The world has produced over nine billion tons of plastic since the 1950s. 165 million tons of it have trashed our ocean, with almost 9 million more tons entering the oceans each year. Since only about 9 percent of plastic gets recycled, much of the rest pollutes the environment or sits in landfills, where it can take up to 500 years to decompose while leaching toxic chemicals into the ground. It ensnares the marine animals we cherish and the fish we put on our plates, it appears in the table salt we use, and it’s even found in our own bodies.
As more research on the impact of using so much plastic comes to light, consumers and manufacturers are left scrambling for an alternative to the ubiquitous material, and bio-plastics have emerged as a potential alternative.
What is Bioplastic?
Bioplastic simply refers to plastic made from plants or other biological material instead of petroleum. It is also often called bio-based plastic. The term “bioplastics” is actually used for two separate things: bio-based plastics (plastics made at least partly from biological matter) and biodegradable plastics (plastics that can be completely broken down by microbes in a reasonable timeframe, given specific conditions). Sounds confusing? It certainly is. Let’s clarify some terms first.
Degradable – All plastic is degradable, even traditional plastic, but just because it can be broken down into tiny fragments or powder does not mean the materials will ever return to nature. Some additives to traditional plastics make them degrade more quickly. Photodegradable plastic breaks down more readily in sunlight; oxo-degradable plastic disintegrates more quickly when exposed to heat and light.
Biodegradable – Biodegradable plastic can be broken down completely into water, carbon dioxide and compost by microorganisms under the right conditions. “Biodegradable” implies that the decomposition happens in weeks to months. Bioplastics that don’t biodegrade that quickly are called “durable,” and some bioplastics made from biomass that cannot easily be broken down by microorganisms are considered non-biodegradable.
Compostable – Compostable plastic will biodegrade in a compost site. Microorganisms break it down into carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds and biomass at the same rate as other organic materials in the compost pile, leaving no toxic residue.
Types of Bioplastics
There are two main types of bioplastics:
PLA (polylactic acid) is typically made from the sugars in corn starch, cassava or sugarcane. It is biodegradable, carbon-neutral and edible. To transform corn into plastic, corn kernels are immersed in sulfur dioxide and hot water, where its components break down into starch, protein, and fiber. The kernels are then ground and the corn oil is separated from the starch. The starch is composed of long chains of carbon molecules, similar to the carbon chains in plastic from fossil fuels. PLA can look and behave like polyethylene (used in plastic films, packing and bottles), polystyrene (Styrofoam and plastic cutlery) or polypropylene (packaging, auto parts, textiles). Minnesota-based Nature Works is one of the largest companies producing PLA under the brand name Ingeo.
PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) is made by microorganisms, sometimes genetically engineered, that produce plastic from organic materials. The microbes are deprived of nutrients like nitrogen, oxygen and phosphorus, but given high levels of carbon. They produce PHA as carbon reserves, which they store in granules until they have more of the other nutrients they need to grow and reproduce. Companies can then harvest the microbe-made PHA, which has a chemical structure similar to that of traditional plastics. Because it is biodegradable and will not harm living tissue, PHA is often used for medical applications such as sutures, slings, bone plates and skin substitutes; it is also used for single-use food packaging.

Other alternatives
‘Full Cycle Bioplastics’ in California is also producing PHA from organic waste such as food waste, crop residue such as stalks and inedible leaves, garden waste, and recycled paper or cardboard. Used to make bags, containers, cutlery, water and shampoo bottles, this bioplastic is compostable, marine degradable (meaning that if it ends up in the ocean, it can serve as fish or bacteria food) and has no toxic effects. Pennsylvania-based ‘Renmatix’ is utilizing woody biomass, energy grasses and crop residue instead of costlier food crops. At ‘Michigan State University’, scientists are trying to cut production costs for bioplastic through the use of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, which use sunlight to produce chemical compounds through photosynthesis. And then there are those developing innovative ways to replace plastic altogether. Japanese design company ‘AMAM’ is producing packaging materials made from the agar in red marine algae. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is developing a biodegradable and edible film from the milk protein casein to wrap food in; it is 500 times better at keeping food fresh than traditional plastic film. And New York-based ‘Ecovative’ is using mycelium, the vegetative branching part of a fungus, to make Mushroom Materials, for biodegradable packaging material, tiles, planters and more.

Impact of bioplastics on environment
Traditional plastic is made from petroleum-based raw materials. While, Bioplastics—made from 20 percent or more of renewable materials—could be the solution to plastic pollution. The often-cited advantages of bioplastic are reduced use of fossil fuel resources, a smaller carbon footprint, and faster decomposition. Bioplastic is also less toxic and does not contain bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone disruptor that is often found in traditional plastics. Kartik Chandran, a professor in the Earth and Environmental Engineering Department at Columbia University who is working on bioplastics, believes that compared to traditional plastics, “bioplastics are a significant improvement.”
Bio-based plastics have other environmental implications as well. While bioplastics are generally considered to be more eco-friendly than traditional plastics, a study from the University of Pittsburgh found that wasn’t necessarily true when the materials’ life cycles were taken into consideration. One big criticism has been that the land required for bioplastics competes with food production because the crops that produce bioplastics can also be used to feed people. To overcome this problem, companies are collaborating with groups like the World Wildlife Fund’s Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance to ensure crops are grown sustainably.

Right now, it’s hard to claim that bioplastics are more environmentally friendly than traditional plastics when all aspects of their life cycle are considered: land use, pesticides and herbicides, energy consumption, water use, greenhouse gas and methane emissions, biodegradability, recyclability and more.

But as researchers around the world work to develop greener varieties and more efficient production processes, bioplastics do hold promise to help lessen plastic pollution and reduce our carbon footprint. This is a field right now for entrepreneurial investors, because the global bioplastic market is projected to grow from $17 billion this year to almost $44 billion in 2022. Consumer interest in sustainable alternatives to plastics and more efficient technology are driving the growth of Bioplastics.