Brazil will use sugarcane ethanol to produce high-density polyethylene (HDPE), used in packaging and in automobile parts. The technology is being developed by the petro-chemical firm Braskem. “'Green' polyethylene has the same physical-chemical characteristics as polyethylene from petroleum,” Antonio Morschbacker, head of Braskem's biopolymer research, told Tierramérica. Industrial-scale production is planned by late 2009.

Although it is not biodegradable, polyethylene made from ethanol is 100 percent recyclable, and can be used to generate energy.

This new polymer has already been certified by the international laboratory Beta Analytic, verifying that its raw material is all renewable, and contributes to abating carbon in the Earth's atmosphere. The location of the pilot production plant has not yet been announced.