Plantic® is a unique form of bioplastic made from corn starch by Plantic Technologies, an Australian-based company with offices in the U.K. and Europe. Plantic is a completely biodegradable, organic alternative to conventional petrochemically manufactured plastics, offering significant environmental, performance and cost benefits.

Unlike other forms of bioplastic, Plantic is produced from organic material:  corn starch derived from high amylose, non-genetically modified corn.  Other bioplastics companies utilise such natural materials as corn starch, but then develop the polymers that enable this material to take on the capabilities of plastic via a complex and expensive refinery process.  Plantic’s patented technology is based on the utilisation of the long amylose molecule in corn starch, a naturally occurring polymer.  The entire process, from harvest through to manufacture is organic and more cost effective as a result.  The unique chemical properties of the amylose molecule also give Plantic material the capacity to be customised to suit a broader range of applications than other bioplastics.

Plantic is totally biodegradable.  The material decomposes safely, effectively and completely after its useful life is finished.  Petrochemically derived plastics do not compost and can take years to break down at all, creating significant waste management costs and major environmental health problems.  Plantic is based on corn starch from non-GM corn, one of the most economical and abundant crops grown on the planet, so it is cost competitive with petrochemical based plastics.  It is officially certified Home Compostable, Biodegradable and safe for disposal in waste water in Europe, some of the strictest environmental standards in the world.  Plantic thus offers a renewable and sustainable alternative to petrochemically derived plastics, costing on average less than 40% across its entire life cycle than fossil fuel plastics, while delivering the same performance benefits across a wide range of applications.  The environmental benefits may be priceless.

Plantic-based products are inherently anti-static.  They provide an excellent gas, taint and odour barrier, and are safe and easy to work with.  They are sealable, printable and laser etchable.  They can also be hybridised to work in conjunction with conventional plastics, thus creating a potentially limitless range of uses.

You may be already without even knowing it.  Increasingly, environmentally aware consumers are choosing to make their purchasing decisions based on the incorporation of Plantic material, because they want to reduce plastic waste.  Major multinational corporations have been quick to adopt this bioresponsible technology as a result.  Plantic customers include such significant international users of packaging as Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, while Plantic material is distributed even more widely to other industries around the world via global leaders such as DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers.

Plantic material is produced as extruded sheets or as resin granules and sold to a wide range of materials and packaging companies throughout the world across the complete spectrum of conventional plastics applications, including thermoforming, injection moulding, film extrusion and blow moulding, as well as rigid and flexible packaging.  From food and beverage packaging to medical, automotive and aerospace applications, there is virtually no industry that will not soon be affected and enhanced by this new technology.  New capabilities are being developed as you read this.