Challenges

Pollution of oceans by plastic waste has grown at a staggering rate over the past decades, with dramatic consequences for the marine environment. With an annual growth of 12% in plastic use and waste mismanagement alone, Thailand is the 6th largest source of plastic waste in oceans contributing approx. 1 million tons of plastic waste in 2017.

LignoPlas project therefore tackles a primary problem which is of direct relevance to Thailand as Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a great opportunity for the polymer industry due to their property of high biodegradability and processing versatility, and the potential to replace fossil fuel-based plastics in the near future.