The impact of 50 years of unbridled plastics production, use, and disposal is now becoming well known and documented. Plastics made from non-renewable petroleum and natural gas resources threaten the environment, human health, species maintenance, and the very life of the ocean.

This web site discusses the problems with fossil-fuel based plastics and the opportunities and challenges of using biobased plastics – plastics made from plants such as corn, potatoes, sugarcane, and trees – to mitigate these problems. A product with biobased content does not guarantee its sustainability.

Sustainable Plastics?, a project of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, explores how we can make plastics more sustainable throughout their lifecycle from production to recycling or composting at the end of intended use.

Also visit the Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative, a network of diverse organizations working together to spur the use of biomaterials that are sustainable from cradle to cradle.