BIOPLASTICS

Bioplastic simply refers to plastic that is made from plant or other biological material instead of petroleum.

These plastic materials are produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waster, etc. Some bioplastics are obtained by processing directly from natural biopolymers including starch, cellulose, chitosan, alginate and proteins such as soy protein, gluten, and gelatin, while others are chemically synthesized from sugar derivatives (e.g. lactic acid) and lipids (oils and fats) from either plants or animals, or biologically generated by fermentation of sugars or lipids. In contrast, common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics (also called petro-based polymers) are derived from petroleum or natural gas. The most common type of bio-plastic is used to make plastic bottles, utensils, and textiles.