Who invented biodegradable?

The very notion of who deserves credit for inventing "biodegradable" material is a complex question, less about naming a single person and more about tracing a centuries-long arc of scientific necessity and environmental reckoning. Unlike inventions like the lightbulb or the telephone, biodegradability isn't a single switch flipped by one mind; it's an evolving category of materials that chemists and engineers have sought to create as a countermeasure to the persistence of early synthetic polymers. ^[1] To understand the origin of this concept, one must first look at the history of the plastic problem itself.

# Early Polymer Age

The story begins long before environmental concerns became mainstream, with the desire to find alternatives to natural materials like ivory or tortoiseshell. ^[8] The precursor to modern plastics appeared in the mid-19th century. One significant early development was Parkesine, patented in 1862 by Alexander Parkes. ^[4] This material, a celluloid made from nitrocellulose treated with camphor, was the first man-made thermoplastic. ^[8] It represented a triumph of chemistry—a moldable substance that could be formed into various objects—but it was never intended to disappear after use. ^[4]

Parkesine and its successors, such as John Wesley Hyatt’s celluloid, were revolutionary because they were synthetic and durable. This durability, which was their primary selling point, eventually became their greatest liability. ^[8] The materials introduced to the world in the late 1800s and early 1900s were designed for permanence, not decomposition. ^[3][7] It took the massive scale of post-World War II plastic production to bring the long-term consequence of this permanence—pollution—into sharp focus. ^[4] The absence of natural degradation pathways in these conventional polymers meant that the invention of an alternative that would degrade became an urgent scientific objective. ^[1]

# Defining the Alternative

The confusion surrounding who "invented biodegradable" often stems from a misunderstanding of what the term actually means, especially when compared to related concepts like bio-based materials. ^[5] It is crucial to distinguish between the material's origin and its end-of-life behavior. ^[1][5]

• Bio-based: Refers to the source of the raw material. A plastic can be derived from renewable biomass, like corn starch or sugarcane, yet still behave like conventional plastic by resisting natural breakdown. ^[5]
• Biodegradable: Refers specifically to the material’s ability to be broken down by microorganisms (like bacteria and fungi) into natural components such as water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. ^[1][6] This process requires specific environmental conditions and timeframes. ^[1]
• Compostable: This is a subset of biodegradable, requiring the material to decompose within a specific timeframe (often 90 or 180 days) under controlled composting conditions, resulting in a soil amendment free of toxic residues. ^[6]

The history of biodegradable materials, therefore, isn't just about creating a new molecule; it's about engineering a molecule with an intentional weak point that nature can exploit. ^[1]

When was biodegradable plastic invented?

# Natural Precursors and Early Science

While the modern drive for biodegradable plastics is new, nature has been producing biodegradable polymers for millennia, such as cellulose, chitin, and starch. ^[7] The scientific effort in the mid-20th century often involved trying to mimic or adapt these natural polymers. Early chemists and biologists studying fermentation and microbial action, long before the plastic crisis hit, were essentially observing biodegradability in action. ^[8]

One area that touches on early biodegradable attempts involves polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). These polyesters are naturally produced by certain bacteria as a form of energy storage. ^[3] The discovery and initial characterization of these natural polymers—which are inherently biodegradable—represent a foundational scientific milestone in the field, even if they were not immediately commercialized as plastics replacements. ^[7] The first systematic exploration of these bacterial polyesters started to gain traction decades ago, laying the groundwork for today’s truly compostable materials. ^[3]

# The Modern Biodegradable Push

The conscious, large-scale effort to invent commercially viable biodegradable plastics largely correlates with growing awareness of plastic pollution starting in the 1970s and 80s. ^[4] While sources don't point to a singular "inventor" who announced, "I have invented biodegradable plastic," they highlight the development of key families of materials that fit the modern definition.

# Polylactic Acid (PLA)

Perhaps the most well-known example is Polylactic Acid (PLA). ^[9] PLA is a thermoplastic polyester derived from fermented plant starch, often corn. ^[9] The polymer itself has a history going back to early 20th-century chemistry, but its modern resurgence and commercial viability in packaging and textiles is a more recent phenomenon, driven by companies seeking sustainable alternatives. ^[3][7] PLA requires an industrial composting environment to break down effectively, a critical nuance for consumers. ^[1][6] This material's successful scaling represents a major turning point in making biodegradable materials accessible, but its patenting and refinement involved numerous research groups over time. ^[7]

# The Oxodegradable Misstep

When discussing who didn't invent true biodegradability, it is useful to contrast it with oxodegradable plastics. ^[5] These materials are conventional plastics mixed with chemical additives designed to help them break down into smaller fragments faster when exposed to heat, light, and oxygen—a process called oxidation. ^[5] This is not biodegradation. These fragments, or microplastics, remain in the environment, meaning oxodegradable plastics fail the fundamental test of true biodegradability: returning to natural compounds. ^[1][5] The widespread, and often misleading, adoption of oxodegradable materials in the 1990s and early 2000s actually clouded the public understanding of what a genuinely biodegradable solution should entail. ^[5]

The scientific community, recognizing this distinction, began pushing for materials that met rigorous standards, often defined by bodies that certify compostability, thereby setting a higher bar than just some degradation. ^[6]

Did the Greeks invent the vending machine?

# Synthesis and Scientific Evolution

If we must point to the "invention" of the concept as a solution, it lies in the recognition of the problem and the deliberate chemical engineering to solve it. The inventor isn't a person but a collective scientific evolution moving from creating durable substances (like Parkesine) to creating transient ones. ^[4][8]

It is an interesting comparison that the motivation behind the earliest synthetic plastics was resource independence—substituting scarce natural materials like ivory with abundant, moldable chemistry—while the motivation for the latest biodegradable plastics is resource management—ensuring that the chemistry we create doesn't outlive its usefulness by centuries. ^[8] This shift in purpose, from durability to degradability, defines the modern era of material science.

For instance, look at the regulatory environment. The need for high-quality compost, free from plastic contamination, drives innovation in what truly qualifies as biodegradable. ^[6] This means that the inventors of effective biodegradable materials are those whose chemistry passes these strict, independent verification processes, rather than those who merely claim their product breaks down under ideal lab conditions. ^[1]

# Practical Application Considerations

Understanding the history is helpful, but for anyone purchasing or using these materials, the reality on the ground matters immensely. A practical analysis reveals that the term "biodegradable" alone often fails the consumer. If you use a compostable food container (made from PLA, for example) and toss it in your yard waste bin, it might sit there for years if your local facility doesn't reach the necessary temperatures for industrial composting. ^[1][6]

Here is a comparison of how different material types are intended to behave:

This table highlights an important practical insight: The real invention isn't just the biodegradable polymer, but the supporting infrastructure to manage its end-of-life. Without the correct industrial composting facilities or understanding from the user, even a genuinely biodegradable product like PLA can behave almost as persistently as its petrochemical cousins in a standard landfill setting. ^[1]

Another area where the "inventor" narrative is blurred is in material refinement. Take Polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), often blended with PLA to improve flexibility and strength. ^[3] While not always bio-based, PBAT is designed to be compostable. ^[3] Its development was not about a singular discovery but a targeted effort to blend properties—strength from one source, degradability from another—to create a functional replacement for polyethylene film, showing that modern innovation is inherently blended and cooperative rather than singular. ^[7]

What else did Eli Whitney invent?

# The Future Landscape

The ongoing work suggests that the most successful future biodegradable materials might be the bacterial polyesters, PHAs, as they have shown the ability to degrade in various environments, including soil and possibly marine settings, making them more forgiving than PLA. ^[3] The research into these areas continues, driven by necessity.

Ultimately, tracing the invention of "biodegradable" leads us not to a single historical figure like Parkes, but to the collective scientific community that recognized the durability of plastics as a critical flaw and dedicated subsequent generations of chemistry to creating materials with a built-in expiration date. ^[4][8] It is an ongoing invention, constantly being refined to meet stricter environmental criteria and lower production costs. ^[6]

If you are looking for a simple rule to apply now, consider this: when an item claims to be biodegradable, always look for the compostable certification logo if you intend to dispose of it through organic waste. The term biodegradable itself is often too vague; compostable provides a verifiable, time-bound commitment from the manufacturer that the material will complete its cycle within an established system. ^[6] This user action, informed by the historical evolution of the science, completes the loop from invention to responsible disposal.