turn away from earth friendly materials, for fear of having been mislead. I suggest that you do an addendum video. Maybe a QQ about PLA. Just to set the record strait. I'm usually a big fan of SciShow, but I feel you dropped the ball on this one.

[@EasterWitch]

This was a really depressing episode :-(

[@malignor9035]

I got a free rain poncho made of biodegradable plastic and it disintegrated into little bits within about 16 months. The question is - did it get eaten (biodegrade) or did it just deteriorate into smaller inedible parts?

[@AngelikiKanellopoulou]

What do you mean "no physical degradation"? When I happened to forget throwing away one of these grocery bags, it breaks apart into little flakes and eventually turns into dust. Do you mean that this dust does not degrade further? Or is it that you have different types of biodegradable bags in the U.S., than we have here in Europe?

[@daveharrison84]

Except for Europe, there is hardly anywhere in the world where many people live north of 50 degrees. That's because north of 50 degrees it is brutally cold, except in western Europe. The Atlantic Ocean currents make Europe warmer than it should be that far north. If the Atlantic currents change then Europe will get much colder, and they won't be able to farm there, and people won't want to live in the cities, and it will devastate their economy.

[@sidsnuggles]

I think this upload is very misleading, if not not completely inaccurate. Selke et al's paper that has been cited only says that biodegradation promoting additives don't make a difference to the rate of biodegradation of plastics. Most of the biodegradable plastics you get in the store are not polyethylene or polyethene with additives, they are completely manufactured from plant based sources, like cellulose (cellophane) and starch. In USA, BPI certified plastics are generally 100% biodegradable... which does not necessarily mean compostable.. While biodegradable plastics do exist, they are more expensive, not all plastics have a biodegradable substitute. This video implies that all biodegradable plastics aren't biodegradable.

[@nicholasjohnson7844]

Hey, I have really enjoyed the number of environment related videos lately; is there a chance that you could make a video about vegetarianism/veganism either about the science there within or the cultural taboos surrounding each? Or even just the science of food system processes. I would be really interested to see what you'd find and what your take would be. Thanks! And keep doing what you do. -Your fan

[@toyodathon08]

Why would dense water go toward the equator?

[@KajuneK8]

Fucking Day after tomorrow is coming....

[@LamirLakantry]

Ahg! His hair grew out again!

[@mrbirdie555]

Hag! Who cares!

[@mrbirdie555]

Ahg*

[@Naiadryade]

Movie magic!

[@LamirLakantry]

Naiadryade Time travel. It's the only explanation. No wait... He's got a twin!

[@Naiadryade]

EE Ehrenberg OMG, it's Dave Green!

[@HelloImCarter]

I miss the little slider-"clock" on the left side that would crawl downward as the segment progressed. :-(

[@evanjames575]

For the first time in my life time, it's January in Canada and there's been no snow for a while, it's quite warm compared to the norm.

[@evanjames575]

The best part is the Americans in the comments that don't think climate change is real lmao. I'm not saying I hate global warming. But almost every year now is a record warm year where I live. Some people just can't see past their basement window.

[@nels6991]

0:40 "micro-organisms can't eat plastic" not so true, some microbes can: phys.org/news/2016-03-newly-bacteria-plastic-bottles.html

[@nels6991]

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25384056

[@KingHalbatorix]

>2015 video >links 2016 article

[@nels6991]

Noted. But I'm not trying to disprove the video, I just share the info in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

[@KingHalbatorix]

Nels Wedin aight tha's cool

[@burt591]

I miss the progress bar, I really liked it

[@GalanDun]

If you guys could bring back a combination of the original Scishow mark-off topic bar with the second version that scrolls between topics, combined with the new format, that would be very aesthetically pleasing.

[@tabithad5146]

The part about the plastics was interesting. I agree with other commenters when it comes to why this wasn't tested before, haha. Though, what's happening when plastic bags disintegrate? At my house, we fill those big garbage bags with empty plastic bottles, and when it's full, we take them to the recycling place. I always have to put them in a different bag first though, because by that point, the garbage bag starts to fall apart in my hands. So I get surprised when people say plastic takes so long to decompose.

[@thepower7803]

I live in florida. COME ON ICE SHEETS, LETS MELT WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!

[@ahmadene]

The Power some place will get colder while some place get warmer

[@thepower7803]

Ahmad Ba'agil It was a joke.

[@T3hJimmer]

The Power You want to be underwater?

[@thepower7803]

jimhemstreet Read the comment above

[@yippaindahood2642]

it cool to live in underwater tho

[@BrockAband]

Ya'll complainin about global warming when mammoths and sabertooths etc. had to deal with the biggest global warming ever? Smh

[@ismailmoallin7797]

Straight up first world problems

[@CarlxBen]

Julian Acabal lol yea...and now they're all dead...

[@jlukes5790]

***** Ya got it in one lol

[@emperorpalpatine9841]

Lol

[@jlukes5790]

***** predator animals track and hunt certain species just like early humans did. Back then we were not that special, only have created basic rudimentary tools and language. No I firmly believe that it was the environmental changes that truly killed those animals.

[@MissDaisylicious7]

I have a question, what's the evolution behind the different blood types that everybody has? Not only the exact reason why we develop different, but how it all became the way as we know it. I'm really curious about that. Thanks

[@JannaEllisKepley]

Hi! I like your bit on biodegradable plastic. I've recently been exposed to the notion that latex balloons are somehow safer for the environment because they, supposedly, degrade "as fast as an oakeaf". (Animals eating them and choking/dying aside) I'm wondering if you would do some digging, and a little SciShow, on the biodegradability of latex. I've seen good, reasonably supported, arguments on both sides. (I do have a bias: people release balloons in rememberance etc, and it's dangerous aerial litter. Balloon companies claim latex ones are biodegradable and therefore safer.)

[@MukaMoko]

WE DIDN'T LISTEN!

[@insanomonkey]

NO YOU DIDN'T!

[@kratos_hu]

It is annoying how you guys start to talk about a way different topic than the title at the end of every video.

[@MomCheeto4]

Exactly what I was thinking!! But imo, it slipped onto something different WAY before the end of the video. Although fast talk, saying "research" in front of and after everything and scientific jargon and acronyms do convince/impress a lot of people.

[@lol...]

There are two topics, one of which is in the title (first one) You can see the topics at the side...

[@sohanpreetkaur3343]

Hey pls tell what about bags made of maize and corn starch ? Do they degrade?

[@Joshimitsu20]

Can we just acknowledge how amazing this planet is? There are life forms here that recycle matter at the chemical level for use by life forms higher up the chain of complexity.

[@truth1901]

It costs loads of money to buy a camera and a person to talk for 5 minutes, that is why you need to give them your money.

[@Rickmakes]

Why would we want plastics to biodegrade (and release methane)? Let's just keep burying the plastic (i.e. Carbon) and let the landfill act as a carbon store. We should focus on people discarding of their trash in the wrong places so it doesn't end up in the ocean.

[@seogoratjk]

Why bury it when you could spend money to recycle the damned thing instead?

[@TheFalrinn]

seogoratjk Depends on what your goal is. If you want to sequester carbon, then burying the plastic (and really any high-carbon waste) deep enough that it doesn't meaningfully interact with the biosphere is actually a very workable idea. If your goal is to get the most use of the least amount of raw materials (which has it's own merits), then recycling is the way to go.

[@alec8182]

Maybe we should dig a hole through the mantle and put the plastic and wast stuff in there :P

[@jlukes5790]

Alec Joseph We cant the Russians tried and they didnt really get that far from the crust.

[@seogoratjk]

Alec Joseph Even if we could dig that deep of a hole it would almost immediatly become a volcano and we would get a bigger problem.

[@tsuchan]

The difficulty this result about plastic bags gives me, is that I've seen them biodegrade. I've left carrier bags in a store room by the window, and the biodegradable one largely crumbled part in my hand, like it was shredded.

[@lemme_c_ur_buns9102]

Hey It's been 5 years. Has there been any progress on this topic?

[@IshowFUNNYvids]

Facebook, I couldn't care less if a Nigerian tribe has access to internet. Please stop with the ads.

[@SantosRey]

eh?

[@dingovory]

Brenton Kludt I haven't seen a KZbin ad in years

[@IshowFUNNYvids]

dingovory "I can download Adblock, I'm technologically advanced"

[@SantosRey]

that doesn't make any sense

[@fancyorangemittens]

Brenton Kludt wut

[@loganv0410]

Is this the Sci Show or the Pretend-the-British-Scientists-Didn't-Lie-About-Meteoroligical-Records Show?

[@sacr3]

loganv0410 Oh yes, every tiny bit of scientific evidence towards this type of change in the world is obviously a lie, hell, energy is a lie, atoms are a lie, oxygen is a lie, hell lets just discard everything scientists spend their life working on cause it goes against our own thinking, right? No one likes to hear the truth, we love to remain ignorant because we're comfortable in these zones. Doubt is healthy when it comes to data/theories, because it forces them to provide the real evidence. But to deny everything about a particular subject because you don't like to hear it, or are simply Biased towards it (Like Climate Change), well then that makes you a fool.

[@woodfur00]

Neither. It's SciShow.

[@tomshraderd4915]

Yes, it's Sci Show, not Shaping-Its-Content-To-Pander-To-What-You-Want-To-Hear Show.

[@animaljp3]

all climitologists agree with those british scientists.

[@MHGenesis]

sacr3 It seems like op has hit a nerve there.

[@luciferangelica]

you know, i had an idea. can we go get the ice when it breaks off greenland and take it to somewhere with a depleting aquifer?

[@mrbigheart]

awesome new look!! keep the intro!! :D

[@LeavingGoose046]

sorry, even if humans were never to walk the Earth the climate would still change,

[@jackvetter7433]

But we screwed it up so that it affects us. Nobody really cares about the Earth's health and climate, they just care about how it would affect themselves and civilization.

[@gabriellebass1591]

Yes, but it's not warming at a normal rate. There's a lot of information about it on the Internet

[@LeavingGoose046]

Gabrielle Bass He made a comment on how he wished the climate would stop changing, so that's why I put that

[@-ragingpotato-937]

it will change but in a way that... you know... it wont kill most species on earth.

[@murimurimrui]

Earth's health? Pretty sure the Earth doesn't have an HP bar like humans. It's literally a ball of rock, a habitable one, but a ball of rock nonetheless. Although we only care about the Earth's "health" and "climate" because it would be inhabitable to humans. But, if it comes to that situation, the Earth would continue to spin and rotate as dictated by the laws of physics, and not give a shit about it becoming inhabitable or not..

[@Celeste-in-Oz]

There is a cellulose based alternative that I've encountered - used to make bottles, toothbrushes & sponges etc. It feels nice, looks nice and seems durable. Why isn't it used more? Also, there's a difference between biodegradable & degradable. I've had bags made of degradable plastic that disintegrate right in front of me. But it's structural, not chemical (ie just breaking into smaller pieces). I've heard this plastic 'dust' is accumulating in the food chain & on the ocean floor.

[@joshcolby7011]

I was waiting for so long for him to make a Day After Tomorrow reference. Haha

[@joniharr]

I don't know if things are different here in Europe or Finland more specifically, but I have never seem biodegradable plastic made of normal plastic with additives, All those I have seen on sale are made from maize and they at least degrade very quickly, almost too quickly since sometimes the bag seem to degrade before you have the time to take out your compost especially if you put wet stuff in it and then you don't take it out for over a weel

[@SCM]

these were the good old times with the full length jingle in the beginning of the video...

[@Belicose777]

I'd like for the differences in land altitude to be put into perspective. Say Denver in comparison to New Orleans or any part of Florida.

[@kjenk19]

I just got my windows tinted and was wondering why flat/shiny (road and glass mostly) surfaces look purple/green when I wear polarised sunnies?

[@josephjackson1956]

Did anyone else notice the top left corner of the topic box slowly get peeled off?

[@youraveragegamercan]

i got a plastic bag from Colombia when I bought something, it said bio degradable, a year or so later it fell apart in my hands when I picked it up, so it works, idk what they're talking about

[@Christopher-N]

Thank you, *SciShow.* I was wondering why biodegradable plastics wasn't as widespread as I had expected. Sure, some plastic parts you don't want to biodegrade, but food containers and plastic shopping bags we do. I'm saddened to now know why it's not a thing.

[@Himmler245]

Christopher Noel 100%Biodegradable materials are expensive. they are the main reason why they are not popular

[@Irishrebel092]

this may be a really a long shot, but could the panama canal be causing the cooling? i mean up until we built the canal, the Pacific and Atlantic stayed mostly separate. but now, for 101 years, massive amounts of water from the two oceans have been mixing and cooling/warming each other.

[@georgeszweden9497]

On one side it's scary, but so many times we were told the worst possible stuff and shit still hasn't change.

[@chrisstangeland8530]

what about plastic from hemp?

[@AlayShah]

Love the new intro, guys!

[@aejlindvall]

I Sweden there has been a push for plasic bags made from suger can (though I don't understand how they work, but you can find them in most stores now a days), is it the same problem with this type of plastic? Because they say it's biodegradable as well.

[@tylerhyder-hobson2685]

Ah yes, perfect weather, in Mildura tomorrow it's going to be 38°C..... We're only halfway through spring!!

[@minerdalta]

I store plastic bags in a cupboard to use as trash bags and one of the convenience store i often go to uses biodegradable plastic bags. I am no expert on this and thus have no idea what kind it was, but in one occasion where i accidentally let one bag slipped under the bed for about 1 year (Uni student that work, so too busy to check all places), it was already tattered. Not totally ripped to shreds, but it is very weak, had a lot of holes ranged from small to medium size and cannot be used properly as plastic bags anymore. Not that it was under observation though, but i don't keep any pets to shred it so. Maybe the test needs to be broadened.

[@LyamOfficial]

There is a chance that it was PLA plastic bag and that the degradation speed up with a warm climate (assuming you have one) and the oxigen of you room if it was well ventilated , another option is that PLA since it is a plastic usually made from Corn Starch it gives off a smell similar to a semi-sweet cooking oil so little insects could have eat up some of the plastic , but your opinion still holds in my opinion , maybe some bags are better made for biodegradation , iunno :P.

[@minerdalta]

The climate in Indonesia is very warm. One of the common jokes here is that we have two seasons here: the hot season and the very hot season. And yes it was well-ventilated. The plastic was near a window actually. One problem to the little insects theory is that i had thought about it when i found the bag, so i checked for insect droppings on the bag and near where the bag was. There were none, to my surprise. But i could also be going senile and forgot the bag had holes all along. What is a man on internet compared to researchers with a lab access haha.

[@sojusake]

interesting study. I've actually had biodegradable plastic bags disintegrate after months of storage in a drawer or cupboard

[@MilaJenny]

awesome topic, thanks for sharing.

[@shri03992]

I wonder how it is with potato starch based plastic, cause I believe I've noticed that stuff desolving a couple of times already

[@BriWhoSaysNi]

What about the "plastic" utensils and such made from corn or whatever? Those are still good right?

[@okilstop4113]

What is plastic made of?

[@Aaron.Reichert]

I kind of want a ringtone where he says whatever it was that a AMOC stands for

[@hokh1753]

The video is just point out something in concept but not in details saying what samples they had been used for the test and what kind of professional test the sample is being tested. So may i treat it is not a professional video and just a reference is quite fun.