Plant Polysaccharide Bioplastics

Single-use plastics account for between 30-50% of all plastic applications. Eliminating single-use plastics poses opportunities for alternative materials to supplant their applications. Materials that are biodegradable and home compostable, rather than requiring industrial composting, are particularly valuable. For this reason, there is much interest around plant polysaccharides as a source of biodegradable material. In this premium article, IDTechEx discusses three key polysaccharides derived from plants and seaweeds: nanocellulose, thermoplastic starch, and seaweed-derived hydrocolloids.