This review presents scientific findings concerning the recycling of bioplastics, their blends
and thermoplastic biocomposites, with special focus on mechanical recycling of bio-based
materials. The paper does not include bio-based commodity plastics such as bio-derived
polyolefins that are identical to their petroleum-based counterparts and that can be recycled
in the same way. During the past few years, recycling of biopolymers and their blends
has been studied using both mechanical and chemical methods, whereas in biocomposites,
the focus has been on mechanical recycling. This review goes through the findings on the
recyclability of various materials, the strengths and weaknesses of applied methods, as
well as the potential strategies and opportunities for future improvements. There are still
many blends that have not been investigated for their recyclability. Information about
commercially available blends containing bioplastics is summarised in the Appendix
because of the importance of their possible effects on the conventional plastic recycling
streams.