“PLA (Polylactic Acid): A Rising Technology or An Emerging Threat?”

Year : 2024 Fall
Location: Cambridge, MA
Instructor: Alex Wall
Category: Ecology Domain Research Seminar
Duration: 3 months
Role: Individual Project; Researcher

“PLA (Polylactic Acid): A Rising Technology or an Emerging Threat?” is an educational booklet that challenges the widely held perception of PLA as an environmentally sustainable and biodegradable material. Through scientific research and interviews with industry professionals, it highlights the incompatibility of PLA with the current U.S. waste management system and warns of potential environmental risks, including microplastic pollution and methane emissions. The booklet proposes recycling as a more viable solution and compares the energy and material demands of recycling versus composting, ultimately revealing recycling’s greater potential for environmental sustainability.