Adopting Eco-Friendly Alt Biodegradable Packaging

Agriculture-based industries generate a huge amount of waste from different agricultural activities. About one-third of the total food produced globally per year for consumption remains unconsumed and therefore gets wasted as stated by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). Food waste is one of the most difficult tasks the world is facing currently. Yet, just as any negative scenario can be turned into a positive with innovative endeavours, so too can this agri waste be put to good use. Let's explore how the packaging industry can leverage this apparent waste.

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Most food grain losses occur during the post-harvesting stage. The fruits and vegetables contribute to a significant amount of waste. As stated by the FAO, 20-30 per cent of fruits and vegetables are discarded as waste during postharvest handling and processing operations. The agricultural waste consists of field residues such as stems, stalks, leaves, seedpods, and process residues like husks, seeds, roots, bagasse, molasses. Waste from food processing units consists of organic residues such as fruit seeds, citrus peels, potato peels, coconut shells, wheat straw, rice husks, pomace, etc. These wastes are usually discarded in landfills sites or used in preparing compost. Due to the varied composition of cellulose, hemicelluloses, proteins, lipids, these wastes serve as a raw material for the production of biodegradable and sustainable packaging material.

Biodegradable Packaging

Packaging waste adds to a major portion of solid waste and has raised environmental concerns over the years. The development of biodegradable packaging materials from natural residues such as agricultural residues is the need of the hour. The utilisation of agricultural waste is an economical and effective step taken for the development of sustainable and eco-friendly, biodegradable packaging materials. Using biodegradable packaging minimises waste and lessens the environmental consequences of using petro-chemical based synthetic packaging materials. Biodegradable films can easily disintegrate into the environment by natural factors such as microbes (bacteria, fungi, etc.) or abiotic components of the ecosystem thus having the least impact on the environment and ecosystem.