Four Barriers to Bioplastics Growth, and a SolutionFour Barriers to Bioplastics Growth, and a Solution
An industry insider identifies biopolymers’ four fundamental growing pains.
January 27, 2025

At a Glance
- Major barriers include feedstock, waste management, costs, and scalability.
Research and development in bioplastics are progressing at breakneck speeds.
For example, StartUs Insights maintains a database of more than 500 biopolymer startups and scaleups — that’s an astonishing level of investment and activity.
It’s all based as much on reality paired with biopolymers’ potential to help solve the world’s plastic problem.
The truth is that bioplastics are at the beginning of a long and often frustrating journey, according to John Williams, chief technology officer of biopolymer maker Aquapak. The UK-based company’s primary product is Hydropol, a functionally enhanced polyvinyl alcohol biopolymer. PVOH is used for dishwasher tablets, ingestible pill casings, and soluble stitches. The company seeks to expand by partnering with clients in other markets including apparel and fashion, hospitality, healthcare, food packaging, logistics packaging, industrial, and nonwovens.
Williams unpacks what he sees as the four barriers to broad-based bioplastic acceptance.

Bioplastic challenge #1: Feedstock
According to Williams, the first of these interrelated challenges is feedstock.
“What is the source and is there enough of it?” Williams asks. “There has been criticism for incentivising land-use change; for example, if forests are cleared to provide feedstock for biopolymer production.
“Also, do we fully understand the potential impact on biodiversity if there is an increase in marine-derived feedstock such as algae?
“According to independent reports, the impact of increased use of agricultural and related feedstock is minimal, yet there remains widespread concern driven by this misunderstanding.”
The argument fizzles when one considers the facts.
PlasticsToday contributor Paul D.Q. Campbell reported last February that only about one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the 400 million tons of plastics produced globally each year are bioplastics, according to a report published by European Bioplastics, Bioplastics Market Development Update 2023.
Bioplastic challenge #2: Waste management
“For circularity, the sector must contend with the limitations of current waste management systems,” Williams opines. “Materials that are biodegradable or compostable count for nothing if collection and processing is insufficient to recover the material. All materials must be reused, recycled, or composted to reduce end-of-life impacts and ultimately end soil and marine pollution.”

John Lund/Stone via Getty Images
Profitability is at heart of the waste management issue.
“To produce lasting change, plastic waste management must become a profitable enterprise for the plastics and plastic products industries,” wrote author Eric C. Guyer in November, informing PlasticsToday readers that “profitability drives innovation, attracts investment, and fosters competition, essential elements for developing efficient solutions to complex problems like plastic waste management.”
Bioplastic challenge #3: Manufacturing costs
The costs of manufacturing largely determine pricing, and costs are what locks or unlocks the way forward.
Unfortunately, bioplastics production frequently involves specialized processes and technologies, which can increase costs compared to the well-established methods for conventional plastics.
“Bioplastics are more expensive to produce compared to traditional petroleum-based plastics, and this increased cost is often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for bioplastics products,” Williams says. “This can make it difficult for bioplastics to compete with traditional plastics, especially in price-sensitive industries such as packaging.”
For example, an April 2024 report suggests a 20-30% premium for biodegradable plastics [over conventional plastics] primarily due to the use of natural raw materials and complex production processes.”
Bioplastic challenge #4: Scalability
Williams believes this is the biggest and final hurdle.
“Developing solutions that can be commercialised at scale is arguably the biggest challenge for bioplastic growth,” he says. “There is a reason polypropylene and polyethylene have become so incredibly dominant. There was no awareness during their development of environmental issues even as they gained traction because of their functional benefits.
“Refining crude oil is a highly efficient process and has much greater carbon density per unit of conversion in comparison to the conversion of plant-derived feedstocks through biorefineries. Moving the world away from oil-based polymers is not a straightforward task.”
Others are more optimistic.
Luis Roca Blay, a compounding leader at the renowned Plastics Technology Centre in Spain better known as AIMPLAS, believes that bioplastic costs may have reached a scalability tipping point.
“Global and regional policies, public perception, the support of the big players with new materials, and the geo-strategic situation are creating a scenario where the position of bioplastics can be strengthened,” he notes. “Economies of scale, in turn, will lower costs, leading to the final step of definitive implementation of biodegradable plastics in our economy.”
A practical solution
Although investment in bioplastics research and development is, in Williams’ words “solid,” he feels it remains a work in progress.
“Despite claims from some quarters, there is no single bio-based material solution,” he reports. “The target end products are complex. Also, new bio-based products must meet functional and regulatory requirements. There is a very real risk that if the industry continues to operate in independent silos, development will remain painfully slow.”
Which leads directly to a solution based on his own company’s experience: collaboration.
“Lessons learned from the development of Hydropol can be shared with the bioplastics sector,” Williams states. “While many in the sector are working with us, more collaboration is better.
“The only way to accelerate the transition to a truly circular economy supply chain to improve the environment is to ensure the industry collaborations. This means combining new materials with common ones to maximise functionality and end of life.”
That’s confirmed by Linda Roman, Kraft Heinz director of packaging, who feels that partnerships are of paramount importance. “We know collaboration is the key to unlocking solutions for the future of packaging.”
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