Bio-based plastics have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas impacts and displace fossil resources with renewable resources throughout the supply chain. The American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division has developed these principles to promote policies that support responsible growth of commercially available and viable bio-based plastics production, as well as bolster solutions that help American companies reach their sustainability goals more rapidly.
For these principles, bio-based plastics are partially or fully derived from materials of biological origin and must be capable of being produced at an industrial scale. Segregated and mass balance chain of custody processes are included in these principles. Fossil-based compostable/biodegradable plastics are out of scope.