ABSTRACT
New bioplastics are still more expensive than their petroleum-based relatives, but this gap is decreasing. Rising oil prices and ecologically motivated political support have been leading to price advantages for bioplastics, especially with regard to raw materials and disposal. Thus, as the production of some bioplastics has reached an industrial scale, the remaining economic disadvantages due to limited production capacity can be compensated and bioplastics are becoming more competitive compared to conventional plastics, especially in the packaging industry. Meanwhile, efforts are being made to retain the conventional processing methods used for petrochemical polymers, applying them to natural raw materials (Endres, Siebert, and Kaneva, 2007).
