A recent study from Ceresana Research shows that bioplastics are doing well. During the last eight years, it is reported that consumption of biodegradable plastics based on starch, sugar and cellulose, has grown by 600%. Starch-derived plastics dominate in Europe and polylactic acid is the promising "up and comer".
This is an opportunity for companies back integrated into natural raw materials (eg suppliers of starch to the paper industry), but it is an opportunity for all synthetic chemical companies to look across their entire range and consider where natural raw materials could subsitute those derived from oil.
