Bioplastics and other new materials offering environmental advantages have created a bit of confusion with the terms related with their source and end of life. I would like to shed some light in some of vocabulary used, starting with perhaps the less defined and yet more important word:
Bioplastic: Plastic obtained from natural and renewable sources
Most bioplastics are biodegradable and compostable, but they do not need to be in order to be classified as bioplastics. Similarly, not all bioplastics are sustainable. In Brazil, for example, there has been a lot of interest in obtaining traditional plastics from soy and other fast growing crops. Even though it sounds great, there are concerns about the impact these crops may have on the rain forest surface.
To better understand the differences between new bioplastics, it is important to have some concepts clear. I have divided the vocabulary in two main aspects: sourcing of the raw materials and degradation process of the bioplastic.
Degradation...
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Bioplastic vocabulary
On December - 2 - 2008
