Cyclic carbonates have received considerable attention from academy and industry because of their applications as polar aprotic solvents, non-ionic surfactants, electrolytes in Li-ion batteries and precursors for chemical syntheses. These compounds can be synthesized through cycloaddition reaction of CO2 to epoxides in mild conditions, which is a sustainable strategy contributing to carbon neutrality. Lignin and melanin, which are aromatic biopolymers contained in large amounts in plants and animals, are explored herein as catalysts for the synthesis cyclic carbonates. In the search for more efficient and sustainable bio-based catalysts, we extracted and produced micro/nanoparticles of melanin from various sources as well as kraft lignin nanoparticles. The particles could catalyze cycloaddition of CO2 to different epoxides under atmospheric conditions at moderate temperatures (60 oC) using low loadings of external nucleophiles. Phenolated lignin nanoparticles containing catechol groups were the most efficient catalysts.Moreover, we designed an ionic liquid polymer displaying strong interactions with phenolated lignin, so that both polymer catalysts could be recovered from reaction media, circumventing the need for coimmobilization of catalysts for such systems. Our lignin-based catalysts could be used efficiently in mild conditions and could be recycled.