polyhydroxyalkanoate (pha) is a biopolymer that is made by bacteria. it can break down naturally (it is biodegradable). pha has the same qualities of plastic, but it uses renewable raw material such as sugar from crop, instead of finite natural resources such as crude oil, natural gas and coal. some phas share properties with polypropylene, a plastic used to make ropes and packaging. others are similar to rubber.