Renewable bio-based polymers are one of the effective answers that the bioeconomy offers
to solve the environmental emergency connected to plastics and more specifically fossilbased
plastics. Previous studies have shown that more than 70% of the natural capital cost
associated with plastic derives from the extraction and processing of fossil raw materials
and that the price of fossil plastic would be on average 44% higher if such impact was fully
paid by businesses. The disclosure of the hidden costs of plastics will contribute to dispelling
the myth of the expensiveness of renewable polymers. Nevertheless, the adoption of biobased
plastics in the market must be motivated by their functional properties and not merely
by their green credentials. This article highlights some successful examples of synergies
between chemistry and biotechnology in achieving a new generation of bio-based
monomers and polymers. Their success is justified by the combination of scientific advances
with positive environmental and social fallouts
