There continues to be high interest by plastic producers and consumers for greener plastic products. This interest has spawned considerable research aimed at the development of plastics derived from renewable resources, fillers based on natural products, and additives that promote environmental degradation. Although most of the advances in additives that promote environmental degradation have focused on polyolefin resins, progress is also being made with other resins as well. This months R&D highlights will focus on patents and scientific papers describing these new advances.