Poly lactic acid (PLA) plastic technology management for the Philippines' Plastic manufacturers/ Lina Madridano Constante

Dissertation

College of Industrial Education Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management Technological University of the Philippines 2019

Plastic is a vital part of almost every product that we use in our everyday living, providing many advantages and comfort due to its property of being lightweight, durable and cheap. However, due to man's concern on the environmental impact and continuing depletion of the finite tbssil fuel resource where the plastic comes from, this has lead to the development of green technologies such as the Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) plastics produced mostly from corn, which is a renewable resource. The study presented the status of operations of the local plastic manufacturers and their way of managing the PLA plastic technology in their production operations. In addition, the study was able to identify the practices, process, technology, adaptation, economics, issues and challenges, that the local plastic companies have encountered relative to PLA plastic technology. Best practices by the international plastic companies are also included in this paper. Twenty-two (22) plastic manufacturing companies participated in the research, with the production managers and supervisors and the president of the Philippine Plastic Industry Association as respondents. Most of these respondents were members of the Philippine Plastic Industry Association (PPIA) and are Filipino-Chinese owned and controlled corporations. In terms of manpower, the study revealed that 31.8% have less than 50 employees and 68.2% with more than 50 employees. For the location, 18.2% are in Bulacan, 9.1% in Caloocan, 9.1% in Cavite, 4.5% in Laguna, 4.5% in Las Pinas, 4.5% in Malabon, 4.5% in Marikina, 4.5% in Pampanga, 9.1% is in Mandaluyong, 9.1% in Quezon City, and 18.2% in Valenzula. In terms of number of operating years, 72% are 15 years and above. 14% has II to 15 years, and 14% with less than 10 years. For raw materials used, the highest consumption is the Polyethylene Tereplithalate (PET), next is Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), by Polystyrene (PS), Polypropylene (PP), and lastly Polyethylene (PE). No data of PLA consumption was indicated, as only a few pilot-test of PLA plastic production were done by the plastic manufacturers as part of their research and development. Among the issues and challenges faced by the local plastic companies in terms of PLA plastic production with reference to petrol-based plastics, are high production time which is 5 times longer; 50% higher cost of raw materials, no available raw materials from local suppliers, no market for PLA plastic products, difficult production due to the physical properties of PLA polymer resin as being powdery, temperature dependent and dense, and lastly the absence of government support in terms of technology and finance to adopt to this PLA plastic technology. Considering the cost-benefit analysis, it was established that the PLA technology adoption by our local plastic manufacturers is not viable due to the many variables that hinders the economic benefits and its sustainability. To further adopt the PLA plastic packaging process by our local plastic manufacturers, it is recommended that they be given appropriate support by the state through financial assistance, trainings, legislation of environmental laws to require local consumers to use environment friendly PLA plastic products. Without the help of the government, it is deemed best to buy the PLA plastic packaging products from the international market in our desire to lessen the environmental impact of petrol plastic products- Author's Abstract.