Practical Application of Biodegradable Plastic - Around 2001: The Dream and Reality of Circulating Materials

Practical Application of Biodegradable Plastic - Around 2001: The Dream and Reality of Circulating Materials
In 1995, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and private companies were cooperating on a plan to commercialize "biodegradable plastics. This project was born out of a reflection on conventional plastics that remain unbroken in the natural environment. Biodegradable plastic is a material that is decomposed by microorganisms into water and carbon dioxide, which are eventually returned to the soil. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) combined this with a food waste composting project and planned a demonstration in a model district. The Science and Technology Agency's "Fifth Technology Forecast Survey" predicted that the material would be put into practical use around 2001. However, the manufacturing cost was seven times higher than that of conventional products, and there were many issues to be addressed, including formability, durability, and safety.
In the mid-1990s, Japan was in a period of economic stagnation following the collapse of the bubble economy, and at the same time, the country was in the midst of a transition to becoming an "environmentally conscious nation" following the Earth Summit. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) positioned "recycling technology," "recycling equipment," and "environmentally conscious materials" as new industries and promoted joint research by universities and companies. In particular, biodegradable plastics attracted attention as a "material that returns to nature even after use," transcending the limits of recycling.
In this trend, the Study Group on Biodegradable Plastics (later known as the Japan Bio-Plastics Association (JBPA)), established in 1989, promoted the creation of standards, and in 2000 established the GreenPla certification system. In 2000, Cargill-Dow succeeded in mass-producing corn-derived PLA (polylactic acid) in the U.S., and with the start of operations in 2002, the era of "practical use of bioplastics" became a reality. The following year, Cargill-Dow succeeded in mass producing corn-based PLA (polylactic acid).
In the midst of this trend, Mitsubishi Chemical, Unitika, Kaneka, and other Japanese companies began developing PLA-based and PHA-based products one after another. Applications expanded from household garbage bags to tableware and agricultural mulch sheets, but the barriers of cost and infrastructure were thick. Nevertheless, the challenges of this period were significant in that they linked environmental technology not merely to ideals but to reform of the industrial structure.
Around 2001, the world was undergoing a paradigm shift from recycling to biomaterials. Biodegradable plastics symbolized this shift, a pioneering technology that embodied the idea of a "recycling-oriented society," and represented an important turning point in Japan's science and technology policy that reconnected the environment and industry.