Eco-Friendly Consumable Packaging

This biodegradable composite packaging has been developed by a team of researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) as a solution for foods to make their packaging more sustainable overall. The composite material is crafted with a bio-cellulose that's transparent to allow the contents to be easily visible, while also being consumable and biodegradable to maximize its eco-friendly profile. The material could be used as an alternative to plastic thanks to its plastic-like properties, but is achieved with bacterial cellulose (BC) that will easily and naturally break down upon being disposed of.

Professor To Ngai from the Department of Chemistry at CUHK spoke on the biodegradable composite packaging in a report saying, "[The packaging] does not require specific reaction conditions like chemical reactions, but rather a simple and practical method with mixing and coating. This approach offers a promising solution to the challenge of developing sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging materials that can replace single-use plastics on a large scale.”