COMPOSTABLE STRAWS UNVEILED AS FIRST OUTCOME OF THE USABLE PACKAGING PROJECT
The first demonstrator developed as an outcome of the USABLE PACKAGING project into disposable packaging components has been unveiled as a compostable straw made of a PHA polymer material.
The solution was developed by project partner Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) and stakeholder OCENIC RESINS, both based in Spain.
The USABLE PACKAGING project seeks to reduce the use of environmentally harmful fossil-fuel-based packaging by developing high-performance bio-alternatives derived from food industry by-products to cover packaging and product needs for the food, drinks, pharmaceutical and clothing industries.
It aims to develop bio-based and compostable materials that can be used for the production of the next generation of food packaging, creating a sustainable, circular value chain where the end-of-life processes of the products contribute towards the next cycle of manufacture, further reducing the impact of plastic waste on the environment as they biodegrade into compost.
“The development of innovative, non-toxic materials for use in the food industry is key to implementing circular economy models in the packaging sector.” said Project Co-ordinator Prof. José Maria Lagarón. “These compostable straws are now made from commercial PHAs but within the project they will be, at a later stage, derived from food industry by-products, such as pasta and bakery residue or municipal waste. They all eventually biodegrade into feedstock for future biobased PHA. They demonstrate the bio-circular economy “from waste back to waste” model, in which waste is turned into a resource and damage to the environment is eliminated.”
Valencia, 28 February 2020
For further information, please contact:
Jocelyne Bia, BBIA
jb@bbia.org.uk
tel: +44 (0)7910878510
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