The use of plastics in food packaging will continue in 2019. At the same time, enterprises are still trying to get rid of the concept that plastics are regarded as "waste" and "environmental abandoned children". The Wall Street Journal published an article on "plastic is the next trouble for food" in the "street knowledge and lane news column" on December 31, saying that 2019 is a "critical point". Major consumer goods manufacturers such as P & G, Unilever and Nestle "openly oppose plastic waste, so that top home brand manufacturers have to reconsider packaging."
Because of its properties - keeping food fresh, extending shelf life, and providing a barrier from light and oxygen pollution - plastics are too valuable for food processors to give up, especially in the absence of viable alternatives. Trying "green products", such as Coca Cola's "plant bottle", or using other bioplastic materials, has not formed a large-scale, and is still a "niche" application.
Other technologies that have received recent attention include returning used bottles and food containers to a depolymerization company and breaking them down into monomers that can be polymerized. In addition, some recycling plans will "reuse" bottles and food containers, but this also leaves a big question: whether such an approach is environmentally friendly considering the transportation costs and the cost of sterilizing bottles and containers for refilling.
Last summer, karstad University was at Phys An article entitled "starch can replace ordinary plastics in food packaging" was published on www. The authors claim that eventually, all petroleum based materials in food packaging will be replaced by bio based materials. The University's research shows that "the mixture of starch and other polymers forms an equally effective protective barrier" and can be used in paper food packaging to prevent water or oxygen from penetrating into the packaging and damaging the food.
For many years, finding a good substitute of bio based plastics for food packaging has been the "Holy Grail" of the industry. Researcher Asif Javed said: "A study by karstad University shows that a mixture of lignin in wood and starch in potatoes or corn can achieve this function like plastic. If new materials are to be used, they should be at least as good or even better than petroleum based materials in extending the shelf life of food, as well as the cost and efficiency of manufacturing and transportation. Although this material is not 100% based on renewable resources, it has an important advantage Potential, that is, natural degradation without leaving dangerous micro plastics, because micro plastics may eventually enter forests, lakes or oceans. "
Last December, the Market Research Report distributor Millennium insights released a report on the growth of the global paper packaging material market. The report points out that by 2022, the paper packaging material market will "grow significantly because it is an ideal substitute for plastics in packaging and manufacturing". The demand for packaging paper instead of plastic is largely due to the biodegradability of paper.
If major food processors advocate paper packaging and require polymer or biopolymer coatings to provide a small part of the benefits of existing plastic packaging, the power to make all plastic packaging recyclable will eventually be lost!