These days it is hard to imagine life without plastic. Our food is wrapped in it, the products we buy are packaged in it, many household products are made of it. As hard as we may try, plastic is ubiquitous and hard to avoid.

Despite the fact that most plastics can be recycled these days, a 2003 study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),reported that of the 11.9 million tons of plastic packaging in the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream, only 1.06 million tons (or approximately 8.9 percent) were actually recycled.

Non-recycled plastic in our landfill causes harmful consequences for our soil, air, and water. Furthermore, there is controversy about the presence of toxic chemicals in plastic and about the use of non-renewable resources to create plastic (i.e. petroleum).

As a result, new and innovative ways of creating more environmentally-friendly packaging are now emerging. This new type of plastic can be referred to as “bioplastic.” …read more of Biodegradable Plastic here