The environmental and sustainability issues, the increasing cost of solid waste disposal, dioxin emission from waste incineration have made synthetic polymers unattractive. This has led to the development and production of biodegradable polymers. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are the intracellular inclusion in some bacteria. The property of PHA range from stiff, brittle to rubber-like and is a suitable alternative for the synthetic plastic.
[[Image:The general structure of po1lyhydroxyalkanoates1st.png|thumb|left|300px|The general structure of polyhydroxyalkanoates]]
*n=1 R=hydrogen poly(-3-hydroxypropionate)
[[Image:Lactic acid polymerization to PLA2nd.png|thumb|left|300px|Lactic acid polymerization to PLA]]