Sugarcane for Sustainability

I recently came across an interesting web article that introduced me to the huge potential of a popular plant.

There is an ongoing search for clean, renewable energy options to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Believe it or not, sugarcane has emerged to be an important alternative for meeting these needs. This powerful plant is grown in more than 100 countries and amazingly holds the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, diversify energy supplies and create jobs.

Humans have been cultivating sugarcane for centuries to produce sugar. Recent high-tech innovations have unlocked an extraordinarily diverse range of clean and renewable useful by-products of sugarcane. Besides sugar (the best known high energy and all natural sweetener), these value-added products include ethanol (a clean, affordable, and renewable transportation fuel), bioelectricity (leftover sugarcane biomass can be burned and converted into electricity), bioplastic (beverage containers, food packaging and other consumer products made with sugarcane) and  bio-hydrocarbons which is a milestone in sugarcane innovation because scientists are using the plant to produce fuels that could replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuel without needing petroleum.

Needless to say, such utilization of sugarcane has can unlock a number of benefits and solve serious challenges confronting global governments. This remarkable plant has the potential to lower green house gas emissions because sugarcane ethanol cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent on average compared to gasoline. Additionally, it can create jobs, as more than 100 countries cultivate sugarcane. Furthermore, it can reduce dependence on petroleum use and help create a healthier, cleaner planet. There will also be a notable economic growth because these 100 cane-growing nations are located in the tropics and are often developing countries that need economic opportunities.

However, while switching to sugarcane instead of fossil fuels seems like a perfect idea, there are some conflicting opinions to be considered in this regard.

Sugarcane production must expand to accommodate the booming demand for sugarcane derived-products (especially clean and renewable sugarcane ethanol). However, when switching to and producing the plant for such use, it is requisite to ensure sustainability compliance in terms of land use, labor conditions, food and energy, best practices and sustainability certification and reporting.

Resource use and stress on the environment due to farming also needs to be kept in mind. Plant-based polyethylene and sugarcane plastic will have a much lower carbon footprint than the conventional plastic because growing plants to make ethanol captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But farming sugarcane can put huge stress on the environment, by using up a lot of resources, relying on large plantations that use pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers as well as significant amounts of water.

Furthermore, disposal and biodegradability are also important aspects to be considered. The terms “bioplastic” or “plant-based” can be misleading. Materials classified as “bioplastic”, like sugarcane polyethylene, are plastics sourced from natural materials but aren’t necessarily biodegradable. Even if a plastic is classified as “biodegradable”, that just means it can be broken down by bacteria or fungi, but this can still take decades and leave toxic residue behind. And if it’s classified as “compostable”, meaning it can be broken down relatively rapidly into compost, it might still need high-temperature industrial processing to do so.

Just like conventional plastic, plant based plastics are recyclable but not biodegradable. If they gets into the environment they will still break up into micro-plastics thus not being able to provide a solution to our growing plastic pollution crisis. Plant based plastics will need to be green in true sense of the word and their life cycle must incorporate safe disposal and biodegradability, in addition to renewable raw materials and sustainable manufacturing techniques.

Sustainability must therefore include the product’s whole life cycle and the social conditions in which those raw materials are produced and products manufactured. Therefore, while sugarcane can be a good alternative to fossil fuels, it is not yet a perfect solution to replace fossil fuels. However, I do believe that with scientific and innovative research, this ‘sweet’ plant can contribute to a sustainable future.