Electrical engineering

Business

Food packaging

Engineering

Renewable resource

Composite material

Chemistry

Renewable energy

Materials science

Starch

Plastic packaging

Food science

Environmental science

Waste management

Mechanical engineering

Open Journal of Polymer Chemistry

Petroleum derived plastics dominate the food packaging industry even today. These materials have brought a lot of convenience and attraction to agro, food and packaging industry. These materials also have brought along with them problems relating to the safe-disposal and renewability of these materials. Due to the growing concern over environmental problems of these materials, interest has shifted towards the development and promoting the use of “bio-plastics”. Bio-plastic is a term used for sustainable packaging materials derived from renewable resources i.e. produced from agro/food sources, materials such as starch, cellulose, etc. and which are considered safe to be used in food applications. To enhance the mechanical properties, and water barrier properties, it can be blended easily with other polymer as well as nano fillers. The current paper is a review of the progress of research in starch based sustainable packaging materials.

Starch Based Bio-Plastics: The Future of Sustainable Packaging