Plastics in food packaging
Facilitated by Professor Benu Adhikari and Associate Professor Fugen Daver (RMIT University)
Presentation by Dr Pete Cass (Enzide Technologies)
The next generation of biodegradable plastics: the key challenges for biodegradable plastics and how Enzide is addressing the problem
The advancement of biodegradable plastics is imperative for reducing plastic pollution, which has deleterious impacts on ecosystems and human health. However, several key challenges impede their widespread adoption. This presentation examines challenges, focusing on the balance between material durability and biodegradability, performance limitations, cost-effective production methods, and the scalability of new technologies. Enzide’s innovative approach highlights breakthroughs that enhance biodegradation performance and address mechanical limitations, paving the way for next generation biomaterials, broader adoption and contributing to a more sustainable future.
Dr Mehran Ghasemlou (Deakin University)
A roadmap for bioplastics adoption in food packaging
Plastics have undeniably transformed our modern lives, providing unmatched convenience, durability, and versatility. However, their widespread use has come at a significant cost to the environment. Given the escalating danger of plastic pollution, there is an urgent requirement to develop novel plastics that are either biodegradable or recyclable. In recent years, numerous strategies have been suggested to address the hazards and difficulties associated with plastic waste or lessen the scale of the plastic issue. Bioplastics have emerged as a potential game-changer. Bioplastics play a vital role in ensuring the safety, quality, and convenience of food packaging, making them indispensable in the food industry. They can help to protect food from contamination, spoilage, and physical damage during transportation, storage, and display. This presentation will outline a comprehensive roadmap for the adoption of bioplastics in food packaging, highlighting their long-term viability and their contribution to a circular economy.
Associate Professor Steven Pratt (The University of Queensland)
Capacity building for a sustainable plastics future
The efforts being taken to address plastic pollution are both urgent and multi-dimensional, with expectation that biodegradable plastics play an increasingly important role; our surveys show that the public perceive biodegradable plastics as better for the environment than ‘normal plastics’ and even ‘easily recyclable plastics’. The outlook for bioplastics is obviously bright. We are preparing for this with initiatives like ARC’s new Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, which brings together industry and researchers from across the value chain – from resource development to product design to end-of-life management.
Dr Leonie van ‘t Hag (Monash University)
Tailoring food waste feedstocks for enhanced biopolymer production for use in soft plastics
Biopolymers can be used to replace soft plastics in packaging and drug delivery applications, however, due to their high crystallinity use of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB or short-chain length PHA) and polylactic acid (PLA) in soft plastics remains challenging. We have developed medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) nanoemulsions which are bioderived and biodegradable. The effect of feeding glucose and fatty acids from food waste on the microbial production of mcl-PHAs has been studied to explore the possibility of producing mcl-PHAs from food waste and to tune polymer properties for their applications.
Dr Rajkamal Balu (RMIT University)
Biodegradable composite films with antibacterial properties for packaging applications
The need for ending non-degradable plastic waste has prompted significant interest in developing a new family of biodegradable composite materials for sustainable packaging applications. In this regard, this presentation focuses on the development and optimisation of new biodegradable composite films comprising bio-based plastics – poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), and polylactic acid (PLA) – and inorganic antibacterial agent – tetrapod shaped zinc oxide (t-ZnO) microparticles. The developed composite films can find potential application in antibacterial food packaging.