Consumables made of bioplastics enter the lab

In this whitepaper, Eppendorf discusses the problem of plastic pollution and its impact on the environment. While bioplastics made from renewable resources like plants seem to be a promising solution, they also have drawbacks, such as negative environmental impact from land use and loss of biodiversity. One possible solution proposed in the paper is the use of waste streams, such as used cooking oil, as a source to produce polypropylene products for everyday lab work. The paper highlights the potential of waste streams as resources to build a circular economy. Several examples are presented, including forestry wastes that could generate second-generation plastic.