The properties of plastic make it an ideal material for multiple uses, from electronics, automotive and agriculture to medicine. But probably – just take a look in any supermarket – you can imagine what its most widespread application is: packaging, which accounts for around 40,5% of everything produced in Europe alone.

This ubiquitous polymer poses two main problems: it comes from petroleum, a non-renewable source, and it has a huge impact on the environment and health.

Now, is plastic the only option? Aren't there other more sustainable materials for packaging, for example, food?

Thanks to science, the answer is yes. One of the alternatives currently being investigated are compostable materials from organic waste, which can also improve the conservation of products.

At the Universitat Politècnica de València, for example, they have used wine and almond skin waste to package sunflower oil.

In the case of food packaging, recycling does not represent a feasible solution because some are made up of up to six layers of different materials, as in tetrabriks, and because they may contain food remains and contaminants that prevent them from being reused with the same end.

Among bioplastics, the most promising are biobased – obtained from renewable sources such as corn, sugar cane and cellulose – and biodegradable.

However, the cost and difficulty of manufacturing them, as well as the agricultural, social and environmental limitations of starting large plantations, constitute important barriers to their being able to completely replace conventional ones.

Using organic urban waste and waste from the agri-food industry eliminates the need to occupy vast areas of land while promoting the circular economy. Its transformation into bioplastics is carried out in biorefineries, facilities in which other products such as biofuels, feed and antioxidants are also generated.

Two of the raw materials for these factories are oil and animal fats generated mainly in the food processing industry, restaurants and in homes. Some bacteria have the ability to degrade them and convert them into bioplastics, among other substances.

Microorganisms are so amazing that they can also do the same with trapped carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reducing its concentration in the process to mitigate climate change.

In recent years, measures have been implemented to reduce the consumption of plastics and the amount of toxic substances they contain and increase their recycling rate, but there is still much to do. That is why countries are negotiating a global treaty to end the pollution they cause.

Giving a boost to the production of alternative materials will undoubtedly help prevent the predictions that estimate that in 2025 445,25 million tons of this petroleum-derived polymer will be produced, which both makes our lives easier and more complicated at the same time. time.