What are bio-based plastics? Are they biodegradable?

The term ‘bio-based plastics’ relates to the source of the plastic feedstock, rather than its end-of-life characteristics. It does not indicate that the plastic is biodegradable at its end of life.

Bio-based plastics come from crops (such as corn and cassava etc), whose production consumes valuable food supplies, limited land resources and is associated with environmental pollution from intensive commercial agricultural methods.