Pesticide and Environmental Update
From
Chicken Feathers to Flower Pots
By Sharon Durham September 8, 2009
Chicken feathers, usually an unwanted byproduct of
poultry processing, may have a more valuable future as an ingredient in
biodegradable flower pots, according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
scientist.
Chemist Walter Schmidt, in the ARS Environmental
Management and Byproduct Utilization Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., has
been developing practical uses for discarded chicken feathers. Each year,
approximately 4 billion pounds of chicken feathers are left over after
processing in the United States.
Working with the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI)
in Washington, DC, Schmidt and HRI research associate Masud Huda have
formulated planting pots that degrade over variable periods of time,
ranging from one to five years.
The pots look and feel like any other plastic
planters encountered at your local nursery, but they are made to
disintegrate naturally, without harm to the environment. In fact, the pots—manufactured
without any petroleum components—would slowly release beneficial
nitrogen to the soil.
In 2002, Schmidt and Justin Barone, a former ARS
research associate, found feather-derived plastic could be molded just
like any other plastic and has properties very similar to plastics such as
polyethylene and polypropylene. This makes the feather-derived plastic a
unique material for packaging or any other application where high strength
and biodegradability are desired, according to Schmidt. In 2006, the
process of making composites and films from feather keratin was patented
by ARS.
Schmidt and Huda are now working to develop fully
biodegradable flowerpots. Several commercial pot manufacturers are
involved in this phase to determine optimum production-scale molding
specifications for the containers. According to Schmidt, the
"green" horticultural end products will not only help solve the
environmental problem by creating biodegradable plastics, but will also
provide a cost-effective commercial use for feathers.
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