The Bioplastic Revolution: Successes and Challenges

Bioplastics, polymers made from renewable biobased feedstock, are transitioning from a "nice-to-have" material to having a strong and viable business case. As the materials world moves towards a circular economy, bioplastics can provide primary feedstock sustainably to new plastics entering the cycle. Today, manufacturers are racing to expand production to keep up with accelerated demand generated by brand-owner pull that is stronger than ever before. As such, several technologies have been scaled to commercial production in recent years, and more are coming close. With all this activity, IDTechEx expects a great outlook for the bioplastics industry, with a global production capacity CAGR of 10.1% over the next ten years.

 

Yet alongside its successes, there are still some challenges for the bioplastics industry to overcome. Not all bioplastics are biodegradable or recyclable, and end-of-life options remain a key challenge, many bioplastics rely on feedstock crops with unstable supply and land competition concerns, and some plastics can only be partially biobased.

 

In this webinar, Technology Analyst Andy Ko discusses the research findings from the latest IDTechEx report, "Bioplastics 2023-2033: Technology, Market, Players, and Forecasts". Questions addressed in this webinar will include: