title: To be, or not to be biodegradable… that is the question for the bio-based plastics.
abstract: Global warming, market and production capacity are being the key drivers for selecting the main players for the next decades in the market of bio-based plastics. The drop-in bio-based polymers such as the bio-based polyethylene terephtalate (PET) or polyethylene (PE), chemically identical to their petrochemical counterparts but having a component of biological origin, are in the top of the list. They are followed by new polymers such as PHA and PLA with a significant market growth rate since 2014 with projections to 2020. Research will provide improved strains designed through synthetic and systems biology approaches; furthermore, the use of low-cost substrates will contribute to the widespread application of these bio- based polymers. The durability of plastics is not considered anymore as a virtue, and interesting bioprospecting strategies to isolate microorganisms for assimilating the recalcitrant plastics will pave the way for in vivo strategies for plastic mineralization. In this context, waste management of bio-based plastic will be one of the most important issues in the near future in terms of the circular economy. There is a clear need for standardized labelling and sorting instructions, which should be regulated in a coordinated way by policymakers and material producers.
authors.affiliation: Polymer Biotechnology Lab, Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas (CIB), C/Ramiro de Maeztu, 9, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Auxiliadora
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prieto
mesh_terms: D063566:Biodegradable Plastics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D063566:Biodegradable Plastics