Previously, we introduced a US company which converted agricultural wastes into clothing fiber. And now there is one more company which utilized agricultural wastes and created eco-friendly food packaging. The company aims to replace plastic packaging so as to solve the problem of plastic pollution and reduce the garbage being dumped at landfills.
The German company Bio-lutions collaborated with Indian farmers to collect agricultural excess such as mulberry stems and leaves, to produce the biodegradable, sustainable and eco- friendly food packaging.“Our products are like leaves: They biodegrade in three months,” Kurian Mathew, manager of Bio-lutions said.
Using agricultural waste to produce product packaging saves more energy and it is more environmentally friendly than traditional packaging production. Separate the agricultural waste from the crops, and then use a patented machine to convert the waste into self-binding fibers. Finally, cut and press the fibers to produce different types of packaging products. Bio-lutions uses no chemical additives or bleach in the production process, it helps avoid chemical contamination and excessive water use. Since only water and plant residue go into the packaging, the products can be easily biodegraded into compost or recycled as material for the next production.
In addition to mulberry, wheat, rice straw, sugarcane leaves and tomatoes can also be converted into the biodegradable packaging. The packaging produced by Bio-lutions are suitable for food, electronic products and waterproofing products.
The cooperation between Bio-lutions and farmers can mitigate air pollution problem due to the burning of crop stubble, and replace usage of plastic packaging so as to reduce environmental problems caused by plastic waste, such as clogging of waterways and reducing capacity of landfills.
Bio-lutions hopes to open more factories in India and set up factories near to farming sites to reduce transportation costs and carbon footprint. At the same time, they hope to expand their business to other places, including China, Thailand and Hong Kong.
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-agricultural-waste-100-foodgrade-packaging-agriculture