Safety Issues, Environmental Impacts, and Health Effects of Biopolymers

Abstract

Petroleum-based polymers are linked to a variety of health and environmental issues throughout their life cycle, such as pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, persistence in marine and terrestrial habitats, etc. On the other hand, biopolymers are a fast-expanding class of polymeric materials that are frequently offered as substitutes for traditional plastics made from petroleum. However, there is a need to assess the true health and environmental impact of using biopolymers because they have also been connected to significant health and environmental problems like greenhouse gas emissions and adverse land use change. Though numerous evaluations include biopolymers, very few fully and concurrently analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using biopolymers for the environment. The current chapter deals with the safety aspects of biopolymers in human health and the environment.