This book about salen metal complexes as catalysts for the synthesis of polycarbonates from cyclic ethers and carbon dioxide, material properties of poly(propylene carbonates), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) from carbon monoxide, ecoflex® and ecovio® : biodegradable, performance-enabling plastics, biodegradability of poly(vinyl acetate) and related polymers, recent developments in ring-opening polymerization of lactones, recent developments in metal-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of lactides and glycolides : preparation of polylactides, polyglycolide, and poly(lactide-co-glycolide), bionolle (polybutylenesuccinate), and polyurethanes from renewable resources.