2.

INTRODUCTION

Bio-plastics are a form of plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and
oils, corn starch, pea starch or microbiota, hence, they can be considered as a renewable resource.
These building blocks - namely starch (a naturally occurring polymer) or polylactic acid (PLA) - break
down over time to yield carbon dioxide and water. If this degradation occurs in a formal composting
environment and the materials used have complied with one of the relevant standards, then the
products are deemed ‘compostable’. Unsurprisingly, since the products originate from a renewable
source, they are deemed more environmentally friendly than ‘non-renewable’ plastics. Common
plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics, are derived from petroleum. These plastics rely more on scarce
fossil fuels and produce more greenhouse gas.

Some, but not all, bio-plastics are designed to biodegrade. Bio-plastics which are designed to
biodegrade can break down in either anaerobic or aerobic environments, depending on how they are
manufactured. There are a variety of bio-plastics being made; they can be composed of starches,
cellulose, or other biopolymers. Some common applications of bio-plastics are packaging materials,
dining utensils, food packaging, and insulation. These will be dealt with separately in another chapter.

In order to appreciate the potential role of bio-plastics, we need to distinguish between two types of
use

• Items that might eventually become litter – such as shopping bags or food packaging – can be
manufactured as bio-plastics to degrade either in industrial composting units or in the open air or in
water. Strenuous efforts need to be made to continue to reduce the amount plastic employed for
single use applications. But if the world wishes to continue using light plastic films for storage,
packaging or for carrying goods, then the only way we can avoid serious litter problems is to employ
fully biodegradable compounds.

• Permanent bio-plastics, such as polythene manufactured from sugar cane, can provide a near-
perfect substitute for oil-based equivalents in products where durability and robustness is vital.
Plastics made from biological materials generally need far smaller amounts of energy to manufacture
but are equally recyclable. They use fewer pollutants during the manufacturing process. Per tonne of
finished products, the global warming impact of the manufacture of bio-plastics is less, and often very
substantially less, than conventional plastics.

Plastics are regarded with deep ambivalence in the much of the world. Their association with
indestructible and unsightly litter sometimes blinds us to their enormous value. Bio-plastics – with a
low carbon footprint and the capability of being made to completely degrade back to carbon dioxide
and water – are a vital and growing complement to conventional oil-based plastics. They can be made

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to completely avoid the use of the monomers and additives that may have effects on human or animal
health. As oil becomes scarcer, the value of bio-plastics will increase yet further.

About 4% of the world’s oil production is converted into plastics for use in products as varied as
shopping bags and the external panels of cars. Another few percent is used in processing industries
because oil-based plastics require substantial amounts of energy to manufacture. Each kilogramme of
plastic typically requires 20 kilowatt hours of energy in the manufacturing process, more than the
amount needed to make steel of the same weight. Almost all this comes from fossil sources. One
survey suggested that the plastics industry was responsible for about 1.5% of all US energy
consumption.

In thinking about the potential role of bio-plastics, we need to distinguish between two different types
of use.
As oil runs out, and the use of fossil fuels becomes increasingly expensive, the need for replacement
sources of raw material for the manufacture of vital plastics becomes increasingly urgent. In addition,
the use of carbon-based sources of energy for use in plastics manufacturing adds greenhouse gases to
the atmosphere, impeding the world’s attempts to cut CO2 emissions.

These problems can be overcome. All the major oil-based plastics have substitutes made from
biological materials. The polyethylene in a shopping bag can be made from sugar cane and the
polypropylene of food packaging can be derived from potato starch. Plastics are irreplaceable and will
all eventually be made from agricultural materials.

The annual output of the world’s plastics industry is about 225 million tonnes a year. This number has
grown by a few per cent per year over the last decade. The bio-plastics industry is much smaller, with
2011 probably seeing a total output of about 1m tonnes, or less than half of one per cent of total
world plastics output. But the growth rate of
‘bio-plastics’ is much higher. Most sources suggest that this part of the plastics industry is growing at
least 20% a year.

The upcoming chapter explains in detail – why is bio-plastics the need of the hour...

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