Chennai: A recent research has suggested that bioplastics are just as toxic as other plastics.

“Bio-based and biodegradable plastic is not any safer than other plastics,” says Lisa Zimmermann from Goethe Universität in Frankfurt. She is the lead author of the recent article, published in Environment International.

Zimmermann points out that products based on cellulose and starch contained the most chemicals. They also triggered stronger toxic reactions under laboratory conditions.

Martin Wagner, associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s Department of Biology, says, “Three out of four of these plastic products contain substances that we know are dangerous under laboratory conditions, the same as for conventional plastic.”

Wagner is one of the collaborators for PlastX, a research group at the Institut für sozial-ökologische Forschung (ISOE) in Frankfurt. This group has just led the work on the largest survey to date of chemicals in bioplastics and plastics made from plant-based materials.