As of now, bioplastics are being used in various products, e.g. PET bottles (Volvic, Apollinaris, Coca Cola), yoghurt cups (Danone), office items (edding, Staedtler, Henkel), and also in agriculture, medical technology and the textile industry. A distinction must be made between the so-called drop-in solutions, i.e. bioplastics which have the same chemical structure as their petrochemical counterparts, and chemically innovative bioplastics. While the drop-ins – the most prominent examples being bio-based PET and polyethylene – have the same property profiles, chemically innovative bioplastics mostly display different and partially improved properties for processing, usage and disposal. Action is still needed to determine reliable material characteristics for these innovative bioplastics, in particular with regard to their processing. In addition, the usage properties of some bioplastics must be further optimised in order to make them technically more competitive. However, the extensive knowledge available in the area of conventional plastics can largely be transferred to bioplastics.