Photos: A future in bioplastics

The packaging around the fake tomatoes and oatmeal box shown here aren't your run-of-the-mill plastic wrapping. It's a compostable film called Earth First, which is made from Ingeo corn, a product of NatureWorks. The vials to the left display the stages corn undergoes during the manufacture and disposal of plant-based plastics, including starch, dextrose, lactide, resin, film, and compost.

Corn-based plastics received their first boost from big-box stores when Wal-Mart pledged in late 2005 to use NatureWorks packaging. Ingeo is also used to make biodegradable bedding and clothing. However, some environmentalists oppose Ingeo's use of genetic engineering as well as the choice of corn over more sustainable crops. NatureWorks is run by agricultural giant Cargill and Teijin, a Japanese technology corporation.