“When Hongli (Julie) Zhu first came to the United States in 2007, she was surprised by the prevalence of single-use plastic containers at supermarkets and restaurants.
‘The material is cheap and convenient, but most of these containers are not biodegradable,’ saysZhu, an assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency,27 million tons of plastic were diverted to landfills in 2018. Plastic doesn’t decompose over time. It gets broken into smaller pieces known asmicroplastics that pollute rivers and oceans.
Zhu knew she wanted to develop a better alternative to one-time use plastics. In apaper published recently in the journal Matter, Zhu and her research team describe their solution: Turning a sugarcane byproduct into a sustainable, compostable, and inexpensive material that’s durable enough to serve as tableware, and that biodegrades within 60 days.
With a background in wood chemistry, Zhu initially thought about using wood pulp to create her new material. But working with wood requires planting trees, which would make the manufacturing process too environmentally intensive. She sought a more sustainable solution and found inspiration in an unlikely place.
‘I have a 4-year-old son, and he eats a lot of candy.’ Zhu says. While examining the ingredients in his treats, Zhu had a realization: Sugar is a natural, mass-produced material with no synthetic chemicals. What if she collected the pulp byproduct of sugarcane production and used it to create a sustainable alternative to plastic?”
View the whole story here: https://news.northeastern.edu/2020/12/07/biodegradable-food-containers-and-utensils-made-from-sugar-pulp-could-be-a-game-changer-to-battle-plastic-pollution/