Potential use of plant leaves and sheath as food packaging materials in tackling plastic pollution: A Review
S. Kalina, Ranganathan Kapilan, I. Wickramasinghe, S. B. Navaratne
Abstract
Plastic pollution, mainly due to single-use food packaging materials, has become a drastic environmental issue around the world. As a consequence of their accumulation, naturally balanced ecosystems may undergo various types of vulnerabilities, and eventually, it may lead to the annihilation of flora, and fauna. Hence, there is an urgent need to find alternative ways of packaging food with environmentally friendly materials. Currently, there are considerable numbers of research being done to prove that biodegradable packaging materials can be produced from plant leaves and sheaths. However, the large-scale production and application of eco-friendly packaging materials is still a challenge and more studies are further required to accomplish it. Hence, this review is done to identify initiatives made in the field of biodegradable packaging material and directs them towards practical application. In the end, it proves that there is a huge potential to produce biodegradable packaging materials from plant sources economically.