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With traditional polystyrene boxes taking more than 500 years to decompose in landfill, an innovative project in Western Australia aims to develop a biodegradable alternative that could transform how the state's $1 billion seafood industry transports harvests to markets or shelves.
Since the start of the current financial year certain types of polystyrene boxes have been banned in WA, and are being phased out around the world.
To adapt to these changing dynamics the Bioplastics Innovation Hub (BIH), a joint venture between Murdoch University and CSIRO, has partnered with Perth biotech Cass Materials to develop biofoam seafood boxes made from wheat straw.
"In WA, approximately 10 million tonnes of wheat straw per year is retained on the farm and, with no tillage systems, most is burnt,” says Cass Materials CEO Gary Cass.
"With the Bioplastics Innovation Hub, we can convert this agricultural waste into new fossil-free biofoam boxes for fresh food and seafood markets.”
BIH claims biofoam boxes fully break down within a few months and improve the organic matter content of soils - an important point considering a recent review by Murdoch University discovered that agricultural soils now hold around 23 times more microplastics than oceans.
The boxes are also lightweight, home compostable and hydrophobic, meaning they can retain ice and water.
BIH director Professor Dan Murphy said the hub's research is directed by what industry needs and aims to solve real-world problems.
“We want to improve single use items in the food industry by having biodegradable and compostable materials that replace things like synthetic plastics,” Murphy says.
“By developing these items that can replace synthetic plastic in food transportation, storage and packaging we can help to both lower environmental impacts and address incoming plastic bans.”
The biofoam boxes are currently at TRL4, meaning that along a scale of their technology readiness level (TRL) there are lab prototypes that have been validated. Cass Materials is currently raising capital to scale this technology.
In preparation to scale up, BIH researchers are working to develop the entirely waterproof barrier needed to meet final requirements.
"We are confident that upon scaling-up this product, it will become a commercial success and meet the consumer and industry demand for convenient and environmentally friendly packaging," Murphy adds.
Cass says there has been an increase in demand from consumers for greener products, and that it is imperative for industry to make products that are both green and economically viable.
"Consumers are becoming more aware of the damage that fossil-based plastics are doing to our environment,” he says.
“With this awareness, they are seeking out these sustainable alternatives.”
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