What Is a Bioplastic?

Unlike conventional plastics made from petroleum, bioplastics use plant-based feedstocks. The most common, polylactic acid (PLA), is made by fermenting corn starch or sugarcane into lactic acid and then polymerising it. PLA is used in packaging, 3D printing filaments, and disposable cutlery. However, bioplastics are not automatically biodegradable — some require industrial composting facilities operating at 58 degrees or higher. Others, like bio-polyethylene (bio-PE), are chemically identical to fossil-fuel PE and are fully recyclable but do not biodegrade. The global bioplastics market reached about 2.2 million tonnes in 2024, still under 1% of total plastics production.