What is bio-based packaging and its types

A large amount of non-degradable plastic has caused huge harm to the environment. More and more countries are gradually reducing the use of plastic packaging and investing manpower and funds in developing new eco-friendly packaging. In recent years, countries around the world have successively developed some degradable plastics and biological materials, which have played a great role in promoting the development of the packaging industry. Among them, biological packaging materials have greater development potential.

 

What is bio-based packaging?

 

Bio-based packaging materials are materials derived from renewable biological sources used for packaging goods and products. These materials are an alternative to traditional petroleum-based packaging and are designed to reduce the environmental impact of packaging waste by being more sustainable and often biodegradable or compostable.

 

The development and use of bio-based packaging materials are driven by the need to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, decrease carbon footprints, and address the growing concerns over plastic pollution and waste management. These materials are often seen as a more eco-friendly option because they come from renewable sources and can potentially return to the earth without leaving harmful residues, especially if they are compostable or biodegradable under the right conditions. However, it is important to consider the entire lifecycle of these materials, including the agricultural practices used to grow the raw materials, the energy consumed in production, and the end-of-life disposal or composting options available.

 

People use natural biological materials to make packaging raw materials or extract raw materials for packaging materials from natural biological materials to develop new biological packaging materials. Once these biological packaging materials come out, they show their strong vitality.

 

The types of bio-based packaging

 

Starch-based plastic

 

Starch is the most abundant natural polymer on earth, second only to cellulose. It is abundant, renewable, and cheap. It can be used to produce starch-based plastics through modification and plasticization.

 

Starch-based plastic is a plastic product made from starch as the main raw material, which is modified and plasticized and then blended with other polymers. It is a type of bioplastic. Starch-based bioplastics can be divided into two categories: bio-based plastics and biodegradable plastics.

 

Both materials can replace traditional petroleum-based plastics and are widely used in plastic packaging materials, shock-proof materials, plastic films and bags, disposable tableware, food containers, toys, etc.

 

Plant fiber packaging

 

Natural plant fibers such as wood, cotton, bamboo, cabbage residue, cotton stalks, chaff, rice straw, wheat straw, etc. are renewable natural resources with wealthy sources. According to surveys, my country’s annual crop straw production exceeds 500 million tons. Plant poles have many advantages as packaging materials, such as good cushioning properties, non-toxic, odorless, good ventilation properties, and can be completely naturally degraded after use.

 

Typical varieties currently widely used in packaging are pulp molding and honeycomb cardboard products. In particular, pulp-molded products are used to replace difficult-to-degrade foamed plastics and are widely used in tableware, egg trays, fresh fruit trays, industrial trays, food and semi-finished product packaging, medical device packaging, etc.

 

Genetically modified plant packaging

 

With the rapid development of plant genetic engineering, some large companies have successively carried out research and development work on using genetically modified plants as reactors to produce packaging materials such as polyhydroxybutyric acid.

 

The long-term goal established by the British company ICI/Zeneca is to introduce the bacterial biosynthesis pathway of PHB into suitable crops to use genetically modified plants to produce PHB/PHV packaging materials on a large scale.

 

The research and development of green packaging materials has reduced the use of non-degradable packaging, alleviated the pressure on the ecological environment, and reduced environmental pollution.

 

Although there are still some problems with green packaging materials at present, such as poor thermoplasticity, high cost, complex production processes, unstable products, narrow application range, and potential risks of packaging materials in contact with food, we believe that with the continuous development of technology, these problems will be solved.