Seaweed, a common name for thousands of marine plants and algae found in different water bodies, not only provides food and shelter for marine animals, but it can also help solve the plastic pollution problem. Materials researchers from Flinders University in Australia and German biomaterials developer one • fıve have developed a new nonpolluting seaweed-based coating material “designed to replace conventional fossil-based plastic coatings used in grease-resistant fast food packaging.”
The initiative aims to transform the global packaging and plastics industry by significantly reducing reliance on highly pollutive conventional plastic, according to Flinders University’s media release. The packaging used to wrap the hamburgers, fries and chips we order from fast food establishments is typically laminated with a thin layer of plastic in order to make it grease-resistant. However, this poses a problem in terms of recycling, as this layer is typically made of synthetic polymer, which is derived from petroleum, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. This does not biodegrade and it breaks up into smaller pieces called microplastics.
The one • fıve and Flinders researchers have developed an alternative: a seaweed-based coating that is not made from synthetic polymer. This fits with the goals of recently proposed revisions to EU rules for packaging and packaging waste. The main objectives of the proposed rules are to prevent the generation of packaging waste, to boost high-quality “closed loop” recycling, and to reduce the need for primary natural resources and create a well-functioning market for secondary raw materials that will increase the use of recycled plastics.