Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Bioplastics and the environment: Solution or Green Illusion?

This review critically evaluates whether bioplastics are genuinely environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional plastics, finding that many bioplastics degrade incompletely under real-world conditions, form persistent microplastic fragments, and may pose ecological risks comparable to conventional plastics.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Plastics
Article Tier 2

Biodegradation of Wasted Bioplastics in Natural and Industrial Environments: A Review

This review examines the biodegradation of bioplastics in both natural environments and industrial composting facilities, finding that many bioplastics degrade far more slowly outside industrial conditions than their labeling implies.

2020 Sustainability 441 citations
Article Tier 2

Behind the Green Promise: Eco-Innovation or Commercial Illusion?

This review critically examines the gap between the environmental promise of biodegradable packaging materials such as polylactic acid and polybutylene succinate and their real-world degradation performance. The authors found that most biodegradable plastics require specific industrial composting conditions to degrade as marketed and may perform no better than conventional plastics when disposed of in landfill, soil, or marine environments.

2025 Sustainable Marketing Practices
Article Tier 2

Application of biodegradable plastic and their environmental impacts: A revie

This review examines the environmental impacts of conventional petroleum-based plastics and evaluates biodegradable alternatives made from plant-based and other organic materials. Researchers found that while bioplastics show promise for reducing long-term pollution, their degradation rates vary significantly depending on environmental conditions. The study emphasizes that switching to biodegradable plastics alone is not enough without proper waste management infrastructure.

2024 World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Methodologies to Assess the Biodegradability of Bio-Based Polymers—Current Knowledge and Existing Gaps

This review assessed existing methodologies for testing the biodegradability of bio-based polymers, identifying gaps in current standards and emphasizing the need for updated legislation and testing guidelines to ensure bioplastics fully degrade without releasing hazardous compounds.

2022 Polymers 141 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring biopolymer degradation: Environmental effects and future insights

This review examines how biopolymers degrade in the environment and evaluates their potential as sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. While biopolymers offer environmental benefits like reduced pollution, the study notes challenges including slower-than-expected degradation in natural settings, potential microplastic generation, and the need for better standardized testing and supportive policies.

2026 Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable Bioplastics: A Review of State-of-the-Art, Challenges, and Future Directions

This review covers the current state, challenges, and future directions for biodegradable bioplastics derived from organic sources like starch and cellulose. While bioplastics are promoted as alternatives to conventional plastics, not all fully break down in natural environments, meaning some can still generate microplastic fragments.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Acceleration of Biodegradation Using Polymer Blends and Composites

This review examines how blending biodegradable polymers with other materials can tune both physical properties and biodegradation rates, noting that many biodegradable plastics degrade far more slowly than claimed. The authors stress that biodegradation claims require rigorous validation under realistic environmental conditions.

2023 Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics 26 citations
Review Tier 2

The degradation of single-use plastics and commercially viable bioplastics in the environment: A review

Researchers reviewed how conventional single-use plastics degrade over decades in natural environments versus how bioplastics biodegrade, finding that while alternatives like PBS and PHA show genuine biodegradation potential, most require specific industrial composting conditions that are rarely available in practice.

2023 Environmental Research 89 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable struggling: decoding microplastic released from bioplastics—a critical review

This critical review examines biodegradable plastics as an alternative to conventional plastics, finding that many do not fully degrade under real-world conditions and can fragment into microplastics more rapidly than their conventional counterparts.

2024 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable plastics: Green hope or greenwashing?

This review examines biodegradable plastics and their limitations, finding that many do not break down effectively under real-world environmental conditions and may still fragment into microplastics. The authors caution that biodegradable plastics should not be viewed as a simple solution to plastic pollution without better standards and end-of-life infrastructure.

2020 Marine pollution bulletin
Article Tier 2

Biodegradability of Plastics: Challenges and Misconceptions

This review addresses widespread misconceptions about plastic biodegradability, explaining why most plastics persist in the environment for decades to centuries despite industry marketing claims. It clarifies the distinction between degradable, biodegradable, and compostable plastics and explains why real-world conditions rarely support plastic breakdown.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology 324 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent Preparations and Innovations in the Biodegradable Bioplastics and Biocomposites (A Review)

This review covered recent advances in biodegradable bioplastics and biocomposites as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, including their preparation methods, properties, and environmental performance. The authors noted that while bioplastics reduce reliance on fossil fuels and potentially decrease microplastic persistence, production costs and performance limitations remain barriers.

2025 Russian Journal of General Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Biodegradation of Wasted Bioplastics

This paper provides a broad overview of bioplastics — materials made from renewable biological sources — discussing their potential as a partial solution to global plastic pollution and the complexity of their biodegradability. While microplastic accumulation in oceans is mentioned as context for the urgency of the problem, the paper's focus is on bioplastic production and biodegradation rather than microplastic health or environmental impacts.

2023 World Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

An exploration of future of bioplastics and their physical, chemical and biological characteristic through bibliometric Analysis

This review explored the future of bioplastics as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, examining their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and comparing degradation behavior in different environments. The paper assessed current limitations in bioplastic performance and biodegradability that must be addressed before they can effectively replace conventional plastics at scale.

2024 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Recent developments in bio-based polyethylene: Degradation studies, waste management and recycling

Researchers reviewed the current state of bio-based polyethylene — plastics made from plants instead of oil — examining how well they degrade, how they can be recycled, and what still needs to improve before they can genuinely replace conventional plastics, noting that weight loss from degradation ranged widely from 1 to 47% depending on conditions.

2023 Heliyon 56 citations
Article Tier 2

Benefits and Drawbacks of Bioplastic as an Alternative of Conventional Plastic towards Sustainable Plastic T

This review examines bioplastics derived from renewable biomass sources (such as corn starch, vegetable oils, and food waste) as sustainable alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics, evaluating their benefits and drawbacks across environmental performance, biodegradability, and scalability. The article explores whether bioplastics represent a viable pathway toward more sustainable plastic use given growing concerns over the non-biodegradable nature and resource intensity of conventional plastics.

2024 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRIWORLD
Article Tier 2

Understanding bioplastic materials - current state and trends

This review summarizes the current state of bioplastic materials, examining their properties, applications, and potential as alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics that contribute to environmental pollution. The authors assess both the promise and limitations of bioplastics in reducing the global plastic waste crisis.

2020 Journal of the Serbian Chemical Society 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioplastics in the Sea: Rapid In-Vitro Evaluation of Degradability and Persistence at Natural Temperatures

Researchers evaluated the marine degradability of multiple bioplastic materials at natural seawater temperatures, finding that most bioplastics persist in ocean environments rather than degrading quickly, challenging assumptions that bioplastics represent a straightforward solution to marine plastic pollution.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Bridging Three Gaps in Biodegradable Plastics: Misconceptions and Truths About Biodegradation

This review addresses common misconceptions about biodegradable plastics, clarifying that degradation depends heavily on specific environmental conditions and that most biodegradable plastics do not fully break down in typical marine or soil environments.

2021 Frontiers in Chemistry 85 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioplastics in the circular bioeconomy: Production pathways, biodegradation mechanisms, and environmental implications

This comprehensive review examines how bioplastics — plastics made from renewable biological sources — fit into a circular economy, covering how they are produced, how microorganisms break them down, and the environmental risks when degradation is incomplete. A key concern is that even bio-based plastics can form microplastics if they do not fully degrade in real-world conditions like marine or soil environments, meaning that simply switching to bioplastics does not automatically solve the microplastic pollution problem.

2026 Figshare
Systematic Review Tier 1

Biodegradability of bioplastics in different aquatic environments: A systematic review

This systematic review examines whether bioplastics actually break down in water as promised. The findings reveal wide variability in how well different bioplastics biodegrade in freshwater and saltwater, and current testing standards lack clear targets, meaning some materials marketed as biodegradable may still persist in the environment and contribute to microplastic pollution.

2023 Journal of Environmental Sciences 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradation of Different Types of Bioplastics through Composting—A Recent Trend in Green Recycling

This review examines the biodegradation of various bioplastics through composting and other environments. Researchers found that while bioplastics offer a promising sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics, their degradation rates are highly dependent on environmental conditions, and concerns remain about their leakage into the environment and long degradation timeframes during waste management.

2023 Catalysts 125 citations
Article Tier 2

Overcoming Challenges in the Commercialization of Biopolymers: From Research to Applications—A Review

This review examines the barriers preventing biopolymers from reaching commercial markets despite growing research interest. Researchers explored how fiber properties and processing conditions affect biodegradability, and how biopolymers can be manufactured on existing equipment. The study highlights biopolymers as a promising alternative to conventional plastics that could help reduce microplastic accumulation in the environment.

2024 Polymers 17 citations