INTRODUCTION In conditions of lack of natural enemies, as well as exponential scientific, technical and technological growth, some problems have arisen that humankind has not faced before. With some actions taken, man has managed to impact the ecosystem, unfortunately this effect has been substantially negative, and manifests itself through climate change or a waste of non-renewable resources. All the needs of contemporary society, such as food, fuel, energy and materials, largely depend on energy sources produced from non-renewable resources that come from fossil fuels, while at the same time the total amount of waste increases, which jeopardizes an ecosystem (Sudesh & Iwata, 2008). Synthetic polymers are recognized as the most serious polluters in the solid waste category, while a large number of this type of materials are resistant to physical and chemical degradation (Leja & Lewandowicz, 2010). Due to good barrier performance, polymeric materials have intensive application in the production of packaging materials. Packaging materials produced from polymeric materials are assumed to constitute more than 50% of total packaging units (Jovanović & Džunuzović, 2011). According to this statistic, as well as the aforementioned link between synthetic polymers and solid waste which represents an environmental threat, it becomes clear that there is a need for alternative solutions when it comes to the production of packaging materials. Therefore, degradation-resistant synthetic polymers have focused public attention towards the development of biodegradable polymers (Ashwin Kumar et al., 2011). Biopolymer materials represent an alternative to conventional packaging materials, while the basic idea of ​​their production is the saving of non-renewable resources. ...... half of the sheet ......107.7. Jovanović, S., Džunuzović, J. (2011). Pravci razvoja imbalaže od polimernih material, Hem. Ind. 65 (6): 621-635.8. Lazić, V., Novaković, D. (2010). Ambalaža i životna sredina, Tehnološki fakultet, Novi Sad9. Leja, K., Lewandowicz, G. (2010). Biodegradation of polymers and biodegradable polymers: a review, Polish. J. of Environment. Stallion. 19(2): 255-266.10. Plackett, D. (2011). Introductory overview. In: Plackett, D., editor. Biopolymers – New materials for sustainable films and coatings. 1st edition. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons: 3-15.11. Sudesh, K., Doi., Y. (2005). Polyhydroxyalkanoates. In: Bastioli, C., editor. Manual of Biodegradable Polymers. 1st edition. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, United Kingdom: Rapra Technology Limited: 219-257.12. Sudesh, K., Iwata, T. (2008). Sustainability of bio-based and biodegradable plastic, Clean Journal 36(5-6): 433-442.