[2][3] Due to their main characteristics of being renewable and to their ability to store carbon over their growth, recent years assisted to their upsurge as a valid alternative compared to more traditional materials in view of climate mitigation.
[9] In this regard, the application of bio-based materials has been already tested on several market segments, ranging from the production of chemicals, to packaging and textiles, till the fabrication of full construction components.
[14] Indeed, the sustainability benefits of drop-in biobased plastics occur at the beginning of the material life cycle, but still, when manufactured, their structure is identical to their fossil-based counterparts.
[16] In this regard, in the European context many studies have been conducted to analyze the actual availability of land for the production of bio-materials,[17][18] while bio-residues and wastes coming from either the agro-industrial and forestry sectors are gaining interest.
Therefore, it is recommended to maintain a critical mindset based on Life Cycle Assessment analysis,[22] as some bio-products could require either extra material or processing to ensure the same quality, resulting necessarily in more energy consumption.