Write a short note on Bioplastics and its impacts

Bioplastics

• Bio-based plastics means they are developed form biomass (plants) such as corn, sugarcane, vegetable oil or wood pulp.
• Biodegradable plastics are those which possess the characteristics of biodegradability and composability.
• They can be converted into natural substances like water, carbon dioxide, and compost by the action of micro-organisms in the environment.
• Bio plastics are biodegradable materials that come from renewable sources and can be used to reduce the problem of contaminating plastic waste that is suffocating the planet and contaminating the environment.
• As an alternative to plastic, the use of bio plastics is being promoted, consisting in obtaining natural polymers from agricultural, cellulose or potato and corn starch waste.

Positive Impact of Bio plastics

• Better than petro plastics in terms of fossil-fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency.
• Easy to recycle and are non-toxic.
• Reduce carbon footprint
• Their production reduces non-biodegradable waste that contaminates the environment
• They do not contain additives that are harmful to health, such as phthalates or bisphenol A
• These are degradable, equally resistant and versatile, already used in agriculture, textile industry, medicine

Negative Impact of Bio plastics

• Bio plastics are inferior to petro plastics.
• Bio plastic production requires almost 80% of the energy required to produce common plastic.
• Biggest concern about compostable plastic is it would take around 40 days to compost during which time it would have already been ingested by several small animal forms, with a likely injurious impact.
• And if they touch the bottom of the sea, they may not degrade at all, because it is much colder than the 30 degrees Celsius that is their ideal degradation temperature.
• Micro-plastics cause extreme damage to marine life.
• People cannot differentiate bio plastics from regular plastics in the trash.
• In India there is hardly any segregation of wet and dry waste so it is unlikely that even the best bio plastics will be pulled out for treatment.
• Not all bio plastics are biodegradable