Plastics that are derived from plant matter. They can be partially biobased, which would be considered a “blend”, or they can be fully biobased (pure). Important note: not all biobased plastics are biodegradable.
Durable biobased plastics are technically equivalent to todays’ fossil versions of PE, PP, PET and PEF plastic. They can be recycled with their fossil based counterparts and considered a “drop-in” replacement. Biobased durable bioplastics have a superior carbon footprint vs. conventional plastics. Next generation bioplastics such as polyethylene furanoate (PEF) have increased performance benefits versus PET and almost zero carbon footprint.
Some common applications for durable biobased plastics are toys for kids, mobile phone cases, carpet fibers, feul lines, and cosmetic cases just to name a few. It is important to understand that just because a plastic says “biobased” does not mean it’s biodegradable. It does come from a renewable (short grow cycle) new carbon agricultural cource that absorbs CO2 vs emitting it as is known with petrobased conventional plastics.
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