 PLA – Poly Lactic Acid

 Made from Plants, not Petroleum

 Starch in the plant is converted by fermentation
to Lactic Acid, which is polymerized to make
PLA
 Can be made from plants containing
starches/sugars like corn, sugar beets, sugar
cane, wheat etc.
 INSOLUBLE IN WATER
 MOISTURE AND GREASE RESISTANT
 CLEAR AND GLOSSY
 BIODEGRADABLE AND COMPOSTABLE
 REQUIRES 20%-50% LESS FOSSIL FUELS TO
PRODUCE
 Made from corn starch – sugar – lactic acid
 Lactic acid monomers are converted to polylactic
acid polymer
 Common products containing PLA: food packaging,
disposable tableware, diapers
 NatureWorks – biggest PLA producer in the
world
 Owned by Cargill
 Factory in Blair, NE – 300 million lbs/year
 Uses Corn Starch to make PLA
 Other PLA manufacturers in Europe and
China.
 Is fully Compostable in a Commercial Composting Facility
within 90 days
 Din Certco (Europe), BPI (USA), GreenPLA (Japan)
certifications
 Reduces Environmental Pollution
 Is not Home Compostable
 Is not Soil Degradable
 Is not Marine Degradable
 Does not degrade in a landfill
 PLA can be recycled back to Lactic Acid, via a
chemical process called hydrolysis
 Once converted to Lactic Acid, it can be remade into
PLA
 Allows infinite recycling of feedstock vs. normal
down cycling of oil-based plastics
 Several cities use Municipal Waste Incinerators to
burn wastes.
 No Toxicity when burning PLA, unlike fossil based
polymers