Bioplastics, an emerging technology that uses plant resins to make biodegradable and compostable plastic from renewable resources, is a field that is constantly evolving with new materials and technology.

This technology actually creates plastic resins by fermenting the starches and sugars in corn, sugarcane and other plants into lactic acid. The lactic acid is converted into a plastic substance, which is heated and shaped before being used in product manufacture.

The production of bioplastics results in the emission of far less carbon dioxide than traditional plastics, and is being used for everything from gift cards, deli containers and picnic ware to mobile phone cases and auto parts. Auto parts?

In 2003, Toyota Motor Corporation became the first automaker in the world to use bioplastics in the manufacture of auto parts, employing them in covers for the spare tire and for plastic trays inside the passenger compartment. These days Toyota is in development with an ultra light, super efficient plug-in hybrid with a bioplastic body made of seaweed that could be in the showroom in the 10 to 15 years.

Toyota employs a broad based approach in the pursuit of the ultimate eco-car and leads the field in developing more efficient petrol engines, cleaner diesels, hybrid systems and fuel cells. Alternative fuel engines certainly reduce our dependence on petroleum however the manufacture of the automobile is not green in any sense of the word.

That may well change once Toyota’s latest idea becomes a reality. What the car giant is suggesting is a revolutionary adjustment to the material that cars are made from; the company is proposing replacing metal with kelp-based bioplastic. That’s seaweed.

Notwithstanding the inevitable ‘sushi-car’ analogy, Toyota’s kelp car concept is built on the already ‘hypergreen’ 1/X plug-in hybrid that made its North American debut at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. The 1/X (‘one-xth.’) features a super-light body (926 pounds) and a tiny engine that mixes 500cc gasoline power with lithium-ion batteries for electric power.

As Toyota project manager Tetsuya Kaida notes, the existing 1/X uses “lightweight carbon-fiber reinforced plastic throughout the body and frame for its superior collision safety. But that material still uses oil-derived plastic. I want to create such a vehicle from seaweed because Japan is surrounded by the sea.”

Toyota’s kelp car is not as outlandish as it might seem. Grocery stores have been selling products packaged in plant-based plastic since January 2004. In November 2005, Wal-Mart began the switch to corn plastic packaging for 114 million clear-plastic clamshell containers used annually by the retailer for cut fruit, herbs, strawberries and Brussels sprouts.

According to USA Today, demand for bioplastic is expected to reach 50 billion pounds annually within five years¹. That’s ten percent of the global market. The 1/X, on which the kelp car is based, is so named because its carbon footprint is a fraction of that of other cars.

“The 1/X concept is a vehicle that completely redefines what it means to be environmentally considerate,” David Buttner, senior executive director of sales and marketing, said in a statement. “The name says it all: a car that weighs a fraction of the others in its class today and uses a fraction of the fuel.” Buttner predicted, “In reality, the seaweed car is another decade away, however, it shows where we’re going…. Our thinking is that post-2020, cars like the 1/X will be made of plant-based plastic.”

1. Biodegradable plastic made from plants, not oil, is emerging. Barnett R. USA TODAY http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2008-12-25-biodegradable-plastic_N.htm