More Cities in the Philippines are banning the use of plastic wrappers in groceries and public markets due to its damaging effect in clogging our waterways and the long term degradation of the material that pollutes the and causes harm to the wildlife, but now there is a new way to make this packaging that is sustainable.
The material has the potential to biodegrade within 90 days and could be composted at home. A Scottish biotech firm CuanTec is planning to replace plastic food wrappers with a biodegradable material extracted from shrimp or shellfish waste skins which are usually just thrown away. The material is made out of a natural biopolymer derived from fermenting shrimp remains.
The fermentation process, which resembles that of alcohol or yogurt, gives rise to a natural biopolymer called Chitin. Chitin is then transformed into a more malleable material known as Chitosan, which is used to make clear food wrapper.
While the product is still in the research stage, it has the potential to biodegrade within 90 days and could be composted at home. These innovative sustainable packages will be the answer to the problem of how to package wet products in the supermarket or public market and may use the new packaging to be used for wrapping fish or meat products.
