Green Plastic: An Innovative Concept for Pollution Control

Abstract Plastics are referred “green” if they exhibit one or more of the following properties: source renewability, biodegradability/compost ability after end of the life and environmentally friendly processing. Vast majority of the plastics today are originated from petroleum based hydrocarbons and therefore made from non renewable resources. Even though less than 5% of the petroleum is used in plastics manufacturing, the renewability of the source is often a concern. The linear economy for plastic packaging, which currently leads to excessive carbon dioxide emissions and leakage into the environment, needs to be reformed to a greener circular model which is resource efficient and environmentally benign.