Staff Writer
AUGUSTA, Maine – Development of environmentally friendly plastic from Maine potatoes received a huge boost recently with the signing of a contract to award a $200,000 grant from the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) to a consortium led by InterfaceFABRIC, Inc., a Maine-based manufacturer. The MTI grant leverages an additional $459,000 in matching funds from several Maine businesses and the Environmental Health Strategy Center, supported by a grant from the Kendeda Fund, a private foundation committed to sustainable economic development.
Over the next 18 months, the $659,000 project will fund research and development leading to the eventual production and commercialization of PLA (polylactic acid) plastic from Maine potatoes. Biobased PLA is non-toxic, petroleum free, and can be composted at the end of its useful life.
“We are excited about the investment of research funds to support the building of a new potato plastics technology sector in Maine,” said Stacie Beyer, corporate environmental manager for InterfaceFABRIC, Inc. “Our investments in sustainable products have been rewarded in the marketplace and we are committed to the successful development of new products that can be made in Maine from locally grown potatoes.”
“Maine will become a leader in environmentally friendly production of plastic through this collaboration,” said Mike Belliveau, executive director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center. “The result will be the creation of good, new jobs in clean and green manufacturing, a new market for Maine’s growers to tap into, and sustainable products for consumers in Maine and beyond.”
Over the next 18 months the project will:
• Demonstrate the feasibility of producing potato-based polylactic acid (PLA) plastic resin in the laboratory at the Process Development Center at the University of Maine at Orono.
• Identify performance characteristics and technical needs of PLA plastic for use in textiles, foams, hard plastics and packaging.
• Research the market conditions and opportunities for companies interested in using potato plastics through a study conducted by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center.
• Work with potato processors and growers to determine the optimum site of production facilities.
• Develop a trade association to exchange information, impact policy concerning PLA, educate consumers, and market Maine-made PLA products.
Bio-based plastics are made of starch from plants instead of petroleum. They can replace most petrochemical plastics used to make bottles, packaging, fabric and many other items. Corn-based PLA plastic from the Midwest is in use throughout the country.
In 2004, InterfaceFABRIC began making fabric for commercial interiors made entirely from the starch contained in corn. The idea to use Maine potatoes as a feedstock for plastic production grew out of an interest in using local materials to reduce the environmental footprint associated with the manufacture and transportation of corn from the Midwest. Other Maine businesses including personal care product company Tom’s of Maine and foam manufacturer Rynel, Inc. joined with InterfaceFABRIC in this project because they, too, would like to use locally produced, sustainable bioplastics for their products.
A study released by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine in June 2007 concluded Maine potatoes are an economically viable source for new production of bio-based plastics without displacement of any food crop. Ample fallow farm acreage exists to meet the needs of Maine’s businesses and the potatoes could be delivered to a processing facility in a cost effective manner.
The study also indicated that it is economically feasible for Maine potato growers to plant and harvest potatoes specifically for the manufacture of PLA using potato varieties that are currently grown. The planting, harvesting, and pre-processing of these potatoes would be no different than what the growers are currently doing. The report also concludes that the potato farmers would receive a price comparable to that currently being paid for tablestock potatoes.
Donald Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, said the consortium is now attempting to answer the question, “Can you economically make plastic with potato starch?”
“That’s the basic question that has to be answered today,” he said. “They’ve done it in Europe, but it’s proprietary. That technology isn’t all public, so anyone looking to do it has to go back and do the basic research themselves. What the group is doing now is the work that’s saying, ‘Once we have potato starch, can we now make it into plastic and make it economical?’”
Flannery said he met with officials July 15 to discuss the project.
“They wanted to know where the potato industry is on this,” he said. “The potato industry is where we were when we first got involved in this … we’re always looking for new uses for potatoes. We know we can make potato starch, and if you can make plastic out of it that’s biodegradable and good for the environment, that’s great.
“We know we can raise the potatoes,” said Flannery. “Essentially the shoe’s on the other foot. We’re seeing if they can come back and say, ‘It’s affordable. We can do it.’ The potato side isn’t the problem; we know we can raise the potatoes. If they come back to us at the end of 18 months and say, ‘This is very feasible and economical, and here’s what we’ve got together so we can go and raise money to do this,’ then we’re on board.”
Flannery said it’s the Maine Potato Board’s duty to look out for the interest of growers.
“We’ve got to look at a return to these growers,” he said. “From a sustainability standpoint, our growers are going to have to get paid for those potatoes. What we’ve proposed through this project is, ‘If you need X volume of raw potatoes, then you’re going to have to secure that on an ongoing basis for 12 months out of the year … you’re going to have to be contracting those potatoes.’”
In terms of plant location, Flannery said it makes sense to him that PLA would be “much cheaper to truck down the road than raw product.”
“It makes sense to me that you’d have a plant in Aroostook County or wherever the majority of those potatoes are going to be raised which, in Maine, would be Aroostook County,” he said, “and do the raw product processing and then ship the finished product to where it needs to go.”
Though supportive of the idea, Flannery said the project has to be sustainable for potato growers.
“I think this has potential; it can be done,” he said, “it’s just a matter of can it be done economically? We think it’s a great idea, but one of our issues is that we have to look at this as being a sustainable process for the grower, which means the grower has to be able to have a return on his investment. In Aroostook County terms, we’re not going to give them away.”
Rising petroleum prices coupled with an increase in market demand for “green” products have bolstered the demand for bio-based plastics. The biopolymer share of the plastic market is poised to grow from 1 percent now to 6-12 percent by 2010. Currently there is limited production capacity with only one company in the United States supplying bio-based plastic made from corn. The identified demand for bioplastic is eight times the 2008 expected capacity. Worldwide, the market for bioplastics is projected to reach between $15-30 billion by 2010 and $50 billion by 2015. If Maine companies captured and supplied even 1 percent of this market, the Maine bioplastics industry share would total $500 million.
