Biomass Plastics

Definition: Biomass plastics are plastics made using polymers that are produced using plant materials instead of petroleum (oil) products. Plants or trees can be used to obtain sugars that are linked into polymer chains during fermentation. One of the many benefits to biomass plastics is that they are considered carbon-neutral. Although they are incinerated at the end of their lifecycle, the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced is no more than the amount taken up by plants required to make the plastics in the first place. Another benefit to biomass plastics is they don't require the use of non-renewable resources (petroleum products). Biomass plastics can be made from wastes of the food industry (i.e. potato skins), which means they don't have to detract from the use of food crops for feeding people. These plastics are used in food biotech to make packaging. They are also used in many other industries, for example for making car parts. A downside to the use of biomass plastics is that they are made from similar polymers to petroleum-based plastics (i.e. polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene). As such, biomass plastics are not necessarily biodegradable.