The future of bioplastics in food packaging: An industrial perspective

Plastics have formed an indispensable component of virtually every consumer good. However, they have also contributed substantially to contamination of the marine environment. The world lacks a well-meaning effort to curtail plastic waste. The plastic pollution crisis arising from inappropriate disposal or mismanaged plastic wastes has driven strategies to repurpose, reuse, and recycle plastic products. Extensive research is continuing aiming to produce a new generation of plastics that are collectively referred to as bioplastics. Ideally, bioplastics are degraded and utilized by surrounding microorganisms, eliminating them from our environment. However, biodegradable bioplastics are still only a small…