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George Makrauer, President
Providing Services under Florida Corporation
Comad Property Management LLC
Founded 1972 in Ohio as Comad Corporation.

WASHINGTON - A proposal by Sen. John Glenn to encourage the government to buy plastics made from farm products received a lukewarm reception Tuesday by industry, agriculture and federal officials.

George A. Makrauer , president of Amko Plastics Inc. of Cincinnati, said he fears Glenn's bill would put biodegradable plastics on the market before the products have been tested. "There's a potential for disappointment,'' he said.

Other witnesses at a hearing chaired by Glenn echoed Makrauer 's comments.

While applauding Glenn's support, the experts said there are no standards for evaluating how well plastics made from farm products - such as corn starch - break down in the environment and how safe the remaining chemicals and plastic fragments are.

Glenn touted his bill as a way to increase non-food uses of agricultural products and reduce the amount of plastic filling the nation's landfills.

The National Corn Growers Association estimated that 300 million bushels of corn a year could be used in manufacturing degradable plastics. Americans throw away about 10 million tons of plastic a year - 7 percent of all garbage, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The bill would give the General Services Administration $20 million for each of the next three years to cover the cost difference between plastics made from agricultural products and plastics made from petroleum.

Despite the steady course urged by witnesses, Glenn clearly was ready to push ahead. Pointing to a plastic bag and milk jug, he said the technology exists to manufacture them with agriculture-based plastic.

The problem, he said, is translating that technology into commercial use. ``What I'm trying to do is provide a little bit of a government boost to get the thing started,'' he said.

Last year, Amko became the first bag manufacturer to market corn-starch plastic bags nationwide. Makrauer said the company was responding to consumer demand.

"The issue of degradability of plastics has aroused more interest and inquiry from a greater variety of groups and individuals than any other single issue Amko has seen in its 22-year participation in the plastics industry,'' Makrauer said.

Amko's bags are 6 percent corn starch and are 8-20 percent more expensive than bags made without cornstarch. They degrade in three to five years, he said.

Without standards set by the federal government, Makrauer fears a company could sell biodegradable bags with only 1 percent corn starch. They would cost about the same as traditional plastic bags but do little to help the environment, he said.

About 5 percent of the firm's business is in agriculture-based plastics, he said. The bags are sold to clothing stores, college bookstores and companies that do promotional campaigns.

One irony of the bill is that it could increase the amount of plastics in landfills. Manufacturers now recycle about 1 percent of all plastics, according to the EPA. But degradable plastics don't appear to be good candidates for recycling because they eventually lose their strength, industry officials said.

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