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Plant-based plastic from the UAE: Dubai-based startup Emirates Biotech is making bioplastics from plants — polylactic acid (PLA) — to serve as a greener alternative to traditional plastics which contribute significantly to plastic waste pollution, The National reported.
But first, what is PLA? It is a biopolymer made from plants that absorbs CO2, making it a more sustainable material than other plastics, according to the company’s website. It can be used for appliances, electronics, packaging, food service ware, 3D printing, and textiles. It is recyclable and compostable, breaking down into natural elements without leaving microplastics behind.
A lower carbon footprint + compostable within 90 days: PLA – which is typically derived from corn and sugar – is expected to have a 30% to 50% lower carbon footprint than fossil fuel-based plastic, Emirates Biotech CEO Marc Verbruggen told The National. It is also compostable within 90 days under proper conditions. “What a product like PLA does is that rather than just looking at recycling and hopefully reuse, you actually add another way of ultimately recycling the product by looking at composting. We call it organic recycling,” Verbruggen said.
Exports are in the pipeline: The company plans to make PLA in the UAE and export the product to India, Turkey, and Europe, Verbruggen told The National.
PLA is already taking off in the region: Dubai-based polymer supplier Gulf Biopolymers Industries (GBI) announced plans earlier this year to build the region’s first biodegradable PLA polymers production facility in the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (Kezad). The facility — for which GBI signed a 50-year lease agreement— will span 135k sq meters and is planned to have an annual 30k ton PLA production volume.
