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Making Bioplastics: an Investigation of Material-Product Relationships

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Making Bioplastics: an Investigation of Material-Product Relationships MAKING BIOPLASTICS: AN INVESTIGATION OF MATERIAL-PRODUCT RELATIONSHIPS Damla Tonuk (BSc, MSc) This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology Lancaster University Submitted February, 2016 Making Bioplastics: An Investigation of Material-Product Relationships Damla Tonuk (BSc, MSc) This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Submitted February, 2016 I declare that this thesis is my own work, and has not been submitted in substantially the same form for the reward of a higher degree elsewhere. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................ iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCING BIOPLASTICS AND THE MATERIAL-PRODUCT RELATIONSHIP ................................. 1 1.1 Main Motifs, Orientation and Positions ........................................................................................ 1 1.2 Bioplastics, Complexity of the Field, and Implications ................................................................... 7 1.3 Structure of the Thesis ............................................................................................................ 16 CHAPTER 2 CONCEPTUALISING MATERIALS AND DRAWING A FRAMEWORK TO STUDY BIOPLASTICS ............ 20 2.1 Conceptualising Materials ....................................................................................................... 23 2.2 How to Think About the Properties of Materials .......................................................................... 31 2.3 The Relationship between Materials and Products ..................................................................... 37 2.4 Studying Materials: Strategies to Analyse Bioplastics ................................................................. 42 2.4.1 Conceptualising Substitution ............................................................................................ 44 2.4.2 Conceptualising Processes of Making Visible (and Invisible) ................................................ 48 2.5 How Do These Approaches Direct My Study? ........................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 3 THE MULTIPLICITY OF BIOPLASTICS AND EMPIRICAL SOURCES .................................................. 53 3.1 Exploring the Field: The Multiplicity of Bioplastics ...................................................................... 54 3.2 Identifying the Key Makers of the Field ..................................................................................... 63 3.2.1 The Trade Magazine and Its Editor .................................................................................... 64 3.2.2 The Materials Producers .................................................................................................. 66 3.2.3 The Products made of Bioplastics and their Makers ............................................................ 75 3.3 The Interview Processes ......................................................................................................... 84 3.4 Collecting Data - Analysis Feedback Loop ................................................................................ 87 3.5 Concluding Remarks: Limits of My Approach ............................................................................ 89 CHAPTER 4 DEFINING NEW MATERIALS: CATEGORIZING AND STANDARDISING ............................................. 92 4.1 The ‘Umbrella Category’ Bioplastics: Its creation and usages ...................................................... 97 4.2 Sub-categories: Biobased and Biodegradable ........................................................................ 110 4.3 Standardising and Certifying the Sub-categories ..................................................................... 120 4.4 A Twist in Standardising and Certifying: Certifying Products as Opposed to Materials .................. 129 4.5 Conclusion: The Emerging and Changing Categories and Standards of Bioplastics .................... 131 CHAPTER 5 PRODUCING BIOPLASTICS: ELABORATING SPECIFIC QUALITIES ............................................... 133 5.1 Producing Materials and their Qualities ................................................................................... 137 5.2 Elaborating Qualities of Materials: Substituting with Ingeo ......................................................... 141 5.2.1 Substituting PET with Ingeo in Water Bottles ..................................................................... 145 5.2.2 Substituting with Ingeo in the Process of Production .......................................................... 153 5.2.3 Further-Production Processes ......................................................................................... 160 5.3 Production of Materials: Blends, Specialisation and Compromise .............................................. 162 5.4 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 170 CHAPTER 6 CONSTRUCTING BIOPLASTIC-NESS: MAKING BIOPLASTICS VISIBLE IN PRODUCTS .................... 172 6.1 Forms of Visibility and Material-Product Relationships .............................................................. 177 6.2 Defining New Relations for Disposal: Making the Waste Bag Compostable ................................. 180 6.3 Positioning Disposability: Making the Compostable Coffee Pod ................................................. 187 6.4 Making the Source Visible: The Case of the Biobased Bottle ..................................................... 192 6.5 Being Biobased: The Case of the Conspicuous Salad Bowl ...................................................... 198 6.6 Disposition and Invisibility ..................................................................................................... 201 6.7 Conclusion: Tensions between Visibility-Invisibility and Material-Product .................................... 205 CHAPTER 7 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................ 207 7.1 The Route Followed .............................................................................................................. 208 7.2 Drawing Conclusions: Material-Product Relationships .............................................................. 217 7.3 The Story Running Alongside: Defining Materials and Products ................................................. 219 7.4 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................................ 220 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 224 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................. 241 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Zuperzozial Raw Earth range ...................................................................................................... 77 Figure 3.2 Rob Falken with some of his ‘inventions’. .................................................................................... 79 Figure 3.3 Ecover's Message in their Bottles ............................................................................................... 81 Figure 4.1a Motto of FKuR, 4.1b Motto of Apinat Bio, 4.1c Motto of Myriant ............................................. 107 Figure 4.2 Compostability certification labels of Biodegradable Products Institute and Vinçotte ............ 126 Figure 4.3 Biobased quality certification labels of USDA and Vinçotte ..................................................... 127 Figure 5.1 Plastic granules ......................................................................................................................... 144 Figure 5.2 Biota Water Bottle made of Ingeo.............................................................................................. 146 Figure 5.3 Ingeo Clamshell Container ........................................................................................................ 150 Figure 5.4 Left: bottle, Right top: preform ................................................................................................... 155 Figure 5.5 Coffee packaging ...................................................................................................................... 164 Figure 6.1 A coffee pod .............................................................................................................................. 188 Figure 6.2 Plantplastic symbol on the right bottom of the bottle ................................................................ 194 Figure 6.3 Zuperzozial salad bowl .............................................................................................................. 199 Figure 6.4 ASDA potato packaging made of NatureFlex material of Innovia ............................................ 203 i ABSTRACT This study explores how bioplastics come into being and are changing by focusing on the relationship between bioplastic materials and the products
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