Renewable bio-based polymers are one of the effective answers that the bioeconomy offers to solve the environmental emergency connected to plastics and more specifically fossil-based plastics. Previous studies have shown that more than 70% of the natural capital cost associated with plastic derives from the extraction and processing of fossil raw materials and that the price of fossil plastic would be on average 44% higher if such impact was fully paid by businesses. The disclosure of the hidden costs of plastics will contribute to dispelling the myth of the expensiveness of renewable polymers. Nevertheless, the adoption of bio-based plastics in the market must be motivated by their functional properties and not merely by their green credentials. This article highlights some successful examples of synergies between chemistry and biotechnology in achieving a new generation of bio-based monomers and polymers. Their success is justified by the combination of scientific advances with positive environmental and social fallouts.

中文翻译：

---

可再生聚合物和塑料：超越绿色的性能

可再生生物基聚合物是生物经济为解决与塑料，更具体地说是化石基塑料相关的环境紧急情况而提供的有效答案之一。先前的研究表明，与塑料相关的自然资本成本的 70% 以上来自化石原材料的提取和加工，如果企业全额支付这种影响，化石塑料的价格将平均高出 44%。塑料隐藏成本的披露将有助于消除可再生聚合物价格昂贵的神话。尽管如此，在市场上采用生物基塑料的动机必须是它们的功能特性，而不仅仅是它们的绿色证书。本文重点介绍了化学和生物技术在实现新一代生物基单体和聚合物方面协同作用的一些成功例子。科学进步与积极的环境和社会影响相结合，证明了他们的成功是合理的。