America’s Plastic Makers Are Making Plastic Out of Bio-based Raw Materials?
What if we could make essential materials like plastic out of bio-based raw materials? And use that plastic to make energy-saving insulation and durable, medical equipment and lightweight car parts?
In fact, some of America’s Plastic Makers® are already using bio-based raw materials to make plastic, which reduces their environmental footprint and helps their customers meet sustainability goals.
Benefits of Bio-based Raw Materials
And these plastic makers have identified quite a few environmental benefits from using bio-based raw materials, such as:
- Benefit: INEOS Styrolution describes producing high-quality materials while reducing use of fossil resources and achieving a 50% to 90% lower greenhouse gas footprint (depending on inputs) compared to production from fossil resources.
- Benefit: Braskem notes that since 2010, its bioplastic innovations have avoided CO2 emissions equivalent to driving an average European car 1.6 million times around the Earth.
In fact, America’s Plastic Makers promote policies that support the growth of bio-based plastics. Read more here.
Packaging & Products Made with Bio-based Raw Materials
So, who is making these bio-based plastics… and what are they used for?
Here are some examples:
NOTE: These examples are not exhaustive and are self-reported by the companies. Follow links or contact the companies for more information.
Braskem began producing bio-based plastic at the beginning of the last decade. The company produces its bio-based plastics (polyethylene and ethylene vinyl-acetate) from sugarcane ethanol in Brazil and sells the material globally. The materials are used widely to make products such as water pipes, packaging, sneakers, sports bras and more. Braskem hopes to produce one million tons of bio-based plastics by 2030.
Covestro produces multiple chemical and plastic materials made with bio-attributed raw materials, such as used cooking oil and castor beans. The materials are sold globally to make insulation for appliances and buildings, car and furniture components, electronic and medical equipment and coatings/adhesives. This fits Covestro’s goal to “increase… carbon productivity by continually using fewer carbon-based fossil resources.”
Dow has a long-term agreement to obtain bio-based raw materials (ethylene) made from renewable agricultural residues from New Energy Blue, expected to begin in 2026. In what Dow calls a first, the raw materials will be based on corn waste (stover: stalks and leaves) and made into polyethylene for multiple (and often recyclable) uses, ranging from transportation to footwear to packaging.
Eastman has been making multiple plastics for decades using cellulose derived from trees (plus cotton and vegetable oils more recently). These cellulosic plastics (acetate, acetate butyrate and acetate propionate) are available globally and are used in a wide variety of products, including eye glass frames, toys, sporting goods, toothbrushes, appliances and more.
LyondellBasell has been offering polypropylene and polyethylene made with renewable materials derived from bio-based wastes and residual oils, including used cooking oils, using an ISCC PLUS-certified mass balance approach, since 2021. The company makes these plastics in the U.S. and Europe and markets them globally. These plastics can be used for highly regulated functions, such as food and pharmaceutical packaging. The company’s goal is to “produce and market at least two million metric tons of recycled and renewable based polymers annually by 2030.”
Contributing to Sustainability through Bio-based Materials
Making plastic out of bio-based raw materials is just one way America’s Plastic Makers are making sustainable change.
