Sardinian thistles gets second life in biodegradable plastics

According to a recent study carried out by the University of Georgia, 275 million tons of plastic waste are produced each year around the world. Around 32 million tons of that plastic waste ends up on coasts and 8 million tons in the ocean — disfiguring beaches, polluting the environment and threatening biodiversity.

A solution to this problem could come from the cardoon, a thistle-like plant closely related to the artichoke. In northern Sardinia, it is being grown to produce the oils needed to make bioplastics.

As part of the “European Project “FIRST2RUN”,”:http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/197323_en.html the companies Novamont and Versalis have created a joint venture called “Matrìca”, aimed at using that plant to make plastic products that are all biodegradable and recyclable and will ultimately serve as fertilizers.

To make these bioplastics, oil is extracted from cardoon seeds and mixed with sunflower oil. Nothing in the plant gets wasted: the leaves and stem are burnt to