Bioplastics continue their growth - opportunity for the future

Bioplastics have been around for a while now, but recently there has been significant developments and more small to medium sized enterprises moving into the market.  The opportunity is to use sustainable, biodegradable raw materials to make products which compete effectively with the hydrocarbon based synthetic plastics.  There have often been performance and cost issues but the volatility of the oil price, the 'green agenda' and the injection of money into biopolymer research, has driven the development of what can be described as 'eco-effective' alternatives to traditional plastics.

A recent study from Ceresana Research shows that bioplastics are flourishing.  During the last eight years, it is reported that consumption of biodegradable plastics based on starch, sugar and cellulose, has grown by 600%, albeit from a small base.  Starch-derived plastics dominate in Europe and polylactic acid is considered to offer significant promise.

This is an opportunity for companies back integrated into natural raw materials (eg suppliers of starch to the paper industry), but it is an opportunity for all synthetic chemical companies to look across their entire range and consider where natural raw materials could subsitute those derived from oil.