Bioplastic: an eco‐friendly alternative to non‐biodegradable plastic

Abstract

The accumulation of non‐biodegradable plastic waste in land and aquatic environments is expanding every day. According to data collected from various scientific reports, about 100–250 megatonnes of plastic waste arrives in the oceans annually. According to the Central Control Board of India (2019–2020), India produces about 3.5 million metric tonnes of plastic waste annually, while only 5–10% of the produced waste is recycled. The non‐recycled plastic waste dumped into the environment either goes to landfills or directly goes to the sea, which disrupts the marine life of the ocean. We are highly dependent on plastic at household and industrial scales. Removal of plastic waste and lowering the use of hazardous and non‐biodegradable plastics are the main challenges. Researchers and industrialists have come up with many ideas to lower the generation of non‐biodegradable plastic waste and found that reusability is easier than degradability, while the use of bioplastics is the ultimate solution to tackle the plastic waste problem. Hence, developing eco‐friendly alternative plastics without compromising physicochemical and mechanical properties is the need of the hour. An eco‐friendly alternative to conventional or petrochemical plastics is bioplastics, which are environmentally safe, and reduce our dependency on fossil reserves. Therefore, this review focuses on eco‐friendly bioplastics as an efficient alternative to non‐biodegradable plastics. Among renewable and sustainable feedstocks available, vegetable oils are the most suitable resource for bioplastic production because of their renewability and economical nature. Hence, this study concluded that polyurethane‐based polymers from vegetable oils are inherently more eco‐friendly than most other plastics. © 2023 Society of Industrial Chemistry.

Cluster-induced aggregation in polyurethane derivatives with multicolour emission and ultra-long organic room temperature phosphorescence

“…PU derivatives are topical for these future studies as progress is being made in their use as an eco-friendly alternative to non-biodegradable plastics. 64…”

Innovations in applications and prospects of non‐isocyanate polyurethane bioplastics

“…CPUs are synthesized through the reaction of polyols and excess diisocyanates. [16][17][18][19] The impacts of the production of these isocyanatebased polyurethanes can be seen throughout its life cycle. First off, the production of isocyanates involves the use of the poisonous gas phosgene to change amines into isocyanates.…”

Preparation, stretch‐induced crystallization and thermo‐oxidative aging behavior of poly (lactic acid)/saponite grafted polystyrene nanocomposites films

“…Plastic films play an important role in agricultural production, however, most of the raw materials of plastic films come from petroleum resources, which were non-biodegradable and non-renewable resources. 1 With the increasing demand for plastic films in the agricultural production process, white pollution has become more and more serious, causing great impacts on human health and the environment. 2 In this environment, scholars from various countries are focusing on greener and more reliable biodegradable materials, so as to reduce the dependence on petroleum resources and minimize the pollution problems caused by non-biodegradable materials.…”

“…Plastic films play an important role in agricultural production, however, most of the raw materials of plastic films come from petroleum resources, which were non‐biodegradable and non‐renewable resources 1 . With the increasing demand for plastic films in the agricultural production process, white pollution has become more and more serious, causing great impacts on human health and the environment 2 .…”