Poly lactic acid (PLA) is a biopolymer made from annually renewable crops like maize and cane sugar. The manner of developing poly lactic acid has been known for years, but business oriented interest in poly lactic acid has increased dramatically in the past couple of years because of the ability of the biopolymer to biodegrade in a commercial composting center.

Polylactic Acid Production: Corn is harvested from a farm and is stripped into its different components. The sugar from the corn, dextrose, is then removed. The dextrose is fermented, distilled, and turned into lactic acid and lactic acid is then converted into PLA. The polylactic acid is typically formed into small pellets. The PLA pellets will then be bought by various manufacturers and included in different molds to produce a variety of products and packaging, including: food service ware (e.g., corn cups), fabrics, furnishings, medical devices, and much more.

PLA’s Physical Qualities: Poly lactic acid plastic (generally referenced as “corn plastic”) has physical attributes that are extremely similar to common oil based plastics like PETE or plastic #1.

Natureworks LLC and Other Manufacturers: Natureworks LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargill, and is the leading manufacturer of PLA in the United States. Natureworks releases poly lactic acid through the brand name Ingeo, and has a production capacity of three-hundred million pounds per year. Polylactic acid is also fabricated by Purac Biomaterials and a variety of other Asian firms.

Certified Compostable: PLA can be certified compostable through the standards ASTM D-6400 and EN13432 for compostable plastic. These certifications verify that an item or product packaging created from polylactic acid will 1) biodegrade by 60-90% within one hundred and eighty days of entering a commercial composting environment, 2) disintegrate by 90% into parts no bigger than 2 millimeters in dimension, and 3) will leave behind no heavy metals or other eco-toxicity in the compost greater than that of a control group of compost.

Food Service Ware Applications: Poly lactic acid is being used in a broad variety of food service ware applications, including compostable: cups, utensils, take out containers, deli containers, and much more. PLA is one of the main compostable materials in addition to bagasse, wheat straw, and paper. Poly lactic acid is further used as a biodegradable lining in compostable paper soup bowls and compostable paper hot cups. Using PLA to line paper products allows the products to be certified as commercially compostable, but still prevent liquid beverages, sauces, and other substances from leaking.

Learn about other biodegradable substances used in food ware packaging, such as bagasse biodegradable food containers and get advice on buying certified compostable biodegradable food packaging.