What are starch-based plastics?
Bioplastics help manufacturers become more competitive by meeting consumers’ growing expectations for sustainability. The most commonly used is starch, a natural polymer that can be incorporated into a variety of materials. Plastics made from starch can be combined with various petroleum-derived polymers and biopolymers to create unique composites that can be used in a wide range of applications. These composites can be processed by injection molding or extrusion using standard machinery.
In general, plastics made from starch are less expensive than other bioplastics. They have a number of physical properties that other bioplastics do not, such as tensile strength and heat resistance. Starch-based composites can also contain recycled plastics. We recommend starch-based composites when recycled plastics must be used or when customers require materials with properties that cannot be achieved with alternative biomaterials.
Environmental Considerations
Starch bags can be used to reduce the carbon footprint of conventional resins, as it can replace petroleum-derived polymers with polymers from natural sources. It is also highly degradable, so when combined with compostable polymers, it does not interfere with the degradation process.
How common are starch-based plastics?
According to a new market research analysis, “starch blends are expected to have the largest market share between 2015 and 2020”: of the 2.05 million tons of bioplastics produced globally in 2017, starch blends accounted for 18.8%. According to European Bioplastics, “bioplastics are used in a growing number of markets, from packaging to the foodservice, appliances, automotive, agriculture/horticulture, toys, textiles, and many other sectors.” The company explains.
Choosing the right combination of materials for such a diverse range of applications is crucial. Although their physical properties are different from unfilled plastics, they can be processed in the same way as mineral-filled plastics. However, with the right formulation, most problems can be overcome. Future opportunities stem from the potential for continued growth and consumer demand for environmentally friendly products, as well as efforts to reduce pollution and dependence on petroleum products.
What are the applications?
Starch-based plastics are becoming increasingly important with the advent of better resin grades, the ability to blend with other biopolymers, and a growing number of suppliers. Starch-based bioplastics are widely used in the medical industry due to their biocompatibility, low toxicity, degradability, and mechanical properties.
What are they?
Plant starch materials are made from a mixture of 70% plant material (e.g. corn or potato) and 30% filler (e.g. polypropylene) to increase strength and heat resistance. Plant materials are “renewable”, which means they can be grown again and again.
Why use it?
Plant starch-based materials are largely made from renewable plants, unlike traditional non-renewable plastics made from petroleum. By replacing as many new plastics as possible with renewable materials, we can reduce the amount of petroleum used in all our products. In addition, Eco-Products’ PSM cutlery can withstand temperatures up to 200°F. So we use it in cutlery designed to handle food at high temperatures.
What’s cool?
As long as you don’t require compostability certification, our PSM cutlery is high temperature resistant, durable. And made from about 70% renewable materials. This means that most of the materials in this cutlery are not made from conventional plastics.
What’s not cool?
Plant starch itself is derived from renewable plants, but about 70% of these cutleries are made from plant starch. The other 30% is made from a reinforcing agent that increases heat resistance and durability. Unfortunately, these reinforcing agents are not compostable.
Since it is difficult for composters to distinguish between this cutlery and other compostable varieties. We recommend that you do your best to keep this cutlery out of the compostable waste stream. We also think it’s important that you know as much as possible about plant starch. In addition, plastic cutlery is generally not recyclable and SMP cutlery should be disposed of.
