In this guide, we outline the potential pros and cons of bioplastics (i.e. the potential advantages and disadvantages to this type of material).
It complements our separate guide about what bioplastics are, the different types of bioplastics, & other important key information relating to bioplastics.
Summary – Pros & Cons Of Bioplastics
Potential Pros
There’s A Range Of Potential Environmental & Sustainability Benefits To Bioplastics
Can Be Made To Be More Degradable, Or Even Compostable
Can Be Made To Be More Durable
May Not Contain Some Of The Potentially Harmful Chemicals Or Substances That Some Traditional Plastics Do
May Still Be Potential For Material Improvement & Market Share Growth
Potential Cons
Currently Doesn’t Make Up A Large Share Of The Overall Plastics Market
There Can Be Various Problems, Challenges & Limitations To The Use & Adoption Of Bioplastics
May Sometimes Have Environmental Or Sustainability Concerns
Waste Management Systems In Some Cities & Towns May Not Be Adequate To Manage Some Bioplastics
Bioplastics May Need A Separate Recycling Stream To Traditional Plastics
Some Bioplastics Use Animal Co-Products Or ‘Leftovers’
Some Bioplastics May Contain Toxic Chemicals
May Use GMOs In Some Instances
Some Question The Impact & Potential Tradeoffs Of Growing Biomass Specifically For Bioplastics, Biofuels, & Other ‘Bio’ Products
There’s Been Some Criticism In The Past About Standards For Bioplastics
Potential Pros Of Bioplastics
There’s A Range Of Potential Environmental & Sustainability Benefits To Bioplastics
A few potential benefits might include:
– Being Made From Renewable Biomass Sources
Such as vegetable fats and oils, other plant based materials, recycled food waste, and so on
In comparison, traditional plastics come from fossil fuel feedstock such as petroleum or natural gas, which are generally considered as finite or non-renewable
As an additional benefit to some renewable feedstocks, wikipedia.org notes that starch in starch based plastics is ‘…cheap [in addition to being abundant and renewable]’
– May Sometimes Have A Lower Carbon Footprint Than Fossil Fuel Plastics
wikipedia.org indicates (paraphrased) this can sometimes be the case when biomass is used over fossil fuels, with one example being the use of sugar cane in some instances
– May Sometimes Involve Lower Non Renewable Energy Use Compared To Fossil Fuel Plastics
Various reports indicate bioplastics have lower non renewable energy use (and, news.climate.columbia.edu indicates that (paraphrased) corn-based PLA bioplastic is one example of this)
Interestingly, news.climate.columbia.edu notes that if traditional plastics were ‘… produced using renewable energy sources, [GHG emissions] could be reduced 50 to 75 percent [but, bioplastics produced with renewable energy still have the best potential to reduce GHG emissions in the future]’
– Other Potential Environmental & Sustainability Benefits
Such as making use of food waste and other waste products that would otherwise be disposed of
wikipedia.org lists a range of other potential environmental benefits in their report too
Can Be Made To Be More Degradable, Or Even Compostable
Some bioplastics are designed to be degradable or even compostable under certain conditions or in certain environments
They certainly degrade faster than traditional plastics in the right conditions
wikipedia.org outlines some types of degradable bioplastics as ‘… polylactic acid, polybutylene succinate, or polyhydroxyalkanoates’
Can Be Made To Be More Durable
wikipedia.org outlines two types of more durable bioplastics as Bio-PET and biopolyethylene in their report
May Not Contain Some Of The Potentially Harmful Chemicals Or Substances That Some Traditional Plastics Do
For example, some bioplastics may not contain chemicals or substances that can be found in some traditional plastics, like Bisphenol A
wikipedia.org mentions that bioplastics may exert ‘… lower human and terrestrial ecotoxicity and carcinogenic potentials compared to conventional plastics’
May Still Be Potential For Material Improvement & Market Share Growth
As research on material technology, and investment in the bioplastics market both increase, bioplastics may have potential to improve as a materials and increase their market share in the future.
One example of potential in the bioplastics market might be the use of oils derived from microalgae (algae are classified as third generation feedstock for bioproducts like biofuel and bioplastic)
Potential Cons Of Bioplastics
Currently Doesn’t Make Up A Large Share Of The Overall Plastics Market
Conventional plastics may still make up the vast majority of the overall plastics market.
Additionally, some reports indicate that the continued production of bioplastics is not slowing down the total production of traditional plastics.
From wikipedia.org: ‘As of 2018, bioplastics represented approximately 2% of the global plastics output (>380 million tons)’
There Can Be Various Problems, Challenges & Limitations To The Use & Adoption Of Bioplastics
Some of those problems, challenges and limitations might include:
– Cost
They may be expensive to produce or buy in some instances
As an example, bioplastics like PHA may be be expensive to produce at the moment
news.climate.columbia.edu notes that ‘… PLA can be 20 to 50 percent more costly than comparable materials [but, the price may also come down in the future as there are new developments]’
– Limited Applications
There may be few viable commercial applications that exist for bioplastics
– Performance & Physical Qualities
Performance across different metrics may be an issue
Some of this might be related to the physical properties or qualities of different bioplastics
Soy proteins may be of an example of a protein that may have several problems or challenges to their use in bioplastics, and some PLA bioplastics may exhibit inferior qualities
clariant.com indicates that ‘… in many applications [bioplastics] still fall behind petroleum-based plastics when it comes to physical properties’
May Sometimes Have Environmental Or Sustainability Concerns
– Sometimes Only Partially Made Of Renewable Materials
news.climate.columbia.edu for example indicates that ‘bioplastics [are] made from 20 percent or more of renewable materials’.
Therefore, the remaining materials in some bioplastics might not always be renewable materials.
– May Sometimes Have A Higher Carbon Footprint Than Fossil Fuel Plastics
wikipedia.org indicates that (paraphrased) this can sometimes be the case when bioplastic processes are less efficient than those of conventional plastics
Additionally, it’s worth noting that when some compostable bioplastics are sent to landfill because adequate composting facilities aren’t available in a town or city, these bioplastics may release methane
– Palm Oil Used As Biomass Feedstock May Have It’s Own Sustainability Concerns
It depends how the oil palms are cultivated though
– Durable Bioplastics Might Not Be Designed To Be Degradable
This is because of their molecular structure
And therefore, they have to be disposed of like other waste that isn’t degradable, such as traditional plastics
– Some Degradable Bioplastics Can Have Issues Fully Decomposing
Bioplastics designed to be degradable might only degrade and decompose properly under specific conditions or environments
This may limit their sustainability somewhat
– Some Biodegradable Bioplastics Are Polymers Based On Fossil Fuels
science.org.au provides an example of a bioplastic like this:
‘… polybutyrate adipate terephthalate—known more commonly as polybutyrate or PBAT’
– Other Potential Negative Environmental Impacts
wikipedia.org lists a range of other potential negative environmental impacts of bioplastics compared to fossil fuel plastics in their report
A paraphrased summary of those impacts are potentially rating worse in the areas of eutrophication, acidification, aquatic eco toxicity, stratospheric ozone depletion, and other potential impacts which you can read in their report
news.climate.columbia.edu also references a study that indicates that (paraphrased) bioplastics are responsible for greater amounts of pollutants (from agricultural chemicals), amongst other negative environmental effects.
They also outlined B-PET, which is a hybrid plastic, as having the:
‘… highest potential for toxic effects on ecosystems and the most carcinogens, and scored the worst in the life cycle analysis’
Waste Management Systems In Some Cities & Towns May Not Be Adequate To Manage Some Bioplastics
For example, some cities and towns may not have adequate composting facilities for compostable bioplastics, and the bioplastics might be sent to landfill instead
In this instance, there’s less value and utility in compostable bioplastics in some regions
Bioplastics May Need A Separate Recycling Stream To Traditional Plastics
news.climate.columbia.edu notes that (paraphrased) this is because of the potential for bioplastics to contaminate some types of traditional plastics (like PET)
Some Bioplastics Use Animal Co-Products Or ‘Leftovers’
The production of some bioplastics uses animal co-products or ‘leftovers’, such as animal proteins and fat
These co-products and leftovers may come from the bodies of livestock animals after they’ve been to the slaughterhouse
This can be an issue for individuals whose ethics don’t align with the use of animal derived products, or who want animal friendly products
Some Bioplastics May Contain Toxic Chemicals
sciencedirect.com indicates that ‘… little is know with regard to the chemicals that [bioplastics and plant based materials] contain and the safety of these compounds’
They provide further information about the potential safety, toxicity and chemical composition of bioplastics in their report
At least one report, by blogs.ifas.ufl.edu, indicates that (paraphrased) because bioplastics still contain plasticizers and additives (to impact physical properties of the bioplastics, such as make them more flexible or stiffer), they can contain chemicals like phthalates.
news.climate.columbia.edu also notes that one study listed B-PET, which is a hybrid plastic, as ‘… [having the] most carcinogens’
May Use GMOs In Some Instances
Some people do not believe in the use of GMOs
This is an issue when GM corn is used as feedstock for some bioplastics
Some Question The Impact & Tradeoffs Of Growing Biomass Specifically For Bioplastics, Biofuels, & Other ‘Bio’ Products
This can be the case where:
– Forests have been cleared to convert land use to agricultural land use
– Biomass production of 1st generation crops for ‘bio’ products happens in place of food production, and there’s still regions of the world that lack access to adequate food and nutrition
– The resources and inputs used to produce biomass (including 2nd generation feedstock crops) have a negative impact compared to the benefits of growing the biomass.
For example, biomass production uses water, land, agricultural chemicals like pesticides and synthetic fertilizer, and so on
There’s Been Criticism In The Past About Standards For Bioplastics
One example of this is determining what the compostability of plastic means according to a certain standard
Some think it’s misleading compared to what ‘compost’ or ‘composting’ traditionally means
How bioplastics are labelled as compostable has also been criticised in the past
Sources
1. Various ‘Better Meets Reality’ guides
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioplastic
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8348897/
4. https://www.greenoptimistic.com/bioplastic-animal-fat-20130222/
5. https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-environment/future-plastics
6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020320213
7. https://www.clariant.com/en/Corporate/Blog/2020-Blog-Posts/09/Bio-based-additives
8. https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2017/12/13/the-truth-about-bioplastics/
9. https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/mrec/2020/09/29/water-wednesdays-are-bioplastics-better/
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