FormerBiodegradablePlasticsSociety,Japan(BPS)haschangedthenametoJapanBioPlasticsAssociation(JBPA)on15thofJune2007.JapanBioPlasticsAssociation(JBPA)wasestablishedin1989JapanasthenameofBiodegradablePlasticsSociety,Japan(BPS).Sincethen,withmorethan200membershipcompanies,JBPAhasbeenmakingmanyeffortstopromotetherecognitionandthebusinessdevelopmentof"BiodegradablePlastics"and"Biomass-basedPlastics"inJapan.JBPAkeepsclosecooperationbasiswithUS(BPI),EU(EuropeanBioplastics),China(BMG)andKoreaandcontinuesthediscussionwiththemaboutvarioustechnicalitems,suchastheAnalyticalmethodtoevaluatethebiodegradability,theproductsspecification,therecognitionandlabellingsystemetc.WethinktheclosecommunicationwithinAsianareaismostimportantespeciallyconnectedwiththerapiddevelopmentactivityintheseareas.HistoryandBackgroundofGreenPla(R)Whenyoulookaroundinyourdailylife,you'llnoticethatplasticsareusedeverywhere.Plastics,whicharelightinweight,canbeeasilyprocessedintovariousshapesandcolors,andare***ailableatlowcosts,areatypicalexampleofoutstandingbenefitsofadvancedscienceandtechnology.Weareenjoyingcomfortablemodernlivesbroughtaboutbytheplastics.Stabilityanddurabilityofplasticsareveryusefulcharacteristicswhentheplasticsareinuse.However,thestrengthofplasticscouldcausesomereverseproblems;theissueofplasticwastes.Plasticwastestendtobec***picuousatlandfillsitesand,sinceplasticsingeneralarelightinspecificweight,volumetricpercentageofwasteplasticsinthetotalwasteisrelativelyhigh.Wasteplasticsh***ebeensometimesregardedasthemajorcauseofrapiddepletionof***ailablelandfillsites.Oncedischargedintonaturalenvironment,someoftheplasticsareverydifficulttoretrieve.Storiesoffishinglinetangledonseabird'slegsandplasticbagsfoundinstomachofseaturtleare,forexample,veryoftencarriedinnewspapers.Wearenowfacingthefact,moreoftenthanever,thatwasteplasticsdischargedastheresultofhumanactivitiesarethreateningthewildlivesanddamagingtheenvironment.Biodegradableplastics(GreenPla(R))h***ebeendevelopedasoneofthesoluti***totheproblems.Biodegradableplasticscanbeusedinthesamewayasconventionalplasticsunderordinaryconditi***,buttheyaredegradedbymicroorgani***slikewoodsandcottononcetheyh***ebecomedisused.GreenPla,whichiseventuallydegradedtocarbondioxideandwaterinthenaturalcycle,isthefirstplasticsthattakeintoaccountthetreatmentandfinaldisposalafterused.Theterm"Biodegradability"isdefinedasthecharacteristicsofmaterialthatcanbemicrobiologicallydegradedtothefinalproductsofcarbondioxideandwater,whichinturnarerecycledinthenature.Biodegradationshouldbedistinguishedfromdisintegrationwhichsimplymeansthematerialisbrokeninto***allandseparatepieces.BiodegradabilityofplasticsisdeterminedbytheISOmethodsandevaluatedbaseduponthepre-establishedcriteria.Onlybiodegradableplasticsthatmeettherigorouscriteriasuchascontentsofhe***ymetalsandsafeintermediatereactionproductsmaybeclassifiedasGreenPla(R).GreenPlasofnaturalorganicsoriginincludechitosan/cellulose/starchcompound,celluloseacetateanddenaturedstarchwiththermalplasticityaretypicalexamplesofthistypeofGreenPla.Whenyoulookaroundinyourdailylife,you'llnoticethatplasticsareusedeverywhere.Plastics,whicharelightinweight,canbeeasilyprocessedintovariousshapesandcolors,andare***ailableatlowcosts,areatypicalexampleofoutstandingbenefitsofadvancedscienceandtechnology.Weareenjoyingcomfortablemodernlivesbroughtaboutbytheplastics.Stabilityanddurabilityofplasticsareveryusefulcharacteristicswhentheplasticsareinuse.However,thestrengthofplasticscouldcausesomereverseproblems;theissueofplasticwastes.Plasticwastestendtobec***picuousatlandfillsitesand,sinceplasticsingeneralarelightinspecificweight,volumetricpercentageofwasteplasticsinthetotalwasteisrelativelyhigh.Wasteplasticsh***ebeensometimesregardedasthemajorcauseofrapiddepletionof***ailablelandfillsites.Oncedischargedintonaturalenvironment,someoftheplasticsareverydifficulttoretrieve.Storiesoffishinglinetangledonseabird'slegsandplasticbagsfoundinstomachofseaturtleare,forexample,veryoftencarriedinnewspapers.Wearenowfacingthefact,moreoftenthanever,thatwasteplasticsdischargedastheresultofhumanactivitiesarethreateningthewildlivesanddamagingtheenvironment.Biodegradableplastics(GreenPla(R))h***ebeendevelopedasoneofthesoluti***totheproblems.Biodegradableplasticscanbeusedinthesamewayasconventionalplasticsunderordinaryconditi***,buttheyaredegradedbymicroorgani***slikewoodsandcottononcetheyh***ebecomedisused.GreenPla,whichiseventuallydegradedtocarbondioxideandwaterinthenaturalcycle,isthefirstplasticsthattakeintoaccountthetreatmentandfinaldisposalafterused.Theterm"Biodegradability"isdefinedasthecharacteristicsofmaterialthatcanbemicrobiologicallydegradedtothefinalproductsofcarbondioxideandwater,whichinturnarerecycledinthenature.Biodegradationshouldbedistinguishedfromdisintegrationwhichsimplymeansthematerialisbrokeninto***allandseparatepieces.BiodegradabilityofplasticsisdeterminedbytheISOmethodsandevaluatedbaseduponthepre-establishedcriteria.Onlybiodegradableplasticsthatmeettherigorouscriteriasuchascontentsofhe***ymetalsandsafeintermediatereactionproductsmaybeclassifiedasGreenPla(R).GreenPlasofnaturalorganicsoriginincludechitosan/cellulose/starchcompound,celluloseacetateanddenaturedstarchwiththermalplasticityaretypicalexamplesofthistypeofGreenPla.HistoryandBackgroundofBiomass-basedPlastics★GlobalWarmingGlobalwarming,whichisatypicalissueofclimatechange,isanimportantsubjecttobecopedwithfromtheglobalandlong-termpointofview.Atmosphericconcentrationofcarbondioxide,whichisoneofthegreenhousegases,usedtobe280ppmbeforetheindustrialrevolution.Theconcentrationhasrapidlyrisentothecurrent380ppmoverashortperiodoftimesincethen,andisexpectedtocontinuetoriseto500to1,000ppmbytheendof21stcenturyifnocountermeasuresaretaken.Itisgenerallyagreedonthatabalancebetweenthecarbonsink(ca.3billiont-C/year;terrestrialandmarinesinkscombined)andthecarbondischarge(ca.6.3billiont-C/year)mustbemaintainedinordertostabilizetheatmosphericconcentrationofcarbondioxide.Somesymptomsofenvironmentalabnormalitiesduetotheincreaseintheatmosphericconcentrationofgreenhousegasesh***ealreadybegunbeingnoticed.Ithadtakenhundredsofthousandyearstofixenoughcarb***intheearthandestablishthecurrentenvironmentalconditi***,butwecanclearlyconceivethepossibledangerofrapiddeteriorationoftheglobalenvironmentinnearfutureduetothedrasticincreaseinc***umptionoffossilresourceswithinthelastcoupleofcenturies.★RatificationoftheKyotoProtocolandthegovernmentpolicyTheJapaneseGovernmentratifiedtheKyotoProtocolinJune,2002andtookthefirststeptodrawuptheplanagainstglobalwarming.Followingtheratification,thegovernmentannouncedtwopracticalstatemeasurestopromotethepolicyinDecember,2002;thesetwobeingthe"BiotechnologyStrategicScheme"andthe"BiomassNipponStrategy".Themainobjectiveofthetwostrategiesistopromotetheutilizationofbiomass,whichisarenewableresource,byapplyingfast-advancingbiotechnologiesinordertomitigatetheglobalwarmingandotherrelevantenvironmentalabnormalities,aswellastoreducethec***umptionoffossilresourcesthataredepletingquickly.★Let'sReplace20%ofPetrochemicalPlasticswithBiomass-basedPlasticsInthestrategiesproposedasanimportantissueistheexpansionofuseofbiomass-basedplastics,whicharemadefromrenewableresourcesbyapplyingadvancedbiochemicaltechnologies.ThepolicyobjectivestatedintheBiotechnologyStrategicSchemeistoreplaceapproximately20%(2.5to3milliont***peryear)ofconventionalplasticswithplasticsfromrenewableresourcesbylate2010s.Ifproductionofplasticscanbefeasiblefrombiomasssuchasplantsthatcanberenewedwithinthetimeperiodofafewdozensofyearsatmostinsteadoffossilresourcesthataredepleting,wecanaccomplishboththereductioninc***umptionoffossilresourcesandthepreventionofincreaseinatmosphericconcentrationofcarbondioxidesimultaneously.ThisistheconceptofCarbonNeutrality,andBiomass-basedPlasticsaretherepresentativematerialsoftheconcept.CharacteristicsofBiomass-basedPlasticsIJapanBioPlasticsAssociation(JBPA)definesBiomass-basedPlasticsaspolymermaterialsthatareproducedbysynthesizing,eitherchemicallyorbiologically,materialswhichcontainrenewableorganicmaterials(naturalorganicpolymermaterialsthatarenotchemicallymodifiedareexcluded).Plasticsareindispensabletosupportourlives.JBPAdesirestoprovideplasticmaterialswhilehelpingtosolvethemosturgentandimportantissuesofpreservationofglobalenvironmentandestablishmentofrecycle-orientedsocietybyapplyingchemicalandbiochemicaltechnologiesonthebiomassresourcesCharacteristicsofBiomass-basedPlasticsJapanBioPlasticsAssociation(JBPA)definesBiomass-basedPlasticsaspolymermaterialsthatareproducedbysynthesizing,eitherchemicallyorbiologically,materialswhichcontainrenewableorganicmaterials(naturalorganicpolymermaterialsthatarenotchemicallymodifiedareexcluded).Plasticsareindispensabletosupportourlives.JBPAdesirestoprovideplasticmaterialswhilehelpingtosolvethemosturgentandimportantissuesofpreservationofglobalenvironmentandestablishmentofrecycle-orientedsocietybyapplyingchemicalandbiochemicaltechnologiesonthebiomassresources.MaterialsandTypesofBiomass-basedPlasticsBiomass-basedPlasticsarecharacterizedbyuseofbiomassastherawmaterials.ManykindsofbiomassmaterialsmaybeusedtoproduceBiomass-basedPlasticswhicharecategorizedintwoclasses;totallyBiomass-basedPlasticsandpartiallyBiomass-basedPlastics.★TotallyBiomass-basedPlasticsPlasticstotallymadefrombiomassmaterials.PLAandesterisedstarcharetheexamples.Ifbothsuccinicacidand1,4-butanediolofbiomassorigincanbesubstitutedforthecurrentlyusedmaterialsofpetrochemicalorigin,polybutylenesuccinatefamily(PBS)aretobeclassifiedasAll-outBiomassPla.PartiallyBiomass-basedPlasticsPolypropyreneterephthalate(PPT)productscontainingpropyleneglycolproducedbyfermentationarealreadyonthemarket.CopolymerizedPLAandCelluloseacetatearealsotheexamplesofpartialBiomassPla.Studiesanddevelopmentarecurrentlybeingundertakentosubstitutepetrochemicalsuccinicacid,usedtoproducePBSandPBSA,andpetrochemical1,4-butanediol,usedtoproducePBAT,withthoseofbiomassorigin.Whenthesubstitutioniscompleted,theseplasticsaretobeclassifiedaspartiallyBiomass-basedPlastics.)