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What is the difference between bioplastic and biodegradable plastic?

Bioplastics are a large family of different materials. A plastic material is defined as a bioplastic if it is either biobased, biodegradable, or features both properties.

· ‘Biobased’ means that the material or product is derived from biomass (plants such as corn, sugarcane, or cellulose). Common plastics like PET can be made from renewable feedstock for instance.

· Biodegradation is a process during which microorganisms that are available in the environment convert materials into natural substances such as water, carbon dioxide, and compost (artificial additives are not needed). The process of biodegradation depends on the surrounding environmental conditions (e.g. location or temperature), on the material and on the application.

Compostable describes materials that are suitable for microbial treatment at end-of-life in a composting environment, whether commercial or in the home. Products or materials that pass the required standard for such microbial treatment in these environments may be verified as compostable according to the requirements of the European Standards EN13432 (biodegradable materials suitable for commercial composting) and European Standard NF T-51 800 (biodegradable plastics suitable for home composting).

Biodegradable materials can be broken down naturally by bacteria, fungi, and algae without human intervention. The leftover components often provide no nutritional benefit to the surrounding soil.

The amount of time it takes for different materials to break down varies. For example, polymers are often referred to as resistant to biodegradation due to how long it takes to deteriorate. For something to be biodegradable, favorable conditions such as temperature, microorganisms, moisture, oxygen, and time must be met.