TY - JOUR
T1 - Towards a Circular Economy of Plastics
T2 - An Evaluation of the Systematic Transition to a New Generation of Bioplastics
AU - Melchor-Martínez, Elda M.
AU - Macías-Garbett, Rodrigo
AU - Alvarado-Ramírez, Lynette
AU - Araújo, Rafael G.
AU - Sosa-Hernández, Juan Eduardo
AU - Ramírez-Gamboa, Diana
AU - Parra-Arroyo, Lizeth
AU - Alvarez, Abraham Garza
AU - Monteverde, Rosina Paola Benavides
AU - Cazares, Karen Aleida Salazar
AU - Reyes-Mayer, Adriana
AU - Lino, Mauricio Yáñez
AU - Iqbal, Hafiz M.N.
AU - Parra-Saldívar, Roberto
N1 - © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/3/17
Y1 - 2022/3/17
N2 - Plastics have become an essential part of the modern world thanks to their appealing physical and chemical properties as well as their low production cost. The most common type of polymers used for plastic account for 90% of the total production and are made from petroleum-based nonrenewable resources. Concerns over the sustainability of the current production model and the environmental implications of traditional plastics have fueled the demand for greener formulations and alternatives. In the last decade, new plastics manufactured from renewable sources and biological processes have emerged from research and have been established as a commercially viable solution with less adverse effects. Nevertheless, economic and legislative challenges for biobased plastics hinder their widespread implementation. This review summarizes the history of plastics over the last century, including the most relevant bioplastics and production methods, the environmental impact and mitigation of the adverse effects of conventional and emerging plastics, and the regulatory landscape that renewable and recyclable bioplastics face to reach a sustainable future.
AB - Plastics have become an essential part of the modern world thanks to their appealing physical and chemical properties as well as their low production cost. The most common type of polymers used for plastic account for 90% of the total production and are made from petroleum-based nonrenewable resources. Concerns over the sustainability of the current production model and the environmental implications of traditional plastics have fueled the demand for greener formulations and alternatives. In the last decade, new plastics manufactured from renewable sources and biological processes have emerged from research and have been established as a commercially viable solution with less adverse effects. Nevertheless, economic and legislative challenges for biobased plastics hinder their widespread implementation. This review summarizes the history of plastics over the last century, including the most relevant bioplastics and production methods, the environmental impact and mitigation of the adverse effects of conventional and emerging plastics, and the regulatory landscape that renewable and recyclable bioplastics face to reach a sustainable future.
KW - biobased plastics
KW - bioplastic legislation
KW - bioplastic sources
KW - bioplastics
KW - plastic business case
KW - plastic degradation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126999244&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/polym14061203
DO - 10.3390/polym14061203
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85126999244
SN - 2073-4360
VL - 14
JO - Polymers
JF - Polymers
IS - 6
M1 - 1203
ER -