Innovative alternatives to plastic around the globe
We are living in a world of plastic: products of plastic have become a fixed part of our everyday lives. And this is an invention which has disastrous consequences. Today our oceans are polluted and microplastic increasingly represents a threat to our health. Quite clearly there is a need to ACT: to greatly reduce our consumption of single-use plastic and embrace sustainable alternatives instead. For this very reason, around the globe research continues at a frenzied pace to find alternatives to conventional plastic packaging. And in fact some very promising products and solutions already exist.
Australia: an alternative to plastic from shellfish remains
The Australian start-up, Carapac, from New South Wales has been researching a new sustainable material from shellfish remains. The company has developed a method to convert the shells of crustaceans into a thin, plastic-like film which can replace polyethylene and polypropylene products. Using this, the company makes a semi-rigid material which is processed to packaging material, sacks or bags. Over the course of time, these will decompose in a natural way in most normal composting plants or garbage dumps. The material dissolves completely within around 90 days – so it could even be processed to compost at home. If this plastic alternative gets into the sea for some reason, it simply disintegrates and can be easily absorbed by marine animals.
The source for the raw material is a waste product available in abundance around the world: in the Asian-Pacific region alone, around 8.1 million tons of shellfish waste are produced every year.
Asia: banana leaves as an alternative for packaging
Big supermarket chains in Vietnam and Thailand have already started to use banana leaves as an alternative for packaging instead of plastic. Apart from packing vegetables and fruit, the food retail chains also have plans to use the leaves for fresh meat products. Banana leaves are a great alternative to plastic since the leaves are big, thick and supple enough to be folded. This reduces single-use plastic considerably. This initiative aims at making better use of resources on the site. Banana leaves are easy to obtain in the Asian regions where they grow and much cheaper than plastic.
USA: mushrooms instead of plastic
Polystyrene is one of the most frequently used packaging materials and far from being eco-friendly: it is made of the plastic, polystyrene, which is extracted from mineral oil and does not decompose. A natural alternative has been developed in America which will be able to replace polystyrene in the future. For more than ten years, the US-American company, Ecovative, has been making packaging from mushroom fibers for food shipping. Thanks to an innovative process, compostable packaging material is crafted from biowaste and mushrooms in various shapes. Biowaste is chopped up and mixed with special fungal cultures (mycellium).
Europe: edible packaging bag instead of plastic bottles
The British start-up, Notpla, has developed packaging for liquids and sauces which can, quite simply, be gobbled up. These are in fact small bags with a waterproof membrane produced from one of the most regenerative materials available in Nature – brown algae. This seaweed is at home in salt water and can grow up to one meter within 4 hours. The cultivation of the alga is extremely resource-saving, since no fresh water or chemical fertilizer is required. The see-through material is not just edible but compostable too and could become an eco-friendly alternative for plastic cups, bottles or sacks. The small sacks have, for example, already been used at a half marathon in London: instead of plastic cups, the runners were given a drink of water in a bag. They could then either eat it or throw away.
Source & further information
Supermarkets in Asia are Now Using Banana Leaves Instead of Plastic Packaging (nextshark.com)
BVE - 10 Alternativen für Plastik-Verpackungen (bve-online.de)
Notpla: Essbare Verpackung für Wasser ersetzt Plastikflaschen - Tech & Nature (techandnature.com)
Diese Innovation macht Plastikflaschen überflüssig - Capital.de
5 innovative Verpackungen der Zukunft ohne Plastik (lead-innovation.com)
Lebensmittelverpackung: Innovative Alternativen zu Plastik (zukunftsinstitut.de)
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