Producing Plastics from Waste

Scientists have developed a way to produce plastics from renewable natural resources, such as agricultural or industrial waste. Researchers have developed “cell factories” capable of producing new compounds from the sugars found in plant-based waste. Click through to find out how this new technology could change the packaging industry.

Plastics are traditionally produced from oil-based raw materials. The new technology, which uses organic materials, has the potential to make plastics more sustainable and–eventually–less costly. The rising price of petroleum and its derivatives has caused the price of plastics to creep up in the past decade, and increased competition for oil will only drive the prices higher in the coming years.

The “cell factories” are groups of microbes engineered by scientists to convert plant biomass sugars into sugar acids. These sugar acids can then be used to produce biodegradable plastics and textiles. Although this discovery is in its initial stages, the process must be refined to a level of efficiency that will make it cost-effective.

Even so, it is an exciting discovery in the world of sustainable packaging.