What is a corn-based plastic resin?
Corn-based plastic resins are solely made from field corn. Corn sugar is extracted from the plant, and through a fermentation process, microbes transform the corn sugar into bioplastics. What are the environmental benefits of bioplastics? Bioplastics are regarded as an environmentally responsible alternative to petroleum-based plastics. They rely less on fossil fuels, a non-renewable resource. They also are biodegradable when disposed of properly, reducing waste. Bioplastic products also result in a net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions because the plants used to produce the bioplastic material absorb the same amount of carbon they started with, thus displacing that carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere. What are the negative environmental impacts from bioplastics? Bioplastics are a synthetic material and are sometimes criticized because their manufacturing and processing can result in environmental impacts. Any manufacturing process can be energy intensive, increasing GHG
