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Review
. 2021 Apr 10;13(8):1229.
doi: 10.3390/polym13081229.

A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

Alberto Di Bartolo  1 , Giulia Infurna  1 , Nadka Tzankova Dintcheva  1
Affiliations
Review

A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

Alberto Di Bartolo et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

The European Union is working towards the 2050 net-zero emissions goal and tackling the ever-growing environmental and sustainability crisis by implementing the European Green Deal. The shift towards a more sustainable society is intertwined with the production, use, and disposal of plastic in the European economy. Emissions generated by plastic production, plastic waste, littering and leakage in nature, insufficient recycling, are some of the issues addressed by the European Commission. Adoption of bioplastics-plastics that are biodegradable, bio-based, or both-is under assessment as one way to decouple society from the use of fossil resources, and to mitigate specific environmental risks related to plastic waste. In this work, we aim at reviewing the field of bioplastics, including standards and life cycle assessment studies, and discuss some of the challenges that can be currently identified with the adoption of these materials.

Keywords: bio-based plastic; biodegradable plastic; bioeconomy; bioplastic; life cycle assessment; sustainability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Certification labels relating to biodegradability and compostability: (a) seedling logo by European Bioplastics, indicates that the product is industrially compostable and complies with EN 13432; (b–d) DIN CERTCO labels for industrial compostability, biodegradability in soil and home compostability, respectively; (e–i) TÜV Austria labels for industrial compostability, marine biodegradability, home compostability, soil biodegradability and freshwater biodegradability, respectively.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A simplified infographic representing the main steps in linear economy (straight arrows) and the additional steps introduced by circular economy with a focus on bioplastics (green arrows), considering anaerobic digestion as EOL option for compostable plastics, reuse and recycling for durable bio-based plastics and incineration as final disposal of any plastic that is no longer recyclable nor reusable.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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