I. The Global Crisis of Plastic Pollution During the process of human civilization, the invention of plastic was once hailed as “the greatest creation of the 20th century,” but it has now evolved into the number one threat to the Earth’s ecosystem.
According to data from the United Nations Environment Program, the world generates over 400 million tons of plastic waste annually. Only 9% of it is effectively recycled, 12% is incinerated, and the remaining 79% accumulates on land or flows into the oceans. By 2040, this figure is expected to double, which is equivalent to dumping a truckload of plastic waste into the ocean every minute.
The severity of this pollution far exceeds imagination: there are already 5.25 trillion plastic debris floating in the ocean, causing the deaths of 100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds each year. What’s more concerning is that microplastics have invaded the human food chain – humans consume 0.1 – 5 grams of microplastic particles per week through diet, which is equivalent to eating a credit card’s worth of plastic annually. A 2025 study in Nature Medicine found that the concentration of microplastics in human brain samples has increased by 50% compared to 2016, and the long – term impact on the nervous system remains unclear.
II. The Limitations of Traditional Solutions Facing this ecological disaster, humans have attempted various coping strategies:
1. The Fragility of Recycling Systems: The global plastic recycling rate is less than 15%. In China, the recycled amount of waste plastic in 2023 accounted for only 30.6% of the total production. Mechanical recycling leads to a decline in material performance, chemical recycling is costly, and there are risks of secondary pollution.
2. The Controversy of Incineration for Power Generation: Although it can reduce landfill volume, the toxic gases such as dioxins produced by incineration harm human health. EU data shows that 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide are emitted for every ton of plastic incinerated.
3. The Insufficiency of Ocean Clean – up: Even with the launch of the world’s largest ocean clean – up project, “The Ocean Cleanup,” its efficiency can only deal with 0.3% of marine plastics, and it may accidentally harm marine life.
III. The Disruptive Breakthrough of Biobased Degradable Materials Biobased degradable materials are becoming the key to solving the problem due to their unique ecological properties:
1. Sustainability of Raw Materials: Using renewable resources such as corn, sugarcane, and straw as raw materials to replace petroleum – based plastics. The polylactic acid (PLA) production line of China YOUHUA Biomaterial consumes 100,000 tons of corn starch annually, which is equivalent to reducing 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
2. The Revolutionary Nature of Complete Degradation: Under industrial composting conditions, PLA can decompose into carbon dioxide and water within 60 days, while traditional plastics take hundreds of years. The “Horizon 2020” project of the European Union has verified that the carbon footprint of biobased materials is 60% lower than that of traditional plastics.
3. Comprehensive Performance Superiority: ◦ Strength: The tensile strength of PHA reaches 30MPa, close to that of polypropylene. ◦ Heat Resistance: Polybutylene succinate (PBS) can withstand a temperature of 110°C, suitable for food packaging. ◦ Barrier Property: The oxygen barrier property of PEF is three times that of PET, extending the shelf life of food.
IV. Successful Paradigms of Industrial Practice Globally, biobased materials have transitioned from the laboratory to large – scale applications:
1. In the Packaging Field: Starbucks stores in 14 states in the United States have switched to PLA – lined paper cups, reducing the use of 1 billion plastic cups annually; French cognac brand Angély launched bottles made entirely of PLA, achieving a zero – carbon – footprint packaging.
2. In the Medical Field: The biobased nanomaterials developed by Nanjing Forestry University have increased the anti – cancer efficiency by 10 times and reduced the cost by 50%; the wooden 3D – printed bone nails developed by Zhejiang A&F University have passed animal experiments, with biocompatibility superior to metal materials.
3. In the Agricultural Field: The biobased agricultural films promoted in China can naturally degrade in the soil, avoiding the degradation of cultivated land caused by traditional agricultural films, reducing 15 kilograms of residual plastic per mu of land.
V. Key Breakthroughs in Technological Innovation
1. The Revolution of Non – Grain Raw Materials: PEF materials developed by Sinobioway use agricultural waste as raw materials and have successfully completed ton – scale trial production; East China University of Science and Technology has developed high – performance biobased luminescent materials using γ – cyclodextrin, achieving “zero – waste” production.
2. Upgrades in Degradation Technology: Professor Jiang Hui’s team discovered that PLA microplastics may invade sperm and cause toxicity, promoting the industry to develop new composite degradable materials, such as PBAT/PLA blends, which can reduce environmental risks while ensuring performance.
3. Cost Optimization Path: The production cost of PEF by YOUHUA New Materials is 20% lower than that of traditional PET, and it is expected to achieve price parity after large – scale production; the market size of biobased materials in China exceeded 23 billion yuan in 2022, with an annual growth rate of 16%.
VI. Coordinated Global Policy Promotion
1. The Pioneering Role of EU Legislation: In 2024, the “Microplastic Restriction Bill” was passed, requiring 30% of petrochemical chemicals to be replaced by biobased materials by 2030; France mandates that all packaging must contain 50% biobased components by 2025.
2. China’s Strategic Layout: The Three – Year Action Plan for Accelerating the Innovation and Development of Non – Grain Biobased Materials clearly states that by 2025, the non – grain biobased material industry will form an independent innovation system, and the competitiveness of some products will be comparable to that of fossil – based products.
3. Corporate Social Responsibility: Companies such as Danone and HEYTEA have increased the penetration rate of PLA packaging to 80%; Haier Group has launched biobased refrigerator liners, reducing the carbon footprint by 40%.
VII. Existing Challenges and Solutions
1. The Gap in Degradation Facilities: Industrial composting facilities globally only cover 20% of the population, and the construction of regional processing centers needs to be accelerated. China plans to build 500 recycling network nodes for biobased materials by 2025.
2. Correcting Cognitive Misconceptions: Consumers mistakenly believe that “degradable” means “can be discarded at will”, and more efforts are needed to strengthen label management. The EU requires that all biobased products be labeled with degradation conditions by 2025.
3. Improving Technical Standards: Establish a unified testing method for biobased content. China has issued the Measures for the Identification and Traceability Management of Biobased Materials, promoting the standardization of the industry.
VIII. The Future Prospect: From Substitution to Reconstruction
1. The Revolution in Materials Science: Gene – editing technology is used to cultivate high – yield energy crops, such as plants for PHA production that can tolerate saline – alkali environments, breaking through the raw material bottleneck.
2. The Closed – loop of Circular Economy: The closed – loop system for biobased materials developed by the Dutch company Heuritech can convert waste into new materials, achieving “zero – waste” production.
3. Empowerment by Digital Technology: Blockchain traceability technology ensures the full – life – cycle traceability of biobased materials. Alibaba Cloud’s platform has realized the whole – process monitoring of PLA products from farmland to shelves.
Conclusion: The Evolutionary Choice of Civilization When humanity stands on the edge of the plastic pollution cliff, biobased degradable materials are not only the product of technological innovation but also the inevitable choice of civilizational evolution. They carry our awe for ecological balance, our responsibility to future generations, and our ultimate pursuit of a sustainable future. As revealed in the 12th Five – Year Special Plan for the Scientific and Technological Development of the Biobased Materials Industry, this is not just a material substitution but a reconstruction of the relationship between humans and nature. When every biobased product turns into spring mud in the soil, and when every degradation cycle completes the closed – loop of carbon, we will eventually complete the redemption of the Earth through green transformation.
