{"id":10455,"date":"2026-03-27T14:23:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/natureplast.eu\/blog\/biobased\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T17:28:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:28:05","slug":"biobased","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/natureplast.eu\/en\/blog\/biobased\/","title":{"rendered":"Biobased"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The term<strong>&#8220;biobased<\/strong>&#8221; is almost always used when talking about bioplastics. Often perceived as synonymous with biodegradable or environmentally-friendly, it is nevertheless a regular source of confusion. Understanding what biobased really means is essential.  <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Meaning<\/strong>:<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <strong>biobased material<\/strong> is one in which <strong>all <\/strong>or <strong>part of the carbon <\/strong>comes from <strong>renewable resources<\/strong>, such as <strong>biomass <\/strong>(cellulose, sugar or starch sources, etc.), or certain <strong>vegetable oils<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This concerns the origin of the raw material, not its end-of-life. A biobased plastic can have equivalent properties and performance to a conventional petroleum-based plastic. <\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Biobased does not mean biodegradable.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This confusion is very common. In fact, a<strong> biobased material is not necessarily biodegradable.<\/strong><br\/>A bioplastic can be both : <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Biobased and non-biodegradable<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non-biobased and biodegradable<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Biobased and biodegradable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong> Bio-PE<\/strong> is <strong>biobased <\/strong>(derived from sugarcane ethanol), but <strong>not biodegradable<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>PBAT <\/strong>is fossil-based, but<strong> biodegradable<\/strong> under certain <strong>conditions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>PLA <\/strong>is both <strong>biobased <\/strong>(derived from plant resources) and <strong>biodegradable <\/strong>under industrial composting conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How do you measure biobased content?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The<strong> biobased<\/strong> content of a material is measured according to <strong>specific standards<\/strong> such as EN 16640, EN 16785-1 or ASTM D6866.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They can be used to determine the <strong>percentage of biobased carbon<\/strong> present in the material by carbon-14 dating.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This rate varies from <strong>formulation<\/strong> to formulation, ranging from <strong>a few percent to 100%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, there is no minimum rate to qualify for the &#8220;Biobased&#8221; label. Nevertheless, it is important to communicate as transparently as possible on the exact rates and nature of the biomass used. <\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The challenges of biobased products<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using renewable resources to manufacture polymers has several objectives:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reduce dependence on fossil fuels<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Diversifying supply sources<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reducing our carbon footprint<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biobased products do not guarantee low environmental impact.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>It&#8217;s important to avoid simplifications.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biobased materials are not always &#8220;greener&#8221;.<br\/>Its environmental impact depends on a number of parameters:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Biomass type<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cultivation of agricultural resources<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Industrial processing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Transport<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Product lifetime<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>End-of-life scenario<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The only way to objectively assess these impacts is to carry out a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LCA makes it possible to analyze all the stages in the life of a product, from the extraction of raw materials to its end-of-life, in order to obtain a global, quantified vision.<\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In a nutshell:<\/h4>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The term biobased refers <strong>only to the origin of the material<\/strong>.<br\/>It does not prejudge its biodegradability, recyclability or environmental impact.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A clear understanding of this concept provides a more precise and objective understanding of bioplastics, and helps avoid frequent confusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10445,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categorie-blog":[186],"class_list":["post-10455","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorie-blog-bioplastic"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/natureplast.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/10455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/natureplast.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/natureplast.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/natureplast.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/natureplast.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categorie-blog","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/natureplast.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categorie-blog?post=10455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}