Recent progress of bioplastics in their properties, standards, certifications and regulations: A review

The environmental impact associated with fossil fuel-based polymers has paved the way to explore biopolymer-based plastics, their properties, and their applications. Bioplastics are polymeric materials that are greatly interesting due to their eco-friendlier and non-toxic nature. In recent years, exploring the different sources of bioplastics and their appli-cations has become one of the active research areas. Biopolymer-based plastics have applications in food packaging, pharmaceuticals, electronics, agricultural, automotive and cosmetic sectors. Bioplastics are considered safe, but there are several economic and legal challenges to implementing them. Hence, this review aims to i) outline the termi-nology associated with bioplastics, its global market, major sources, types and properties of bioplastics, ii) discuss the major bioplastic waste management and recovery options, iii) provide the major standards and certifications regarding bioplastics, iv) explore the various country-wise regulations and restrictions associated with bioplastics, and v) enumerate the various challenges and limitations associated with bioplastics and future directions. Therefore, pro-viding adequate knowledge about various bioplastics, their properties and regulatory aspects can be of great impor-tance in the industrialization, commercialization and globalization of bioplastics to replace petroleum-based products.

Automated summary

Biopolymer-based plastics, with their eco-friendlier and non-toxic nature, have gained significant attention in various industries. They have applications in food packaging, pharmaceuticals, electronics, agricultural, automotive, and cosmetic sectors, and can reduce the environmental impact associated with fossil fuel-based polymers.