Biodegradable plastic could improve sustainability of food packaging

Fermented from bacteria and strengthened with wood fibres sourced in Australia, the novel biocomposite was produced by PhD candidate Vincent Mathel and Dr Luigi Vandi at UQ’s School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering as a commercial alternative to petrol-based plastics.

Mathel said the biocomposite has been successfully tested as a strawberry punnet that biodegrades completely in soil, fresh water, the ocean and in compost.

"This is a new material that carries all the sustainability benefits of a bio-sourced product while having the same properties as mass-produced plastic packaging and containers,” Mathel said in a statement. “It was also important to us to make a biocomposite that maximises Australian resources to have the added, environmental benefit that it does not need to be imported from overseas.”

The team created the material by blending bacteria-produced biodegradable polyesters (polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)) with wood fibres taken from Radiata Pine sawdust.

Mathel said the team selected wood as the biofiller to flesh out the plastic because it was abundant, low cost and could enhance the end-of-life standard for biodegradable and compostable products.