Bioplastic - An Alternative to Petroleum-Based Plastic

In order to stop Earth's degradation the ecologists, and for several years the majority of the population has demanded for reduced production of these products and even their replacement with more environment friendly materials, such as paper or Bioplastic. Bioplastic is a material made of renewable, raw materials, which was invented in the mid-1980. Corn, wheat, beets, sugar, potatoes and other plants, as well as vegetable oils are the main materials from which the Bioplastic is produced. For producing a Bioplastic product only 65% of the energy consumed by producing a petroleum-based product is needed, which means that by producing only Bioplastic products we will save 35% of the energy we now waste on making traditional plastics. If we take into consideration that the annual plastic products used in only in Europe weights no less than 50 million tones we will understand why Bioplastic products are so badly needed. In addition to that, the fact that Bioplastic are made only from natural materials guarantees that they are not toxic to the environment and while decomposing will not leach any chemicals in the soil or in the water. This shows once again that Bioplastic is conceived so as not to harm, but protect the nature. Other good news about Bioplastic is the fact that it can be recycled, so that nothing should be lost. This means less pollution and more fresh air for the entire population.   In what regards the production there is another advantage of Bioplastic, that of being independent of the countries that export petroleum and not being affected by the fluctuations of petroleum price from the national and international market. This makes the business of producing Bioplastic a safer one. However, not all the things are favorable to Bioplastic. The degradation of the Bioplastic is conditioned by a series of factors, which are impossible to achieve in nature. This means that in practice the Bioplastic will decompose as hard as the traditional plastic.