What are bioplastics? How are they manufactured? Are they recyclable? Pampa García Molina, journalist and scientific educator, asked Auxiliadora Prieto, a research professor at the Margarita Salas Center for Biological Research of CSIC.
When we say bioplastics, many people immediately think of the plastics used in biodegradable trash bags. We have identified them as biodegradable, but that is not always the case. What exactly are bioplastics?
We have had a very hard time defining them because they are highly complex. It’s true that in the beginning bioplastic was associated with biodegradable; now there are so many opportunities. We consider bioplastic everything that has a biological origin – regardless of whether or not it is biodegradable. But there are also biodegradable bioplastics that do not have a biological origin. Then we say that the ‘bio’ foundation is very broad. We could define it by what it isn’t: plastic with a petrochemical origin that cannot be degraded.
Biome Technologies plc (LON:BIOM) is a growth oriented, commercially driven technology group. The Group’s primary activity is the development of its fast growing business in bioplastics. The Group comprises two divisions: Biome Bioplastics and Stanelco RF Technologies.
