A team of researchers from Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are attempting to turn food waste into biodegradable bioplastics.

“By creating cost-effective bioplastics that naturally decompose, we can reduce plastic pollution on land and in oceans and address significant issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and economic losses associated with food waste,” explained the researchers.

Fujunzhu Zhao, a Ph.D. student, works in Zhiwu "Drew" Wang's lab. Wang's team is working to convert food waste into sustainable bioplastics. Source: Luke Hayes/Virginia Tech

Initially, the researchers will set out to develop and demonstrate a modular bioprocessing system to manufacture biodegradable bioplastics from food waste by harnessing microorganisms to then convert food waste into fats, which are subsequently processed into bioplastics. The process — which is similar to the fermentation process in microbreweries — promises to produce bioplastics that can be easily composted, thereby mitigating marine microplastic pollution.

The team is focused primarily on the creation of high-value bioplastic products including home compostable packaging.

To accomplish this, the team will initially produce a single-layer film to see if it can be used as an actual product with appropriate oxygen and water vapor barriers and other properties. Further, the team also intends to replace traditional coated paper products with polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), which are fully biodegradable in nature.

The researchers noted that because the food waste-derived bioplastics can quickly biodegrade in sea water, they promise to reduce the impact of pollution on marine life around the world.