[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 111 (Thursday, September 5, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NAVAL MANDATE PRESENTS OPPORTUNITY FOR AMERICAN FARMERS

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 4, 2002

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues an important environmental initiative, which impacts the 
U.S. Navy. In 1987, Congress mandated that the U.S. naval submarines 
eliminate the dumping of plastic waste by 2008. This requirement 
presents a unique opportunity for the commercial development of biomass 
products to replace the use of plastics on our submarines. Further 
research was done on this subject as a summer project in the 2002 
Office of Naval Research (ONR) Science and Engineering Apprenticeship 
Program (SEAP). This summer, as one of the SEAP participants, Christina 
Liebner, an incoming Stanford University freshman, authored a report on 
the viability of biomass products as an alternative to plastics on 
submarines. Her report suggests that biomass products may offer 
significant opportunities to aid the Navy in reaching its 2008 mandate 
but it may also provide new economic markets for corn and soybean 
farmers. A summary of Christina's report is listed below. I commend it 
to my colleagues' attention for future consideration about how our 
nation's farmers can help to solve this environmental mandate for the 
U.S. Navy.

 Possible Applications for Biodegradable Plastic in the United States 
     Navy Fleet as a Method to Meet MARPOL 73/78, MPPRCA, and APPS 
                              Regulations

                         (By Christina Liebner)

       First implemented in 1983, the international marine 
     pollution prevention agreement known as MARPOL 73/78 dictates 
     that all signing nations must comply with Annexes I and II, 
     which prohibit vessels from dumping oil and bulk noxious 
     liquids, respectively. The United States has further agreed 
     to comply with Annex V, which bans vessels from dumping 
     plastic waste. To enforce this agreement at home and to 
     extend jurisdiction to all vessels in U.S. command (including 
     military vessels) and in U.S. territorial waters and 
     exclusive economic zones, Congress passed Title II in Public 
     Law 100-220--;formally titled Marine Plastic Pollution 
     Research and Control Act (MPPRCA)--;on 29 December 1987. 
     Written later, the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) 
     with amendments current to 1 November 1998, requires all 
     Naval surface ships to comply with Annex V by 31 December 
     1998 and all submarines by 31 December 2008.
       The U.S. Navy is currently developing and refining 
     pollution prevention procedures to process and store plastics 
     onboard. Most surface ships are currently outfitted with at 
     least one Plastic Waste Processor (PWP), and crews have 
     reported success with this method; ships without PWPs find 
     other ways to retain plastic waste. Researchers at the Naval 
     Surface Warfare Center--;Carderock Division (NSWC-CD) are 
     currently testing compaction and storage methods for 
     submarine plastic management in four demonstration projects. 
     While surface ship and submarine crews have reported success 
     with their respective waste processes, replacing petroleum-
     based plastic with biodegradable products may be a more 
     effective and environmentally responsible solution.
       While the Navy's current methods to make surface ships and 
     submarines compliant with MARPOL 73/78 and MPPRCA are 
     feasible and successful, they are only short-term solutions. 
     Bioplastic is environmentally responsible, and with enough 
     funding, research, and development, it could soon run at 
     full-scale production levels and become a commercially viable 
     replacement for petroleum-based plastic in most applications. 
     Biodegradable plastic may be the Navy's long term solution to 
     environmental regulation compliance. Additional funding is 
     necessary, however, to launch demonstration of feasibility 
     projects and to further research in bioplastic applications 
     within the Navy. Although bioplastic products offer the most 
     convenience to submarine waste processing, biodegradable 
     plastic is just as applicable and as beneficial to surface 
     ships.
       Not only would further research and development to promote 
     biodegradable plastic help the Navy, but the nation would 
     also profit from such technology. The following lists the key 
     advantages of bio-based plastics:
       Corn farmers often overproduce, and as agricultural 
     biotechnology advances to further increase crop yield, 
     productivity will double in the near future. Bio-based 
     technology provides another market for corn crops.
       Commercializing bio-based plastics from domestically grown 
     crops allows American citizens to profit and releases 
     pressure to import petroleum from the Middle East.
       Biodegradable plastic encourages the growth of municipal 
     composting plants and slows accumulation of trash in 
     landfills.
       Production and use of biodegradable plastic create much 
     less air pollution and greenhouse gases than petroleum-based 
     plastic. Plants create their carbohydrates from atmospheric 
     carbon dioxide. Bioplastic factories extract this carbon to 
     create the polymer. When biodegradable plastics decompose, 
     the released carbon dioxide is returned to the atmosphere, 
     thus completing the cycle. Petroleum products use carbon 
     compounds from the ground and release them into the air; no 
     new carbon dioxide is introduced to the air with 
     biodegradable polymers.
       After the necessary parts of crops are used to create the 
     biodegradable polymer, residual biomass can be burned cleanly 
     to generate energy.

     

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