Bio-Based Plastics and Sustainability

Responsible use of non-renewable resources is one of the three emphasis areas in the sustainable growth (Chapter 2). Any technologies that help conserve fossil fuel reserves help achieve that goal. Using renewable bioresources to make plastics, especially types of plastics used in high volume, is therefore a sustainable move by the industry (Philp et al., 2013 Reddy et al., 2013). Biomass raw materials can yield the same basic chemical intermediates that are derived from fossil fuel raw materials, making bio-based synthesis of conventional and novel plastics a possibility. The option is particularly attractive where the embodied energy as well as the carbon emissions associated with manufacture of the bio-derived variety is at or below that of conventional plastic material. 

However, the externalities associated with bio-based plastic production (that includes intensive agriculture to produce the biomass) can exceed those for conventional plastics. Pesticide/ferlilizer pollution from agriculture is already widespread and can affect human populations. For instance, Hottle et al. (2013) report 

FIGURE 4.14 Basic pathways to derive chemical feedstocks from renewable and fossil fuel raw materials. Source Reprinted with permission from Madival et al. (2009). 

FIGURE 4.15 A comparison of fossil resources and earbon footprint of conventional plastics with PLA and PHA. Source Reprodueed with permission from Nova Institute GmbH, Huerth/Germany (2012). Downloaded from http //www.bio-based.eu/ecology/ 

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