The Green Screen Rating

This score is a ranking based on how natural, eco-friendly, and non-toxic a product is, and is rated out of a possible total 5 stars.

STARS: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars for eco-friendliness
COMMENTS: This product targets three major environmental concerns: the use of petroleum to create plastics, the incredible waste involved in disposable plastic bottles that we use once and throw away, and the chlorine and other toxins in our drinking water. We have here a reusable water bottle made from corn, not petroleum, that comes with its own filter, making it ideal for filling with regular old tap water.

Additionally, New Wave recommends using this bottle for about 90 uses, then replacing, which means you can get a new, clean bottle, and avoid potential bacterial build-up that can occur over time in polycarbonate bottles. And you don't have to feel guilty when you finally do throw it out!!

We would like to stress that the agribusiness of corn has had some devastating effects on the environment, particularly the toxic contamination of our land from pesticides and fertilizers, and the threat to biodiversity from genetically modified organisms. We at The Greater Green do not feel this bottle is the perfect solution, by any means, but that if we continue to address these issues, there is great eco-potential for PLA. For the above reasons, we have bumped down the Green Screen Rating to 3 1/2 stars. But if the choice is between PET plastic bottles and PLA plastic bottles, we believe PLA to be a better alternative at this time. And, of course, reducing plastic use is the best solution of all!

So how does this corn plastic work? First, after corn is milled, dextrose is extracted from the starch. The starch is then turned into lactic acid (a by-product of fermentation and, in animals, respiration) using large fermenters. The lactic acid is then converted to lactide, and the lactide is linked into long chains or polymers, known as polylactic acid (PLA). Though it cannot replace polyethylene terephalate (PET) in every application because of lower melting point, there are still many possible applications. One major benefit of PLA is that it is compostable- and here's the catch - under commercial composting conditions, which means a composting facility that can maintain an internal composting temperature of 140 degrees for ten days straight (so you would not want to throw PLA into your backyard compost). Unfortunately, in a landfill, though no one is certain,  it is predicted that PLA might last almost as long as PET. Currently there are about 118 commercial composting facilities around the country. This is definitely a number that needs to be expanded.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
We have been spending some time researching both the benefits and drawbacks of PLA plastic, as well as the issue of using corn-based ethanol as an alternative fuel. We do not support the idea of corn-based ethanol as a viable alternative fuel, because there are so many other options for cars (hydrogen fuel cell, electric, solar, hybrid) that are more beneficial. We have not been able to find a better alternative to PET plastic, however. In an ideal world, we would eliminate plastic altogether, but we realize that for now, that is just not going to happen. We continue to support the continued development of biofriendly plastics while encouraging the reduction of plastic use.