PLA is a bioplastic that is actually made industrially and it’s called Polylactic-Acid (PLA), which is made from starchy corn kernels. PLA can be a solution to reduce the carbon footprint and the amount of plastic in the oceans, not forgetting that the best solution to end plastic pollution is to reduce and reuse anything that can be reusable, not just recycling.

Now, we will explain how PLA is made:  

• Corn is soaked and grounded to separate the endosperm from the fibre and gluten. The corn kernels are immersed in a solution of hot water and sulfur dioxide, here the components break down to starch, protein and fibre; 

• It is then centrifuged to remove the corn oil, the result of this process is almost pure starch; 

• By adding enzymes to the starchy endosperm, it converts the into dextrose, a simple sugar; 

• Bacterial cultures are added, which causes the sugar to ferment and turn into lactic acid. Brewers use this same fermentation process to produce beer; 

• Lactic acid consists of lactide molecules, which bond into long chains of polymers; 

• Bioplastic producers have pellets of polylactic acid at the end of the process. These can be melted to take almost any form as though they were thermoplastics, they can even be spun into fibres. 

​