Automotive Bioplastic: The Future of Modern Cars?
Reducing CO2 emission and fuel consumption by decreasing a vehicle’s weight is the most significant objective and foremost challenge of the automotive industry today. Biomaterials are heralded as a good match contributing to this goal. Bio-based plastics comprise of varied range of materials such as mass commodity plastics – polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and bio-based polyethylene (PE), bio-based technical performance polymers – thermoplastic copolyester elastomers (TPC-ET) and polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), and plastics that are both bio-based and biodegradable –polybutylene succinates PBS).
Thus, in the automotive industry, the future of plastic lies not in its complete demise, but in its reinvention as bioplastics. Nissan is one such company that seeks to eliminate all plastic waste of a vehicle, from design to disposal. It manufactured an electric vehicle, popularly known as Nissan Leaf, of which 25% of the part is manufactured from recycled products.
Biobased Plastics and the Sustainability Puzzle
As consumer interest in sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-based plastics continues to grow and food and beverage companies set goals to reduce their environmental footprint, the use of biobased plastics in food packaging is expanding. Revenue for the U.S. biobased plastics manufacturing sector was $177.9 million annually, according to a 2018 report prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) titled, An Economic Impact Analysis of the U.S. Biobased Products Industry.[1] The report also estimates a 4.5 percent growth rate for the sector from 2018 through 2023.
Consumers apply pressure for sustainable packs, says Tetra Pak research
New research from Tetra Pak has revealed that retailers are feeling the pressure from consumers to prioritise sustainable packaging. It found 9 in 10 food and drink retailers admit climate change pressures affect their packaging choices, and 31% of retailers believe food and drink packaging suppliers have the most responsibility for ensuring we have more packaging with a low environmental impact. Nearly all (97%) of respondents believe their customers are taking action to reduce their ecological impact and this same number believe it is affecting purchasing decisions.