PLA has been an integral part of a sustainable range of packaging materials for several years now, and for good reason. The material is made from renewable rather than fossil raw materials and is compostable according to DIN EN 13432. This makes it one of the so-called bioplastics . PLA stands for polylactic acid, which in German means polylactide. It is also commonly referred to as polylactic acid.

How is plastic produced sustainably? The answer is: from corn, potatoes or beets. These plants contain high amounts of starch (glucose), which is needed to produce lactic acid and is therefore extracted from the plants. The starch is fermented into lactic acid by microorganisms and the resulting lactic acid is further converted into granules through the polymerization process, which then serve as the basis for producing the plastic.

This means that the bioplastic is available in large quantities, whereas conventional plastic is produced from finite fossil resources such as petroleum. The material, which belongs to the polyester family, is already CO2-efficient during production. Compared to other plastics, only a small amount of carbon dioxide is emitted. The PLA material is also impressive in terms of recycling due to its compostability.

PLA is compostable according to the DIN EN 13432 standard. This means that products made from the bioplastic have decomposed within three months under certain temperature, oxygen and humidity conditions to such an extent that no more than 10% of the material remains when sieved through a very fine sieve. Since these requirements are very specific, the plastic alternative cannot be broken down in domestic compost. Even in large composting plants, this pollutant-free method of disposal is often not economically viable, as the remaining organic waste rots much more quickly. Unfortunately, too few quantities of PLA are used to make composting economical. Accordingly, incineration is often the disposal method of choice. This sounds daunting at first, but the products that are burned only emit as much CO2 as the plants have previously absorbed from the environment. The greenhouse gas emissions therefore remain neutral. PLA therefore still performs better than conventional plastic. So far, the quantities of PLA used are too small for recycling to be worthwhile. Research  but show how useful the recycling of PLA is. It remains to be hoped that further research into the bioplastic will enable a more functional recycling cycle. The more research, testing and development is carried out, the more sustainably the material will be recycled or broken down in the future. And the more people choose products made of PLA, the greater the pressure on manufacturers to use PLA and the need for recycling or composting options will also increase.