TAGUIG CITY – The National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST PHL) is urging government and industry to support the local production of bioplastics from seaweeds and fishery by-products, which it identifies as practical substitutes for petroleum-based single use plastics.
The call is contained in the NAST PHL Science Advisory 2026 No. 1, “Development of Bioplastics from Marine Sources in the Philippines: Status Challenges, RD&I, and Policy Needs,” prepared by Academicians Ernesto J. del Rosario, Marco Nemesio E. Montaño, and Alvin B. Culaba.
The country has the raw materialsThe Philippines is endowed with 1,065 seaweed species, but only four are widely farmed: Eucheuma, Kappaphycus, Gracilaria, and Caulerpa. Seaweed farming accounts for 60 to 70% of total aquaculture production, averaging 1.4 million metric tons a year. Two of these already supply seaweed-based bioplastic production in Asia: Kappaphycus species and Eucheuma denticulatum. The latter is the raw material for carraphane, a packaging material made entirely from seaweed. It is also cheaper and easier to farm, being less prone to ice-ice, a common disease of cultivated seaweed. The Bangsamoro region and MIMAROPA are the largest producers.
Fish and shellfish processing generate by-products — collagen, myofibrillar proteins, and chitin — that can be converted into packaging films. The advisory describes these by-products as abundant and underutilized.
Unlike bioplastics made from land crops, marine feedstocks do not compete with agriculture for farmland or freshwater. Seaweeds also grow rapidly and absorb carbon dioxide as they grow.
What the science shows
A Philippine carbon footprint study on carrageenan-based bioplastic from Kappaphycus alvarezii found that seaweed farms act as carbon sinks, absorbing more carbon than the farming stage emits. Seaweed bioplastics were also found to have a lower global warming potential than petroleum-based plastics.
The same study identified where the emissions actually come from: carrageenan extraction accounts for about 78.35% of total emissions, followed by casting or film production at about 5.59%. The traditional Philippine practice of sun-drying seaweed on platforms has a lower impact than fossil-fuel-based drying.
These materials only deliver their environmental benefit if they are disposed of correctly. Breaking down requires the right conditions — oxygen, moisture, warmth, and the microorganisms found in compost. Buried in a landfill, a compostable plastic decomposes without oxygen and releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than the carbon dioxide the seaweed absorbed while growing. The material does not become an environmental gain on its own; it becomes one only when the country has the collection and composting systems to receive it.
Cost and technology are the barriers
Bioplastics remain more expensive than conventional plastics. The advisory attributes this to high production costs, technological limitations, and energy-intensive extraction. These are the constraints that must be addressed before the material can compete in the market.
The advisory proposes that simple, low-energy processing technologies be developed locally, preferably using whole seaweed with minimal processing. Extrusion and film-casting equipment should be built by Filipino engineers using locally available materials and parts.
It calls for research funding from the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Agriculture–Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Department of Trade and Industry, and state universities; government support to raise the yield and quality of farmed seaweeds; and government–private sector collaboration to develop and market-test carrageenan-based edible packaging. One application already identified is an edible wrapper for local food products, comparable to the Vietnamese-style lumpia wrapper.
A note for consumers
The advisory clarifies a common misunderstanding: a plastic made from plants is not automatically biodegradable. Biodegradability depends on the molecular structure of the plastic, not on the raw material it came from. Some plant-based plastics do not break down at all, while some petroleum-based plastics do.
Read the full science advisory here.(Janpherson Lapuz/NAST)
The National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST PHL), an attached agency to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), is the premier organization that recognizes achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and nurtures emerging scientific talents and serves as the primary advisory body on national ST&I policy and related matters. For more updates, follow NAST Philippines’ (@nastphl) social media accounts.