Bioplastics and the environment: Solution or Green Illusion?

The rapid proliferation of plastic pollution has raised global concerns regarding its persistence, ecological impacts, and human health risks. Conventional plastics, due to their durability, gradually fragment into microplastics that accumulate across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, where they pose significant threats to ecological integrity and human health through bioaccumulation and their ability to adsorb toxic contaminants. In response, bioplastics have emerged as potential alternatives to conventional plastics, often promoted as environmentally friendly due to their potential for biodegradability. However, comprehensive assessments of their environmental fate, degradation behaviour and toxicity are still limited, leading to uncertainties about their ecological impact. Therefore, it is essential for comparative analyses of conventional plastics and bioplastics to determine whether bioplastics genuinely mitigate environmental risks or contribute to pollution in ways comparable to conventional plastics. Such an evaluation will provide critical insights into whether bioplastics genuinely serve as a sustainable replacement or contribute to environmental degradation and toxicity in a similar manner to plastics. • Evaluates the environmental fate, degradation pathways, and toxicity of conventional plastics and bioplastics. • Are bioplastics truly mitigating plastic pollution or replicate similar ecological risks as conventional plastics? • Discusses fragmentation, persistence, and contaminant-adsorbing potential of bioplastics.